THRIFTY LIONS
Follow England to every one of their Euro 2024 group stage fixtures for less than £700
SunSport worked out the cheapest way for Three Lions fans to support the team in Germany
THOUSANDS of England fans will cough up fistfuls of cash to follow the Three Lions across Germany at Euro 2024 this summer.
But with the cost of absolutely everything going through the roof these days, you may think there's no way you can afford such a trip.
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But think again, because SunSport travelled to Germany and worked out how you can support Gareth Southgate's side up and down the land of schnitzel and steins for LESS THAN £700!
GETTING TO GERMANY
England kick off their Group C campaign at Gelsenkirchen's Veltins Arena - home of Schalke and scene of Cristiano Ronaldo’s infamous wink after Wayne Rooney's red card against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup.
Dusseldorf is the closest airport to the stadium.
But the cheapest London-Dusseldorf flight the day before the Three Lions' opener is around £350.
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So SunSport flew to Cologne-Bonn airport instead which is just an hour train ride from Gelsenkirchen and available for just £56 on June 15!
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MATCH ONE - England vs Serbia, Gelsenkirchen - June 16
Hotels in Gelsenkirchen will set you back around £225 per person per night.
So we headed to Duisburg which is just a half hour train ride from the stadium and where rooms are available in the region of £56-per-person-per-night.
Just like at the Hotel am Freihafen where a two-bedrooom apartment from June 15-17 is available for £224 in total.
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It was by no means the most luxurious place we had ever stayed but it is a great option to lay your head just a stone's throw from England's first game at the Veltins Arena.
If you can throw a stone 30km that is.
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MATCH TWO - England vs Denmark, Frankfurt - June 20
Picture it now, it's the morning after England have thrashed Serbia 1-0 in the opening game.
Thousands of Three Lions fans are heading home, but you are Frankfurt bound ready to support the team ahead of their trickiest group stage game against Denmark.
Hotels in Frankfurt city centre are up for around £71 per person per night.
So we’re heading to Offenbach instead, just six miles east of Frankfurt where an entire six-person apartment will add just £43-per-person-per-night to your Euros spend.
We got the four-and-a-half hour bus from Duisburg main station which cost us just £22.
And once you're there, a 15 minute train ride will have you at the Nordsternplatz fan zone.
An all-day city train ticket will set you back just £10 which will also get you to Eintracht Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park stadium if you are lucky enough to have a ticket to the game.
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MATCH THREE - England vs Slovenia, Cologne - June 24
Ok, you’ve given yourself an extra day in Frankfurt to sleep off your hangover after England have made light work of Denmark.
And you’re ready to head to Cologne to roar the boys over the line against Slovenia.
But rather than follow the hordes of fans having to cough up serious cash to stay in Cologne city centre, you and your fellow savvy spenders are heading to Bonn.
The former capital of West Germany is just a half-hour train ride south of Cologne with rooms available for a fraction of the price.
Fortunately, there’s no more four-and-a-half hour bus journeys to get there.
Instead we’re jumping on an hour long train to Siegburg via Frankfurt’s main airport, before a 20 minute tram ride gets us to Bonn.
All of that for just £37.
A four-night stay the Hotel Belmont Classic between June 22-26 will cost you just £43 per-person-per-night.
Whereas a similar room in Cologne city centre will set you back around £85 per-person-per-night.
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(IT'S) COMING HOME
Time to head home and cheer on the Three Lions from the comfort of your own sofa or your local pub.
But just because the fun is about to stop, the bargain hunting certainly does not.
So we boarded a train then a bus to Frankfurt Hahn airport rather than making the 20 minute journey to Cologne Bonn airport where flights will set you back at least £155 the day after England’s game against Slovenia.
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By making the three-hour trip to Hahn, you’ll save around £130 with flights at £24 within 24 hours of the final whistle blowing on England’s group stage campaign.
*** Prices were correct at time of filming and will only go up the closer we get to the tournament. Check flight and hotel comparison sites before for the cheapest deals ***
SunSport's follow England on a shoestring itinerary
SunSport travelled to every city England are playing in at this summer's Euro 2024 group stage.
And here is how you can copy our shoestring budget itinerary and follow the Three Lions to all three places for less than £700.
June 15
FLY - London Stansted to Cologne Bonn
BUS - Cologne Bonn Airport to Duisburg
June 15 - 17
STAY - Duisburg (Hotel am Freihafen)
June 17
BUS - Dusiburg to Offenbach
June 17 - 22
STAY - Offenbach
June 22
TRAIN - Offenbach to Siegburg
TRAM - Siegburg to Bonn
June 22 - 26
STAY - Bonn
June 26
TRAIN - Bonn to Bullay via Koblenz
BUS - Bullay to Frankfurt Hahn Airport
FLY - Frankfurt Hahn to London Stansted
Prices used are based on two people travelling together and sharing a twin room.
Flight prices did not include checked luggage. And flight prices will vary depending on where you fly from so check a flight comparison site first.
Beware when booking properties with private hosts, rather than hotels or hostels - especially if they do not have any previous reviews.
This video was not sponsored but I found the most useful sites to use were SkyScanner for the cheapest flights, Booking.com for cheap hotels, Rome2Rio for getting from one city to another and Citymapper for the best way to get around each place once we were there.
Other apps and comparison sites are of course available.
Prices were correct at time of filming but change all the time and will likely go up the closer we get to the tournament so act fast!
Happy travelling and COME ON ENGLAND!
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