Champions League Final | Istanbul or could it be moved?

supercity88 said:
It has to be done. I booked up Paris last year with free cancellation, before we played the second leg against Real. I wasn't expecting to go, just preparing in case we did. Because the dippers had already got there things sold out/spiralled in price very quickly. So it was the logical thing to do.

For those looking this time around, possible itinerary below.

Fri 7th June
Stansted 5.55 - Sofia 11.00

Mon 10th June
Sofia 12.30 - Stansted 13.45
Or... Sofia 21.15 - Stansted 22.30

Cost is £70-75 depending on combination with Ryanair.


Train to Istanbul headlines:

Leaves Sofia at 18.40 and arrives in Istanbul 05.34 the next day.
It then leaves Istanbul at 20.45 and arrives in Sofia at 09.20 the next day.

Good website below which gives prices/images of potential seating/sleeping options.

Bucharest & Sofia to Istanbul by train | 2025 timetable, fares, tickets

Times, fares & how to buy tickets for the sleeper train between Bucharest or Sofia & Istanbul.
www.seat61.com

Looks like circa £50 to get a decent place to kip so £100 return. Flights between the two cities are £200 as a quicker/easier option.
Click to expand...
That coach trip sounds horrific. I was struggling in the car back to Manchester yesterday!
 
supercity88 said:
It has to be done. I booked up Paris last year with free cancellation, before we played the second leg against Real. I wasn't expecting to go, just preparing in case we did. Because the dippers had already got there things sold out/spiralled in price very quickly. So it was the logical thing to do.

For those looking this time around, possible itinerary below.

Fri 7th June
Stansted 5.55 - Sofia 11.00

Mon 10th June
Sofia 12.30 - Stansted 13.45
Or... Sofia 21.15 - Stansted 22.30

Cost is £70-75 depending on combination with Ryanair.


Train to Istanbul headlines:

Leaves Sofia at 18.40 and arrives in Istanbul 05.34 the next day.
It then leaves Istanbul at 20.45 and arrives in Sofia at 09.20 the next day.

Good website below which gives prices/images of potential seating/sleeping options.

Bucharest & Sofia to Istanbul by train | 2025 timetable, fares, tickets

Times, fares & how to buy tickets for the sleeper train between Bucharest or Sofia & Istanbul.
www.seat61.com

Looks like circa £50 to get a decent place to kip so £100 return. Flights between the two cities are £200 as a quicker/easier option.
Click to expand...
The Friday is the 9th and Monday 12th.
 
supercity88 said:
It has to be done. I booked up Paris last year with free cancellation, before we played the second leg against Real. I wasn't expecting to go, just preparing in case we did. Because the dippers had already got there things sold out/spiralled in price very quickly. So it was the logical thing to do.

For those looking this time around, possible itinerary below.

Fri 7th June
Stansted 5.55 - Sofia 11.00

Mon 10th June
Sofia 12.30 - Stansted 13.45
Or... Sofia 21.15 - Stansted 22.30

Cost is £70-75 depending on combination with Ryanair.


Train to Istanbul headlines:

Leaves Sofia at 18.40 and arrives in Istanbul 05.34 the next day.
It then leaves Istanbul at 20.45 and arrives in Sofia at 09.20 the next day.

Good website below which gives prices/images of potential seating/sleeping options.

Bucharest & Sofia to Istanbul by train | 2025 timetable, fares, tickets

Times, fares & how to buy tickets for the sleeper train between Bucharest or Sofia & Istanbul.
www.seat61.com

Looks like circa £50 to get a decent place to kip so £100 return. Flights between the two cities are £200 as a quicker/easier option.
Click to expand...
Fri 7th and Mon 10th could be July, dont think its June.
 
bluemoon1981 said:
When it comes to flights I noticed for Porto they went up substantially and then dropped, even after we knew who the finalist were, perhaps that was due to cancellations or maybe they put on extra flights once they know who is playing. Personally I'm not one for that kind of risk so I've booked mine already. I knew some spuds fans who ended up paying £6k for everything because it was last minute and there were a lot of them sharing!
Click to expand...
I've booked the flights as well, taken a leap of faith!
 
Baryaya said:
How many travel hours is that ?? I’ve been looking at marmaris then the train 5 hours
Click to expand...
A fair bit but its only 200 miles from Istanbul ! Best case scenario we get to the Final and have to travel a bit more from Bulgaria. Worse case scenario, we don't beat Madrid but we have a weeks 5 star holiday in a great up and coming resort. We reckon if we left it until we knew we had reached the final, flights and hotels are gonna cost thousands. This way is a win win. We also booked one night hotel in Istanbul for the night of the final for £80 (cancellable) in August last year.
 
gordondaviesmoustache said:
Going to get on this, this afternoon. Thanks pal.
Click to expand...

Got the dates wrong, but a typo rather than an incorrect search. I've edited my previous post now.

£350 return Stansted to Istanbul if you wanted to consider a direct option. Sofia and train option is about half the price and one hell of an adventure. Depends how much you end up spending on a ticket with them ranging from 70euros to 650euros!

I always think, if you have a great time you never think about how much it cost you. But if you don't go for the sake of a few hundred quid you'll probably always regret it. But recognise a few hundred quid is a fortune for many people these days.

I doubt I'll be there this time around.... Three young kids at home, the mrs isn't signing off my going to Istanbul for that money and a long weekend away. Paris was hard enough and I didn't even get to go! Going to have to work on it over the next few weeks!
 
nozzyblue said:
With the trains - am i right in thinking you cant book tickets online and it has to be on the day? Is there any risk of trains selling out? I see there's also a flixbus that takes 8 hours from sofia to istanbul
Click to expand...
No option to book train in advance online leaving from Sofia
Did you book the flixbus?
Looks good, travels overnight so save costs on hotels both ways
 
MadchesterCity said:
No option to book train in advance online leaving from Sofia
Did you book the flixbus?
Looks good, travels overnight so save costs on hotels both ways
Click to expand...
Not yet mate got the flights to Sofia booked, will sort Sofia to Istanbul once we’re confirmed as through. Would like to do that train bit annoying you can’t pre book but is what it is
 
We normally book a weekend break at the host City months earlier. We were at Milan, Kiev, Madrid, and Paris in recent years. We enjoyed every trip.

We haven’t booked for Istanbul because it has been moved from Istanbul for several years in a row. If things kick off after the Turkish General Election, this month it could happen again.

I will wait until that has happened before booking anything.
 
does anyone think that the club might offer reduced/free flights if we get there (similar to the free flights they did for the Chelsea final)?
 
On one hand, public workers could get a 45% boost, on the other hand the opposition are coming together... hoping UEFA persist with Istanbul (ands not a back up). All a dream, if we can get there, but come next week, it could be a welcome scramble for tickets and travel. Hoping so. But, should that happen, do UEFA guarantee venue change tickets and will insurance companies back travel plans?! I thought potential success was supposed to be easy. Typical City... hopefully.
 
For anyone that's already reserved a hotel, where have you booked? Been looking to just reserve one but no idea what area to be looking in.
 
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