Rotterdam 2020 - Travel and Accommodation Tips
Last night Rotterdam was announced as the Eurovision 2020 host city and immediately fans began looking at how they would get there and where they would stay.
Accommodation
Now in the immediate aftermath of the host city being announced, hotel prices have rocketed. In central Rotterdam rooms right now are going for $1,000 - $2,000 a night at least.
Tips from Eurovision veterans and ourselves as that this number will come down. Don't pay this much for a hotel room, even at Eurovision.
If you don't want to risk it book in the towns and city close by. Rotterdam and the Ahoy Arena can be reached in under 30 mins from many close by centres. Places recommended to us by Dutch fans have been The Hague, Delft, Leiden, Gouda (yes the cheese place) and Dordrecht.
The same issue comes up in host cities constantly. Tel Aviv was maxed out straight after but when we looked again in February this year, plenty of rooms at a decent price became available. So bottom line is... DON'T PANIC!
Flights
If you are flying into the UK from Australia you can fly directly to Rotterdam-The Hague airport from London City Airport. You can also get the Train which takes around 3 hours.
Other destinations that serve Rotterdam-The Hague are Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Mallorca, Girona and Split. So basically if you want some beach and sun time before (or after) you can fly directly.
If you are flying directly in from Australia to The Netherlands, you will need to fly to Amsterdam and then train it from there. Flights right now are around $1,000 to $1,500 so there are definitely deals worth taking.
That's also the case for most other major cities in Europe - fly to Amsterdam and train or train it directly.
In any case, take your time, do your research and don't panic.
Tickets
Tickets will go on sale later this year. In previous years this has been October/November but at times has gone out till February.