Package Size

As I wait for American Outlaws and/or US Soccer to get me some information about Honduras (seriously, throw me a bone here; I've got time off to weasel), I've been looking at AO's package deals they've set up for the games in Mexico City and Jamaica.

I've not been to Jamaica, so I can't really speak to the alternatives that are available. I did, however, go to Mexico City for the qualifier in 2009.

AO is offering two packages: the first is for game ticket and transportation to and from the game for $175; the larger $585 package adds two nights in a hotel (double occupancy) plus airport transportation. The hotel is in the Zona Rosa, a very touristy part of the city.

Before I start breaking this down, I first want to thank AO for the work they've been putting in on getting people to US games. There were approximately three hundred US fans at the 2009 qualifier; given that Azteca has a reputation for being inhospitable, I call that a success.

That being said, I don't think the package offers what I want out of travel. Perhaps it's just because I'm cheap, but that price tag doesn't quite seem worth it.

[Note: as both the US Dollar and Mexican Peso share the same symbol ($), I will be using USD and MXN to differentiate. The exchange rate at the time (and now) was approximately MXN 12 to USD 1.]

The 2009 qualifier was on a Wednesday afternoon; I arrived the preceding Saturday evening and left the following Saturday, meaning I stayed for seven nights. I shared a room near the Zócalo with Bruce of duNord fame for six of those nights, as he arrived on Sunday. Our total was USD 462, or 33 per night, per person. I'm glad we stayed more centrally, rather than in the Zona Rosa; there was a lot to see and do near the Zócalo, and the Zona Rosa seemed a bit white-washed touristy (or maybe that was just the terrible bar for the night-before party).

We took cabs to/from the airport; I can't remember exactly how much it was, but I want to say it was around MXN 120 each way. I took one by myself on arrival, but shared one on the way back with two other people; so, mark me down for MXN 160, or around USD 13. We could have taken the Metro, the Mexico City subway system; we took it for most of the rest of the time, including to and from Azteca. Each ticket for the Metro cost MXN 2. It was a lot of fun taking the Metro to the game with around a hundred other US fans, singing on the way.

The ticket to the game itself was, after US Soccer fees and such, USD 22. Adding up two nights of the hotel (to compare apples to apples), transportation, and ticket, I come up with USD 69. That doesn't cover everything that AO is offering, but the pre-game party can't possibly make up a difference of over five hundred Dollars.

Obviously, my trip didn't include the kind of security and luxury that the AO package has to offer. And, yes, Mexico City can be a very dangerous city. But by playing it smart—not wandering around alone at night, generally traveling in groups, keeping track of my valuables at all times—I did alright. I also did a lot of touristy things: saw a Mexican league game in Toluca; climbed the pyramids at Teotihuacan; explored the Palacio Nacional; saw the ruins at Templo Mayor; took a tour of Estadio Azteca the day after the game; floated on the canals of Xochimilco; and ate at Restaurante Arroyo. It was a damned good week, and done on the relative cheap. (If I'd've waited a week to book my flight, the swine-flu "ERMAHGERD COME VISIT US!" discounts would have kicked in and I would've saved nearly two hundred Dollars.)

It's a matter of preference, then; my preference is towards saving money and seeing more of the city, rather than spending a lot more money to be sequestered from it.