Three tips on how to follow Scotland at Euro 2024 on the cheap
After a sensational qualifying campaign in which Kenny Mclean rolled back the years to his St Mirren glory days and the Hampden roar reduced Rodri to a petulant child, Scotland are off to Germany for Euro 2024.
The Tartan Army have been clambering to sort out their travel arrangements to the land of steins and sausages for Europe’s biggest party. However, with a direct flight from Scotland to the likes of Frankfurt, Berlin and cities in the Ruhr Vally—where the biggest contingent of host cities can be found—costing up to £700, following Steve Clarke’s men could bankrupt you.
However, Harris Clark has written travel tips for The Times, National Geographic and The Sunday Post and is here to help you get to Germany without spending your life savings.
Here are 3 ways to make those pounds go further.
Ireland’s loss is Scotland’s Game
Sadly, our Celtic cousins did not qualify for Euro 2024, so Irish fans will be stuck watching Scott McTominay bang in the goals on the sofa this summer. This means airline prices from Dublin to German cities haven’t skyrocketed and Lufthansa will even fly you to Frankfurt and back for the reasonable price of £84 during the tournament. Flights to Hamburg and Berlin are also up for grabs for under £100 with Ryanair and Aer Lingus. All you need to do is get to Dublin via a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh or Glasgow for as little as £30, just make sure to leave plenty of time to catch the connecting flight. You could even combine the trip with a night in Dublin, but this article is about saving money and you’ll spend more cash in the Temple Bar than it costs to get to Germany.
Trainspotting
Now call me a romantic if you want, but there is something oddly charming about getting the train from your home station and ending up in Germany. Interrailing may conjure images of 20-something-year-olds on a gap year, but it’s actually a cost-effective and stress-free way to get to next year’s Euros. Deals on Interrail’s website mean you can get a pass for just over £200, and this will also save you money on the Eurostar from London into continental Europe. Choosing the train also gets rid of the hassle of flying and is the environmentally friendly way of enjoying a cold stein in a German beer garden this summer. Another benefit of the pass is the flexibility it offers, imagine you are based in the Rhineland, but Scotland are playing in East Germany, while your mates are scrambling around trying to get organised, you can jump on any ICE train (intercity express) you want. Be warned, I would not try to get from Edinburgh to somewhere like Berlin in a day, stop in Brussels for a night.
Fly Nearby
Another option to avoid the extortionate prices of flights to Germany is to fly to a nearby city in a neighbouring country. Ryanair fly to Eindhoven on the Dutch-German border for just over £200 return during the tournament. After landing, jump on the train to Essen and make it your base for the tournament, a former industrial heartland turned tech city, you’ll be met by an eclectic mix of hipster districts and historic old towns. While not a host city, it’s just half an hour away from Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. This is one for the art lovers, another way to beat the airlines is to fly to Basel with easyJet for £91. Spend the day pottering around the city’s museums then get a five-hour train to Essen.
All prices taken from the week of the 17-24 June.
