What is Sport Travel? Tips How to Organise Your Sport Travel

Sport Travels are getting trendy! But it’s actually not why I write about them. I’ve been doing sports travel for many years now, and I want to encourage you to try it as well. And I want to show you how to do it.

In this article, I will explain what sports travel is and give most important tips for organising your sports trips.

You can learn more about my experiences as a Travelling Supporter you can here.

What is Sport Travelling?

In short, it’s a trip motivated by a sports event. You travel somewhere to participate in the tournament, game, or run. On the blog, I speak about sports travels as a supporter. But there is also an option to do sport travel as an event participant, for example, in city marathons.

There is another option to travel as a sports volunteer. It’s a lot to describe on this; check out the Volunteering section on the blog.

Anyway, here in the article, we will focus on sports travel as supporters. Seeing matches live is a totally different feeling than seeing them on TV. On TV, you can actually see the game well. If you watch something live, it’s more about the atmosphere.

That’s why the idea of travelling to the biggest sport events like the World Cup finals is so tempting. Emotions are unforgettable.

Additionally, or first of all, it’s a travel plan, which is always great. Sports events are usually held in the biggest cities, usually on weekends. So it can be a great city-break weekend trip.

I’ve mentioned that this type of travel is getting trendy. It really does; it’s even been mentioned in travel trends reports. Actually, not only sport trips but also music trips for concerts or festivals. So generally speaking, ‘event travel’.

As in sports travel, I have the most experience, and this is what I want to promote among my readers, so I will stick to sports in this article.

However, I would say that a few of these trips can be useful for any ‘event travel’.

Is Sport Travelling difficult?

It really depends. If you travel a lot, it’s not. It’s just another trip, but with some additional points to prepare for and remember. If you are not super easy on travel, it can be a little bit intimidating.

In my opinion, the toughest part of sports travel is managing to plan it:

First of all, getting to know where and when the event you want to participate in is.

Secondly, buying the ticket.

It can be tough, especially for the biggest and most popular events, like the Olympics.

There are just more people wanting to participate than tickets and places available at the stadium.

Thirdly, you need to organise all the logistics around a particular place. Regardless of whether another destination is cheaper or has better connections, you have to focus on the place where the event takes place. It can be challenging sometimes.

Summing up, this type of travel needs more organisational effort. It’s worth it, though!

Sport Travel Trip Tips

Let’s look at some tips and best practices during sports travel. They are collected based on my over 10 years’ experience travelling for sporting events.

1. Don’t Overplan

Sport events take place in bigger cities, where there is a lot to see. But don’t overplan when it comes to things to see. Remember that part of the day will be dedicated to the event: you need to get there, enter the stadium (there can be lines and checks, so it takes time too), be at the stadium before, the game, then coming back. It depends on the event, but I would say it can take you even half a day.

It’s obvious and normal that you will not be able to visit the city as much as during a ‘normal’ trip because of time and your energy (events are great, but they drain the energy as well).

If you can, it’s a good idea to come the day earlier or leave later if you want to spend more time just visiting.

2. Search for an event atmosphere in the city

It really depends on the event, but quite often you can find in the city some ‘signs’ of what’s happening in sports. It can be supporters zones or events (usually during the Olympics or football), posters or event mascots on streets, or a group of supporters having their ‘base’ at the same pub.

During your walks and visiting, have your eyes opened for such things. It makes the atmosphere even more.

3. Where to stay

Especially in big cities, I believe there are only two options:

Stay close to the arena.

Stay in the centre or next to attractions you want to see in the city.

Don’t stay in a place from which you will have to commute for a long time to both sport arena and tourist attractions. You just don’t have time for it.

4. Luggage and leaving the stadium

Check out the rules for bringing bigger bags into the stadium. But I can tell you right away that they are usually not accepted. Usually it’s not a problem if you have a small backpack, but check the size rules before.

It’s also important information if you travel home right away after the game and need to arrive at the stadium with your luggage (there can be an option to store the luggage).

Generally, I would advise staying until next morning, not only because of the luggage. Also, because the event can last longer, there can be additional times, etc. so that you don’t rush to the airport.

If the event is large, remember to add more time needed for leaving the stadium and area, getting to the public transport, and crowds in the bus or train.

5. Eat well before

Eat well before the game! Food (especially trying the local specialties), restaurants, and cafes are important parts of visiting cities. Plan the time during the day and before going to the event to eat something good (and possibly local if you like).

In every stadium or arena in Europe, there is usually the same type of food, which will obviously be fast food, hot-dogs, etc.

Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but don’t expect some amazing dishes. It’s better to eat something good in certain places in the city.

The same about coffee: you can buy it at arenas, but it will be better to drink it in nice cafes in the city.

Is it all the tips for sporting events? No, but these are points that can help you organise your trip better and stress less during it. These points may not be very obvious if you haven’t travelled to stadiums and events yet, so hopefully my experience can help you.

Enjoy your sports travels!

Check out what sport events you can visit in Europe in 2024.