A fan with the account “BradJill” living in Dallas, USA planned a 13-day trip, watching 3 matches of the 2018 World Cup in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan and posted it on the travel advice site TripAdvisor. And the estimated cost that this guy gave for the trip was quite startling.

“BradJill” estimated that the cost of airfare from Dallas to Moscow, to Saint Petersburg, to Kazan and back to Dallas would be $3,298.62, tickets to three World Cup matches would be $592.96, food would be $1,051.35, a 4-star hotel would be $3,061.43, taxis and airport transfers would be $878.46 and gifts would be $439.23. The total would be $9,322.05, equivalent to more than VND210 million.

That’s a very high number even for fans in Europe or the US. “BradJill” has also received quite a bit of criticism on TripAdvisor for his unnecessarily high costs, such as for food or hotels. So, how much will a Vietnamese fan have to spend if he wants to watch the stars compete in the 2018 World Cup? The number is certainly not sky-high, but of course you have to choose the cheapest option.

For example, to follow the England team through 3 group stage matches, against Tunisia in Volgograd (June 18), Panama in Nizhny Novgorod (June 24) and Belgium in Kaliningrad (June 28), you will also have to spend 13 days but not just through 3 cities. On the cheap ticket website www.kayak.com, the cheapest airfare from Hanoi to Volgograd on June 16 (transit in Moscow) is 661 USD. The cheapest ticket from Volgograd to Nizhny Novgorod on June 22 (transit in Moscow) is 338 USD. From Nizhny Novgorod to Kaliningrad on June 26, you have to transit in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but the airfare is only 197 USD. And for the journey from Kaliningrad to Hanoi on June 29, the ticket price is 842 USD, transiting in Saint Petersburg and Beijing.

The total cost of the plane ticket is $2,038. Of course, there are other options, cheaper but time-consuming. Trains are not a bad choice, a ticket from Volgograd to Nizhny Novgorod is only $135.67, but you will have to sit on the train for 21 hours and 50 minutes. From Nizhny Novgorod to Kaliningrad is even cheaper: $76.38, but the waiting time is up to... 24 hours and 23 minutes. The Sapsan Express solves the time problem. For example, you can watch the Nigeria-Argentina match in Saint Petersburg on June 26 and then the next morning, spend 3 to 4 hours on the train back to Moscow to watch the Serbia-Brazil match for $103. The only thing is, the Sapsan train does not connect the two major cities mentioned above to other competition venues.

As for accommodation, the cheapest options on the online hotel booking site www.agoda.com are Hostel Centre in Volgograd ($43/night, 5 nights), Podvorye Hostel in Nizhny Novgorod ($76/night, 4 nights) and Rauschen Court in Kaliningrad ($13/night, 2 nights). All for $545, an acceptable figure even for fans who prefer the “backpacking” style. Thus, the total cost of airfare and accommodation is $2,583, plus about $600 for match tickets, for a total of $3,183, equivalent to VND72 million.

Adding food and travel costs in the city, a fan will only have to spend about 100 million VND if he wants to watch 3 group stage matches of England at the 2018 World Cup. This can be considered an acceptable cost for Vietnamese fans. Of course, unless you like the luxurious style like "BradJill".