Lara says:
Tickets can vary in cost from really reasonable to "Holy crap, WHAT DOES THAT TICKET COST?" Tickets for the shining star events go for over $500 a pop (gymnastics and the 100m/200m races at the Summer Olympics, figure skating at the Winter Games). So, if you're really set on seeing gymnastics, you might want to make that your only ticket! Here's what we paid in Sochi:Luge-$41
Ski Jumping-$62
Women's Downhill-$126
Women's Hockey-$41 (We didn't use this ticket as we bought USA v. Russia men's hockey tickets that was the same day and time, but were able to unload these)
Short Track Speed Skating-$65
Ladies Super G-$103
Men's Super Combined-$65
Biathlon-$65
Curling-$43
Snowboarding Halfpipe-$108
Men's Hockey (USA vs Russia)-$166
Nordic Combined-$62
Snowboard Cross-$145
We were in Sochi for 8 days of competition, and we can tell you-this is a LOT of tickets. In fact, about 1 event per day is a pretty good clip, and if you do buy more than one event on a day, get events that are in the same location, like both in the mountains or in Olympic Park. The transport between might not get you where you need to be on time, and you don't want to miss a minute!
Lodging
In London, hotel rooms and flat rentals were plentiful and reasonable because of the size of the market. Sochi was much smaller and more difficult to find a place-and as many of you saw, even those that got hotels didn't necessarily get FINISHED hotels. We paid the following:
London-Approximately $114/person per night
Sochi-$111/person per night (breakfast included)
We were on a cruise ship that appeared to have been renovated around 1988, while our flat in London was amazing, with a rooftop patio and a 5 minute walk to the tube. London was definitely the better value, even if we did find a place for a little less in Sochi.
Some of our friends that are Olympic pros have been successful at using award points to absorb a large chunk or the entirety of their hotel bill. If you've got points, start hoarding them now and finding ways to earn more to absorb that cost. We used Coach House Rentals in London (which we highly recommend-only a 20% bump for the Olympic rate), and then found a cruise ship to book via a friend's suggestion along with keeping up with Sochi discussion threads on Trip Advisor. Definitely check Trip Advisor-there were locals helping out many Americans with their questions on bookings and places to stay in Sochi.
Airfare
You would think this is the biggest expense, and it could be. Average airfare from Chicago O'Hare to Rio is about $1400. Average airfare from Chicago O'Hare to Seoul is about $1100.
Lara's Flight
It would appear to take about 60,000 awards miles to get to Rio, and about 70,000 to get to Seoul. I used 60,000 award miles to get from Chicago to Moscow, then had to switch airlines to Siberian Airlines (S7) for the Moscow-Sochi leg, which ran me about $350. If you open a United/American/Delta credit card, you generally get about 25,000 free miles for the signup, and there are times when you can purchase triple miles for the cost of one. You also earn a mile for every dollar you spend. So if you start earning now, you can have a free flight to the Olympics just waiting for you.
Erin & Mike's Flight
Erin and Mike got a SICK deal on airfare-$600 from Dulles to Sochi, with 1 stop in Istanbul on Turkish Air. They took advantage of a great online sale, and made the drive from Cleveland to DC, where they have friends and family that helped put them up both coming and going from Russia. So, keep an eye on airfare on direct sites, on Expedia, or any other travel website you prefer-who knows what kind of amazing deal you can find!
Spending Money
If you think about the Olympics in terms of a standard vacation, the tickets to events are your "activities" for the day-what you'd be spending on museum admission or snorkeling, so a lot of your expense is up front and in your tickets. Food and drink, although not always the tastiest, are actually pretty reasonable. More reasonable than Lollapalooza, that's for sure! Beer in London venues was about $5 each, and beer in Sochi was also about $5, and they were tall boys. Food at the events ranged from $5-$9 per meal period. We definitely took advantage of the hookups that were offered to us-free breakfast on our cruise ship in Sochi, free snacks, beer, wine, and water along with sushi from Morimoto at the Chase VIP Lounge in London, and free food, beer, and wine at the P&G house in Sochi's Olympic Park. Souvenirs with official Olympic logos can be overpriced, but there is also a large range of products that vary enough in price to find something that fits your budget.
We'd love to answer any question you might have on how to plan your budget! See you in Pyeongchang!
Jessica says:
We've had a lot of people telling us that they want to go to the Olympic Games because of how much fun we've had. But the numbers that the media are putting out there sound so astronomical, you'd think it was impossible. It isn't, but we have some suggestions to help keep your trip low-cost so that you can spend more money on FUN when you get there!Get a United VISA card. Stop squealing, American Airlines people. There's a reason. United is the official airline of the USA Olympic team, so you're nearly guaranteed that there will be an airlink for you when you get ready to book your ticket. If you book the ticket a year out, when they first become available, you will have the best opportunity to get a low mileage ticket. Also, watch our blog. We'll be looking for the cheapest way for everyone to get there as well.
Buy as many tickets as possible at the ticket drop that is one year before the Games. In advance of the drop, you will know dates of events. We chose to always buy C level, or general admission, when it was available, because it's the cheapest. Sometimes venues will also have empty seats, so you can move closer or into open areas. Popular events will always cost more, so keep that in mind.
Start researching housing one year in advance. Cosport offers packages, but we found that their prices were nearly double what we paid in Sochi for accommodations we found on our own. Watch Trip Advisor threads about Olympic housing as well--that's where we found our reasonably priced, conveniently located cruise ship that was parked near Olympic Park.
