Mexico City and Azteca
Planning on spending about 5 days In Mexico City in late March, mainly to watch the USA-Mexico world cup qualifying match at Azteca. Can anyone give information on when tickets will be available for sale and what the best way to buy them is? I imagine it will be sold out, so waiting isn't a good idea. But all I've seen so far are brokers sites say they sell tickets, but they also indicate they won't be available for mailing or pickup until the week of the match. Don't really want to pay the markup either. Also don't want to go through one of the supporters groups that ask for membership, although I might if that's the best option.I was also looking for hotels in the Coyoacan area, but there does not seem to be much available. Anyone have a recommendation on a hotel in that area for around US$75 a night?
Finally, any hidden gems in Mexico City for sight seeing. Plan on seeing the major stuff, like the Zocalo, Teotihuacan, etc. But are there any cool museums or areas that are nice to just hang out around and see city life?
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I keep adding to this map: http://goo.gl/maps/8sKxN2
Hi there,I hope I can help you a little. I've been renting an apartment in Coyoacan for the past month so I'm fairly familiar with the area. There aren't really any hotels that I know of around the downtown area. We stayed at a hostel called Cuija Coyoacan for 2 nights and I thought it was great. There have both dorm and private rooms for pretty good prices. You are a 15 minute walk from the metro and a 15 - 20 minute walk to the downtown area. You are also really close to the Frida Kahlo museum which is worth a visit.
As for the USA-Mexico game, we went to the Jamaica-Mexico game last night and we bought our tickets online at ticketmaster.mx earlier this week and then picked them up at a Ticketmaster outlet in downtown Coyoacan. The stadium was half full and the seats were general admission, so I can't imagine the tickets would sell out. The more expensive seats seemed to be virtually empty. I don't think you'd have to buy from a scalper, but I'm far from an expert so I could be wrong. My guess is that the tickets aren't on sale yet. You could always try calling ticketmaster to ask them
A couple pieces of advice for when you do get to the game, security is pretty tight. They won't let you in with any large bags so you'll have to pay to check it at a little kiosk if you do have one. Also they don't let you in with any scarves or belts, so leave those at home as well. There is food served in the stadium, but you would be way better off to eat somewhere else before hand as the prices are very inflated. If you do end up with general admission seats, arrive at least an hour early so you can get a really good spot.
Roma and Condesa are cool neighborhoods to go for dinner or drinks. Very cool places to just hang out. Coyoacan is pretty good as well.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
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Hidden gems abound. As above, Roma and Condesa are far from hidden gems but may be off the radar from tourists focused on Centro Historico. Specifically, strolling/lounging/eating/drinking along Av. Amsterdam and Parque Mexico in Condesa and Calle Orizaba in Roma are among my DF highlights. As I mentioned in a previous post, Cantina Covadonga on Av. Puebla is a lot of fun if in the area later at night. The terrasse on the roof of the Porrúa bookstore at the corner of Argentina and Doncelas behind the Cathedral is a nice respite from the busy-ness of the Centro. Same goes for the upstairs bar at the nearby Centro Cultural de Espana. There are more museums in Mexico City than pretty much any other city on Earth...6
Please be careful. We went to a qualifier match between USA and Mexico. Even though Mexico won riot police were called to escort USA fans out of the stadium. We were spat upon and bags of urine were thrown on us form the upper tiers. They also threw firecrackers on our flag. We attended a USA Jamaica quaifier in Kingston, Jamaica. USA won and the locals were so nice. Likewise, we went to a qualifier match in Costa Rica and the locals were rowdy but friendly.7
laughingabroad and lambskin, thanks for the azteca advice.laughing, do they really check everyone for a belt? Were people being asked to take them off? And what about small camera bags, were those aloud? Was bottled water checked for or allowed in?
lambskin, I've heard about that stuff, will be careful, but I'm going to think happy thoughts and assume it's just a minority. I'm more interested in how you got tickets? Part of a group or independently?
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Yes, they were checking everyone for belts and scarves. I had a very small purse and got in no problem. My boyfriend was able to fit his camera bag in his jacket pocket (although they did open it and check it out before letting him in) so he brought it in. I don't believe they will let you in with a water bottle but I might be wrong...either way a water bottle won't set you back too much if you buy it there (by US standards anyways).If it was me going, I would probably avoid wearing anything that suggests you are not cheering for Mexico. I don't think you'll get hurt but you will likely get harassed and draw unnecessary attention to yourself. I saw people getting yelled and booed at just because they were leaving the game early....therefore "deserting" their team. So you can see how patriotic the people are.
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ticketmaster.com.mx is the way to go. You won't get hurt at the Azteca but surely you'll get a booed. (not as much as Landon D. when he gets his name announced through the local sound, though). Cameras and small bags are O.K. No pointy objects such as flag poles, and belts have already been mentioned. It is standard procedure that the police escorts the rival cheering fans (who are usually placed in the upper corner section of the stadium) out a few minutes before the match ends.I attended the final game of the U17 WC a couple of years ago and it was fun. Mexico played against Uruguay and there were like 10 Uruguayan fans in the whole stadium! They were great and although they were booed too it was all in good fun. They were even signaling for the booing to get louder, like daring us, LOL! Those Uruguayans eat, sleep, dream football, you could tell. They weren't attacked or anything like that and Mexican fans around them took pictures with them and all.
I must say the rivalry with the US team is a different matter, just be sure not to make fun of us locals in case (God forbid!...kidding... not.) the US scores.
