What is a Mystery Football Trip?

Covert Football Trips launched in October 2019 adding a unique twist to groundhopping.  In a nutshell it’s a Mystery Football Trip where you only find out after you have booked, which country you are visiting and which match/matches you are attending.  We’ve put together this article to hopefully explain exactly what you get with our packages and how it all works.

 

Mystery Football Weekend

Background

Lot’s of people ask me where the idea came from.  Quite simply it’s the things I have enjoyed most in life – Football, Travel and Mystery.  I will explain all three parts.

I have been attending matches abroad for 15 years, each one offering a different experience.  Whilst the motivation was always to see a match, rarely would I fly straight in and out, using time either side of the football to enjoy the city I was visiting.  I could recall dozens of stories however one that always springs to mind in going to see Dinamo Bucharest v Everton in a Europa League qualification match.  The result ending in a 5-1 drubbing.

The day before the match we headed 30 miles north of Bucharest with a local taxi driver who took us to Snagov Monastery, the last know burial site for Vlad The Impaler.  This was situated in deep forest only a local person could find.  He brought us to a small island where we all got out of the car.  It was eerily silent however the driver stood on the bank of the lake and shouted what I assume was “Hello”.  After a short wait and no response he did so again.  This time a young man appeared and rowed a small boat across to us.  After exchanging some small local currency, our new guide rowed us across the water to the monument.  We couldn’t access it, however we were able to peer through the keyhole at a large tomb, known to be the last resting place of Vlad the Impaler.  It really was an amazing experience in the heart of Transylvania which only occurred because of a football fixture.

 

Snagov Monastery, a place to visit on any trip to Romania

 

Looking for Vlad The Impaler’s Tomb ahead of a football match in Bucharest.

 

So where does the Mystery element come in?  Each year for the last decade I have been part of a group of normally 20 people from our Norwich Round Table group who descend on the local airport with an overnight bag and a passport only to be told the destination at the airport itself.  This has taken us to some fascinating cities, and usually the football fans amongst us disappear at some point to squeeze in a football match.  Last year we ended up in Bremen and whilst Werder were not at home, we were able to get to see Werder Bremen II play instead followed up with a day trip to Hamburg on the Sunday to watch St Pauli.  It’s this surprise element that I love, on the Friday I had no idea even which country I was going to, and by Sunday I had added two more German grounds to my list.

 

What is a Covert Football Trip?

This mystery trip allowed us to watch Werder Bremen II

 

It was a flight back from Kiev when I had the lightbulb moment.   My wife and I had just returned from a trip to visit Chernobyl and I turned to her with my idea.  My thought was surely I cannot not be the only football fan that also loves a mystery trip.  Essentially Covert Football Trips was formed by bolting together those two things.  My perfect weekend was now to be offered to others!

 

What Is Included with a Covert Football Trip?

When asking What Is a Covert Football Trip? clearly the main query is what is included!  There are three main aspects to the package.  Return Flights, Hotels and Match Tickets are all included.  Some football companies provide the tickets, or sometimes tickets and hotel with the flights being your own responsibility.  That’s not the case with ourselves, we book the flights and are included within the cost.  The only items not included in your trip are transfers to and from the airport and any airport parking, these are your responsibility.

 

Is my Football Trip Protected?

It is vital that you know who you are booking with.  Covert Football Trips is fully compliant with package travel regulations and holds an ATOL license which protects your booking.

 

ATOL is the UK’s financial protection scheme and protects you when you when book a holiday with us. Our license number is 11688.

 

How Simple Is The Booking process?

We don’t think this could be any simpler.  Once you have identified the weekend you wish to travel, it’s a simple matter of heading to our website www.covertfootballtrips.co.uk and going through the booking process.

 

Which Airports do we travel from?

The country is split into zones.  Once you have chosen the weekend, next you select the airport group you wish to travel from.  Your departing airport and airport you return to are always the same so you have no complexities when it comes to transfers and parking.

As an example the “LONDON” zone could include Heathrow, Gatwick or London City Airport,

 

What are the Different Packages?

Sporting Package

The Sporting Package is our most popular and lowest priced Mystery Football Trip.  MYSTERY really is the focus here with any of 14 countries potentially your destination.  This could include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or Slovakia.  An ideal package for someone who has already visited many grounds and wants a new experience.

This is a 2 night trip always departing on a Friday and returning on a Sunday.  There is the option of adding a third night in the booking process.

Match tickets are always seated together, you do not have to pay extra for this service.  You are also able to choose seating or standing as a preference however this is always stadium dependent.

Mystery Football Trip

 

Sparta Package

The Sparta Package is for those specifically seeking a match in one of the BIG 3 Leagues, either the Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A.

This is a 2 night trip always departing on a Friday or Saturday (we choose) and returning on a Sunday or Monday.

Match tickets are always seated together, you do not have to pay extra for this service.  You are also able to choose seating or standing as a preference however this is always stadium dependent.

Mystery Football Trip

 

Dynamo Package

The Dynamo Package is again for those specifically seeking a match is one of the BIG 3 Leagues, either the Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A.

This is a 2 night trip always departing on a Friday or Saturday and returning on a Sunday or Monday.  The difference between this and the Sparta Package is that YOU choose the preferred days.

Match tickets are always seated together, you do not have to pay extra for this service.  You are also able to choose seating or standing as a preference however this is always stadium dependent.

Mystery Football Trip

 

Fortuna Package

The Fortuna Package is again for those specifically seeking a match is one of the BIG 3 Leagues, either the Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A.

This is a 3 night trip always departing on a Friday and returning on a Monday.

Match tickets are always seated together, you do not have to pay extra for this service.  You are also able to choose seating or standing as a preference however this is always stadium dependent.

Mystery Football Trip

Forza Package

The Forza Package is our biggest package consisting of a 3 night trip always departing on a Friday and returning on a Monday.  The pièce de résistance is that it includes tickets to TWO matches!  One of these matches may be a lower league match to fit in appropriately.

This is an extension to the Sporting Package so could include a trip to any of 14 destinations from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or Slovakia.

Match tickets are always seated together, you do not have to pay extra for this service.  You are also able to choose seating or standing as a preference however this is always stadium dependent.

Mystery Football Trip

Are the trips good value for money?

Making your Mystery Football Trip good value for money is a key objective.  Where we make savings we pass this onto you by investing into other parts of the package.  This could mean a hotel upgrade, higher grade match ticket or better seats on the plane.  When we book your package we are looking at providing the best possible experience from every angle.  We want you to return and recommend us after all!

As a travel agent we have access to thousands of hotels at special rates which allow us to build a package which cannot be beaten.  We are also on trust-pilot so please read our reviews.

Finally, many trips are built on our own experiences so we really can make it a perfect trip for you.

 

How Else Can I Bespoke My Trip?

We ask you during the booking process to identify and list up to three football stadiums that you don’t wish to visit.  This could be because you have visited before or just don’t want to go somewhere.  We will always ensure that we do not send you to these stadiums.

When you book your Mystery Football Trip, you are also asked what is important on your trip.  For example, what is THE most important factor, is it the size of the stadium, the importance of the match, or even the vibrancy of the City you visit?  This helps us create the perfect Mystery for you.

Finally, you also choose the airport group you wish to depart and return to.  This is done by selecting the geographical group which best suits.

 

During the booking process you can list three grounds which you don’t want to visit.

 

Choose the airport group which best suits your party.

When Is The Mystery Destination Revealed?

We normally advise customers of their destination 3-4 weeks before departure.  It is rarely earlier than this due to ensuring fixtures are not changed for TV purposes.  However in a recent twitter poll the majority of people said they would prefer to have their destination revealed at the airport for maximum effect!  This is something we are happy to look at on an individual basis dependent on where in the UK you are based.

All your information is provided in a “Reveal Package” where, if you want a simple method of having your destination revealed, we will post this to you.  The pack contains all your accommodation details, flight information and match tickets.  We also go a step further in providing full details of how best to travel to the hotel and stadium along with tips to make your trip even better.

 

Mystery Football Weekend

Full details of your trip including all tickets are provided in our exciting package weeks before departure!

 

When Can I Book?

Right now, our Mystery Football Weekends are out of stock until such time that fans can return to football in enough destinations.

In the meantime we do have a “Shirt Only” Package available where you can book yourself a Mystery Weekend and in lieu of the match tickets we supply Football Shirts instead!  It’s still incredible value!

We will also have a new package launching when we open our main packages up again.  To make sure you receive information and discounts for this please register on the homepage of our website here

Finally, please take a look at our YouTube Channel where you can see some of our own experiences.  We have only just launched this and would appreciate it if you could subscribe to this too.

I hope this has been helpful in understanding our concept and we hope to cater for your ground-hopping needs soon on a Mystery Football Trip!