Away game travel arrangements

[Longhorn_in_LA]

I asked this question on a football thread, but this is probably the better venue.

For those of you that go to the away games, how early do you typically make flight arrangements? How about booking a hotel?

Just curious if it's too early to booking.

 

[GakFoo]

southwest airlines allows you to book a flight six months to the day in advance of the flight date. thats when i book my flights and do the accomodations and rental car at the same time for longer trips (too far to drive). i put together my away game ticket package for games i cant get through my donation, about now each year, with brokers, when recruiting is a hot item and i can convince various friends to spend lots of time and money to leave their families and work behind for multiple road trips throughout the fall.

my rule of thumb: its never too early to make arrangements

 

[TornACL]

You can book hotels 330 days in advance, usually. Sometimes you can get reservations for good rates before some of the smaller towns realize it's "Texas week" and jack up the prices.

Plus, you can usually cancel your hotel without penalty as long as you do it 24 hours before check-in date.

I think I'm booked up for all of 2007 already. I need to go back and double-check.

 

[Texas Ex '02]

I've booked hotels for the away games at UCF, ISU, and OSU. I haven't booked the flights yet, but will probably do that by May. As someone else said, you can usually book hotel rooms up to 330 days prior to your stay and cancel without penalty up to 24 hours before check-in. It's worth it because you usually only need to hold it with a credit card or pay a small amount up front to hold the reservation. I've gone to almost all of our road games the past decade and it's been my experience that it's never too early to book the hotels.

 

[Hou-Tex Horn]

Not that this applies to someone in LA, but I make my OU flight plans (up and back from Hou) every year in April/May and I usually get $29 each way. Not a bad way to spend your day.

 

[Lat22]

I usually book the small towns (Stillwater, Lincoln, Lubbock) a year in advance. I usually don't buy my plane tickets until August.

 

[Bernard]

Man you guys are a bunch of planners. I've been to only three fewer Longhorn football games than Mack Brown. I usually wait unitl the last minute. Maybe it's because I'm single and I'm never quite sure exactly who I'll be going to the game with.

TICKETS ---I rarely buy tickets ahead of time. At most games it's quite easy to get decent seats at lower than face value on the street. Occationally I pay more for really good seats or a really good game (i.e Nebraska or Ohio State). Picking up face value extras in the UT section is usually a breeze.

FLIGHTS -- I've driven from Houston to every Big XII city except Lawence at least once. Lately I've flown a lot more. I usually book a flight on Southwest or Continetal a few weeks in advance. Sometimes I wait until the last minute and pay extra, but it's not the end of the world.

HOTELS -- I'm not very picky about where I stay as long as it's close to the stadium. Very rarely do I book a hotel more that a week or two in advance. Usually something works out. I got stuck without a room once in Manhattan and had to drive back out to I-70, than another 15 miles or so to the Jayhawk Inn. Everthing else was booked, but I knew no Wildcats would stay at the Jayhawk.

If I ever plan far in advance it's usually because I'm traveling with a friend and he/she insists on doing the planning ahead of time.

I plan to be at every game in 2007, but I can't make any plans before the NFL schedule comes out. I need to know if there's a Texans home game on Sunday that I need to get back for. I'll also check to see if there are any NFL games in close proximity to the UT road opponent. It's always nice to take in a Chiefs, Rams, or Broncos game if it's convenient to a Big XII game. Maybe the Jags or Dolphins will have a home game when Texas heads to UCF.

I drove all night from Columbus to Buffalo to see the Texans play the Bills in 2005. I also went to see the Texans play the 49ers on New Years Day before driving down to Pasadena for the USC Rose Bowl. It's nice when a double header works out.

Bernard

 

[Lat22]

It's cool driving into KC from Columbia on Sunday and seeing the BBQ cloud over Arrowhead.

 

[Bernard]

There's a reason they call it the "best smelling stadium in the NFL".

I was there in 2005 (day after Texas @ Mizzou) for the the Chiefs' gut wrenching come-from-ahead loss to the Eagles (with TO). The NFL messed up our plans by changing the game from Noon to 3:00 PM a week before the game. The last flight to Houston leaves around 5:45PM so we had to stay overnight and fly back on Monday.

Bernard

 

[TXBabe97]

Definitely book the smaller towns in advance (which reminds me, I'm behind on my Ames plans for '07). You can deal with flights when the good deals get advertised. The only exception is big games like going to Rose Bowl or Columbus, OH or those types of games you don't have to worry about this year. Sometimes you have to get creative on those types of flights.