‘Eat Bratwurst and get a bus,’ Race Across the World winner says to England fans

Are you sitting in your Ollie Watkins shirt desperately refreshing an internet search for cheap flights to Berlin?

If roaring Three Lions in your local pub on Sunday is not going to cut it and you absolutely have to get to Germany, Alfie Watts, one half of the winning duo from this year’s fourth series of the BBC’s Race Across the World says you can do it – if you are prepared to go the long way.

The football referee and his best friend, Owen Wood, travelled 9,320 miles (15,000km) across six countries in East Asia, starting in Japan and finishing in Lombok, Indonesia – all without smartphones, bank cards or the internet.

Getting a ticket to watch England versus Spain at the Olympiastadion is now almost impossible, unless you are prepared to pay upwards of £2,000.

But anyone making a last-minute dash can still soak up the atmosphere and watch on the big screens in Berlin’s designated fanzones for free.

For Watts, making the trip on a shoestring budget is definitely doable – as if you leave as soon as possible and are comfortable with long bus journeys.

On Race Across the World, he and Wood were one of five duos competing to win £20,000 by travelling across nine countries, with a budget of just £1,390 (the price of what would be a one-way plane ticket) which could be spent on food and transportation – but with no flights allowed.

Anyone seeking to make a similar journey to the final of the Euros, the key to keeping costs down may be staying out of Germany’s capital city until absolutely necessary, Watts says.

“The way you’ve got to think about it is things are going to get a lot more expensive the closer you get to Berlin,” he says.

He suggests staying outside the city centre to avoid inflated food and accommodation prices.

“I’ve heard it’s carnage out there.”

“I’ve just looked up buses to Berlin and sometimes you can get them for £30, obviously at the moment they’re £170,” he says.

“They know what they’re doing – your best bet is getting to France and then coaching it through central Europe.”

FlixBus is offering a journey from London Victoria to Berlin via a Dover to Calais ferry crossing, and a change of coach in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, for £131, leaving at 08:00 BST on Saturday, arriving 21 hours and 55 minutes later at 06:55 on Sunday.

You could opt for a speedier route via Eurostar to Brussels, Belgium, take an ICE train to Cologne, Germany and another ICE service to Berlin, but it will set you back £350, according to Trainline, and get you to Berlin in just under 10 hours.

Watts recommends looking at bus routes from London to either Brussels or Amsterdam and then onwards to Berlin.

“But if you want to fly, head to somewhere like Gdansk, and then get a bus… it’s definitely going to take a while, but all roads lead to Berlin.”

A quick look on Friday afternoon for flights from London to Berlin show direct routes almost totally sold out – but with options available for about £200 for those willing to endure a lengthy layover in somewhere like Turkey.

For Watts, once you arrive in the capital – hopefully in time for kick off – enjoying the football should not be too expensive.

Supporters should head to one of the official Uefa fan zones, which are by the parliament and the Brandenburg Gate in the centre of the city.

Large screens will be broadcasting the event live, and no tickets are required.

And what about bringing a travel companion?

“If you do take someone with you, they need to have a lot of patience because it will be a long journey,” says Watts.

He would “obviously” take Owen, his Race Across the World partner, saying “I haven’t really got a choice”.

Despite the epic scale of their journey, the pair managed to leave the show with their friendship intact.

“You need someone you can sit on a bus in silence with.”

Watt’s other money saving tip is to avoid paying over the odds for food.

“Germany is brilliant for food markets, they’re safe and cheap so get food there,” he says.

“Avoid chains and city centres, eat like the locals – have a Bratwurst to keep you going and soak up the atmosphere.”

• Collect cups: Every plastic cup you hand back at the Uefa fanzone or stadium gets you €3, so if you are savvy about picking up discards you could recoup the cost of your matchday ticket, beer money and more. The BBC’s Kris Holland did this and made €600!
• Go big on the hotel breakfasts: Many continental breakfasts work in a buffet style, so if your morning meal is provided with your accommodation it could be a good idea to fuel up for the day ahead
• Make the most of your Euros fan pass: If you bought a match ticket, you have also got a fan pass which, once downloaded, gives you free travel from 06:00 on your matchday until 18:00 the following day. The pass covers both public transport within the host city and also regional rail travel on the relevant network