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How much is an Olympics trip?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Terry Benedict, Aug 19, 2012.

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  1. Terry Benedict

    Terry Benedict VIP Whale

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    After watching the London Olympics, I have been pondering going to Rio in 2016. I have no idea how much money I should prepare for. Has anyone gone overseas to London, Beijing, Sydney, or Athens for the Games? I know there will be a rate increase on everything. I just want a little idea of what I'm getting into.
     
  2. DBear

    DBear VIP Bear

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    ......tried to delete first post.
     
  3. DBear

    DBear VIP Bear

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    Securing tickets and accomodations are the only thing I guess that's over and above a regular trip cost. I've never went to one, but strongly considered a few including London. Hotel prices in London were outrageous in the months/years leading up to the Games but about a week or two before it started and they realized it wasn't the boom they were expecting, hotel prices came down relatively fast. I was in London in 2011 and I priced out the exact same hotel. In 2011, it was about $150 bucks a night and then in March 2012, the same room was about $350 a night. Then in July 2012, it was down to about $175 a night. Of course, some popular or posh hotels sell out so you have to consider that.

    I'm thinking about Rio as well. Actually checked out Sochi websites last night too. I have several friends who live in Vancouver and its really the crowding and transportation issues that they had to work around, moreso than the cost of restaurants or cabs and such. They said there's plenty of free events/concerts going on at all times of the day to keep you entertained.

    Tickets would be my big concern. It seems like its a draw or lottery for tickets once you submit your requests online. Just submit your info and hope for the best. Prices for London were several hundred dollars for some of the marquee events. I would probably just pay for tix in the prelimenary rounds or obscure events to try to keep those costs down.

    You may also consider volunteering. Sochi's official Games website has info on that. You submit your info online and they start the process. Before I saw Socchi's website, I just assumed you had to live in the area and be a citizen to volunteer but I read London had volunteers from many countries all over the world. Also, don't worry about the languages as every volunteer needs to know either English or French. That's actually worrying the Sochi people as not many Sochian's speak either one or so I read.

    I did have a friend who went to Beijing and he went for 3 weeks. 1 week in Beijing during the Olympics and 2 weeks were spent touring the country. He said he knew it would be congested and hard to get around, so he only wanted to stay for a week. Didn't really hear anything else though from him as he moved away shortly thereafter (maybe even before the trip).

    Lastly, I think its getting to the point where many tourists are avoiding host cities during the Games. I've read several London newspaper articles saying it wasn't the economic boom they were promised and in reality, for a popular city like London, tourism was actually down compared to previous summers. I think many people are warned to stay away or are worried about terrorism that they just don't bother anymore.
     
  4. Onlyoneoklahoma

    Onlyoneoklahoma Tourist

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    I was hanging out with my in-laws and some of their friends and one of them priced a week in London, economy flight and 4 star hotel. The bill was $40000 per person with some events thrown in.

    My advise is stay at home, the IOC is corrupt and doesn't deserve your money.
     
  5. metalpest

    metalpest Low-Roller

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    My friend drove to Vancouver in an RV to save some money. She spent around 10K for the trip. She paid a lot of money for good seats to the womens gold medal hockey game, so that was a good chunk of it. Summer has more events to potentially see than winter, so prepare for that. Buy event tickets early too.
     
  6. saintpauljeff

    saintpauljeff VIP Whale

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    40 grand? wha?
     
  7. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    Depending on what you want to see and where you want to stay I could see it getting that expensive.

    Airfare to Brazil during the games will probably be around $1500 per person

    Hotel accommodations, probably $150/nt average based on double occupancy. For ten days thats $1500

    Food and minor expenses, probably around $100-150/day, so about $1250 for ten days.

    Money to get around, probably $500 and another $500 for programs and some basic souvenirs.

    Tickets to opening and closing ceremonies: $1000

    Tickets to five major events: probably around $2000-3000 total

    Tickets to ten minor events: probably around $1500

    Money for miscellaneous things, extra minor events, walking around money: $1000


    So right now we're already closing in on $12,000 for one person and you only have tickets to the ceremonies and 15 events and just some basic food money and you are staying in an average hotel.

    For a lot of the major events its really hard to say just how much they'll cost because a gold medal match between two big teams in a big event can easily cost $1000 or more if you didn't buy tickets in advance.
     
  8. Terry Benedict

    Terry Benedict VIP Whale

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    ...which is not close to $40k per person. $12k sounds more realistic for my budget.
     
  9. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    For most people the cost is probably going to end up in the $7,000-15,000 range, with the biggest variables being hotel costs, where rates are probably going to be double to triple what they normally are, and event tickets which can run you anywhere from as low as $25 per ticket to over $1,000.

    For the previous post: if they paid almost $40,000 per person it was probably some kind of VIP all inclusive package that probably had things covered like some fine dining, VIP tickets to some major events, great seats at the opening and closing ceremonies, a top notch hotel, etc.
     
  10. MrSandsman

    MrSandsman Low-Roller

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    I am thinking of doing one of the packaged group tours to Rio, which takes the worry and gamble out of getting tickets. However, you are looking at anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for that.
     
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