Blog Getting to the World Cup games
It’s a tad confusing for locals - so can only imagine how confusing it is for visitors. But there are a few things common about the transport to the games in all the host centres:
* Most of the precincts around the stadiums are pedestrian-only zones - so only accredited and emergency vehicles will be allowed near them - no private cars at all!!
* park & ride facilities offer safe parking with shuttles to and from the stadium
* park & walk facilities offer safe parking with a 2km or less walk to the stadium
NB: Tickets for park & ride/walk facilities MUST be bought beforehand from www.ticketbreak.co.za and www.computicket.com - you won’t be able to get tickets at the facilities!!
* while they are trying to keep these down to a minimum, road closures or restricted access on certain roads will be in effect for the duration of the World Cup - on both match and non-match days
* fans are advised to leave plenty of time to get to the stadiums - especially for the opening game, semis and the final (some are suggesting that you allow four hours to get to the opening game!)
There are so many sites out there offering good info, but there are also quite a few where the info is NOT up-to-date. Scouting around, these are the best/easiest we’ve found:
JOHANNESBURG: 2 Stadiums - Soccer City and CocaCola Park (Ellis Park)
Getting in, out & around in Johannesburg - everything from Rea Vaya BRT to MetroRail to Gautrain to Minibuses to Rental Cars
Fan Parks, public viewing areas and township TVs
Top 10 tips for travellers
Good advice, road and safety tips
Getting to the games
All the info you need about road closures, park & rides, park & walks, transport hubs, Metrorail, Sandton Metrobus, Rea Vaya BRT, traffic maps and parking tickets
CAPE TOWN: Cape Town Stadium, Sea Point
Getting around Cape Town by train, bus, taxi, car and by foot
DURBAN: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Foreshore
Getting around: park & ride, park & walk, rail services, airport shuttles, road closures and all you need to know
Also a very detailed transport plan, if somewhat complicated - with maps and signage, covering all aspects of transport and traffic management
PRETORIA/TSHWANE: Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Travelling to & from Tshwane: distances, airport, shuttles, rail, coaches, metered taxis
Transport to Loftus Versfeld Stadium on match days: soccer trains, park & ride, park & walk, shuttles from Pretoria station
Transport Hub at Pretoria station: open 24/7 for duration of World Cup
Getting around in Tshwane: public & private transport options
BLOEMFONTEIN: Free State Stadium
Airport-Stadium shuttle service, inner city transport, park & ride, park & walk, fan park and public viewing areas
NELSPRUIT: Mbombela Stadium
Airport & stadium Match shuttles, inner city transport, park & ride, public viewing areas & road closures
POLOKWANE: Peter Mokaba Stadium
Stadium/fan park shuttles, park & rides, rail, metrobus, fan park access and road closures.
RUSTENBURG: Royal Bafokeng Stadium
Stadium shuttle services, event plans, park & ride services
PORT ELIZABETH: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Airport & stadium shuttles, park & ride, city wide services, fan parks with maps
The best mapping & direction site we’ve found so far is definitely google maps: try the local version maps.google.co.za
Click on the ‘Get Directions’ under the logo - you can also save these or email the links to a friend (or yourself). Next best thing to a GPS. And it’s always better on the ‘big screen’.
Hope it helps.
Of course, if you’re not lucky enough to have scored some tickets, the next best place to be is one of the Fan Fest Parks.
Enjoy!