By Akram Medhat
Travco Holidays is preparing to announce trip programmes for the 2018 World Cup in Russia within two weeks, offering tour packages for Egyptian fans wishing to travel to attend the national team's matches. Programme prices have already been set and flight tickets and hotels booked, all of which will be in the capital, Moscow. The company is an accredited agent for World Cup trips.
Moataz Sedky, general manager of Travco Holidays, revealed in an exclusive statement to Travel Yalla News that programmes have been designed to suit all travellers' wishes in choosing the matches they will attend, with trip prices starting from 39,000 pounds and going up to 42,000 pounds, depending on the number of nights and the airline they will travel with, noting that there will be private buses for travellers there, accompanied by Russian-speaking supervisors.
Domestic Travel Between Cities
He added that prices include flight tickets, accommodation at Moscow hotels with breakfast, transfers to and from the airport and sightseeing tours, while domestic travel to the three Russian cities where the national team's matches will be held is not included in the announced prices. Travel to Saint Petersburg will be by first-class train, costing 200 dollars and taking 3 hours, while travel to Yekaterinburg and Volgograd will be by air, taking about two and a quarter hours from Moscow, though its prices have not yet been finalized. The trip includes watching the matches only in each city, without staying at its hotels.
Airlines
Sedky pointed out that since there are no direct flights between Egypt and Russia on EgyptAir or Aeroflot, seats have been booked on 5 airlines, namely Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. The trip will include departure from and return to Cairo or Alexandria with a transit in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah in the UAE, Vienna in Austria, Frankfurt in Germany, or Istanbul in Turkey, depending on the airline.
A table, exclusive to Travel Yalla News, of the prices and dates of the 2018 World Cup in Russia trip programmes offered by Travco Holidays:
Trip dates | Length of stay | Airline (outbound - return) | Matches | Russian cities | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 11 to 20 | 9 days/8 nights | Etihad (Cairo - Abu Dhabi - Moscow) | June 15 Egypt - Uruguay | Yekaterinburg | 39,000 pounds |
June 19 Egypt - Russia | Saint Petersburg | ||||
June 14 to 24 | 11 days/10 nights | Emirates (Cairo - Dubai - Moscow) | June 15 Egypt - Uruguay | Yekaterinburg | 39,900 pounds |
June 19 Egypt - Russia | Saint Petersburg | ||||
June 14 to 25 | 12 days/11 nights | Turkish Airlines (Cairo - Istanbul - Moscow) | June 15 Egypt - Uruguay | Yekaterinburg | 42,000 pounds |
June 19 Egypt - Russia | Saint Petersburg | ||||
June 13 to 25 | 13 days/12 nights | Lufthansa (Cairo - Vienna - Moscow), returning via Frankfurt | June 15 Egypt - Uruguay | Yekaterinburg | 39,000 pounds |
June 19 Egypt - Russia | Saint Petersburg | ||||
June 14 to 26 | 13 days/12 nights | Air Arabia (Alexandria - Sharjah - Moscow) | June 15 Egypt - Uruguay | Yekaterinburg | 39,900 pounds |
June 19 Egypt - Russia | Saint Petersburg | ||||
June 25 Egypt - Saudi Arabia | Volgograd |
The general manager of Travco Holidays stressed that the company was keen to prepare World Cup trip programmes immediately after the draw and the identification of the cities that will host the Egyptian national team, so that they are varied to suit the requirements of a large number of football fans in Egypt. Therefore, programmes ranging from 9 days/8 nights to attend two matches up to 13 days/12 nights to attend all three matches will be offered.
Types of Tickets Available
He noted that the necessary information is available to customers regarding travel arrangements and facilitating the steps, without being swept along by the illusions spreading on social media pages, adding that it is well known that second- and third-category tickets are available only through the official website by ballot, as the FIFA website attracts millions while the stadiums can only accommodate tens of thousands. Accordingly, arrangements were made in advance with international partners to provide match tickets, giving the largest number of fans the opportunity to watch the matches without the hassle of waiting for the ballot results.
Sedky explained that the tickets available through the company's twenty branches are premium tickets of all categories, known internationally as Hospitality Tickets, which include attending the match in a premium seat, in addition to access to a hospitality lounge before the match and at half-time, entry through premium gates, and other benefits in line with each category of the premium and exclusive hospitality tickets.
It is worth noting that last Monday saw the announcement of an alliance between Travco Holidays, Prime Group and Book Your Star International, the exclusive agents for selling World Cup tickets within the Arab Republic of Egypt, under which Travco announces integrated tour packages for travel to Russia to support the Egyptian national team at the 2018 World Cup.
Egypt is scheduled to face Uruguay in the first match on June 15 in Yekaterinburg, Russia in the second on the 19th of the same month in Saint Petersburg, and Saudi Arabia in the third on June 25 in Volgograd.
For his part, Eng. Tamer Wagih, chairman of Prime Group, stressed that one of the important goals of this alliance is to provide an integrated service to the Egyptian public through an Egyptian company with long experience in tourism and travel, and to attract the largest possible number of fans to support our national team so that Egypt and its fans present an honourable image to the world.
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Find out the Russian cities hosting Egypt's matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia
