Tips for traveling to Pearl Jam shows on a budget?

tschav

So last year I decided to make trips (beyond the midwest) to see Pearl Jam in MSG and Fenway, and I can't imagine how much some of the more hardcore fans spend to see them a frequently as they do.

I got some Hot Stove tickets for Boston and looking for advice on the best ways to save some cash when seeing PJ or any band playing out of town. Crash at an AirBNB? Best airline search sites or carriers? Have you slept at an airport after a show? Would love to hear how you guys do it, especially those who travel solo.

Lost In Ohio

The biggest one is don't travel far, but wait for the band to come to you. Yeah, it may not be fun waiting 5-6 years for a "driving show" but the experience will be so much better vs a "this is my 15th show in the past six years" thing.

Honestly, I think a lot of the hardcore fans don't have kids, or if they do, the kids have grown up and are out of the house...or they do the PJ thing as the family vacation.

Travel... look at the budget airlines. Southwest only books via their site and not via sites like kayak.com or others. If possible, consider driving. Even better if you can carpool with other fans. To go along with the "driving shows", it's great when you can sleep in your own bed that night, even if there's a two-hour drive after the show. I'm not sure I'd recommend this, but for Cincinnati 2014, a fan in Toronto left work on Tuesday, drove to the show on Wednesday and then drove back immediately after, getting back in time for Thursday work.

Still, consider passing up shows that you have to fly to.

Merch... Go for the poster and maybe 1-2 other items. Don't go for the "this, that and the $300 of other stuff" routine.

Food/drink... avoid buying the $10 beer in the stadium.

Don't buy tickets at marked-up prices.

I think I did Cincinnati for $150 or so. Ticket, merch, food and travel costs all combined.
Fenway was still doable because I had free lodging courtesy extended family. I had won the tickets, but last-minute airfare killed me, I'm sure. (Ok, so it probably averages out, but whatever.) Luckily, the family member offered to buy my food/beer, so that was more luck on my side, but I bought about 10 posters, two shirts, one flag and one of the sweatbands.

ldent42

a lot of it has to do with your personal comfort level, and travel booking savvy.
Sign up for the free rewards program at least, on whatever airline you are booking. Additionally you can look for credit card with travel perks.
Use Google Flight Search, and try to be flexible with your dates if possible.
AirBnB can be cheaper than hotels. But also just widen your search a bit. Particularly if you're staying in a large city, you can save some money by booking a room that's not right next to the venue. If you are worried about the neighborhood the best thing to do is Google News search the name of the neighborhood you're looking in. Read Trip Adviser reviews, Yelp reviews (not just for the hotel you're looking at but restaurants, etc in the area) Use your judgement.
Also consider looking at hostels. A lot of hostels have private rooms available which can be cheaper than hotels.
If you're not comfortable staying someplace other than a hotel, Look into loyalty programs. Hotels.com used to have this thing where you'd get a free night after 10 nights. Booking.com has this "genius" discount thing but I'm not sure when that activates.
When you are trying to plan out your tour, consider the market. Doing Boston/NYC/Philly is going to cost more than Nashville or Atlanta.

PJNB

We buy everything on our credit card and get areoplan miles and put that toward hotels/flights.

on2legs

I'm lucky enough to live in the northeast and I can hit 4 shows usually within an hour car ride from my house in NJ. But I have four kids and we also try to make a family trip out of show in a city within driving distance. We've taken the kids by car to Toronto, Chicago, Boston, and Baltimore in the last few years. We use credit card points for free hotel rooms and we plan plenty of stuff for the kids to do during the trip so everyone is happy. Usually that involves museums, historic landmarks, zoos, science centers, baseball games, amusement parks, etc. We've taken side trips to places like Niagara Falls and Notre Dame along the way as well. This way the whole family gets a trip out of the deal and we're not just dropping all that cash for one Pearl Jam show. We're really hoping that the band returns to Nashville because I would love to bring everyone down there next.

jerparker20

Last year, I did Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Wrigley 2 for well under $1000. That includes airfare from Minneapolis, tickets to shows, 4 nights of hotels, rental car, food and a couple of beers. Things I do to keep costs down:
- Do some homework on airfare (I use Kayak) and buy tickets sooner rather than later. Waiting until the last minute will ensure you don't get a decent price. If you're willing take a flight that is not direct, with a layover, the prices can be much lower. For the Florida shows, we took indirect flights (MSP to JFK with a three hour layover then to Ft. Lauderdale. Opposite return flight) for $179 round trip.
- Don't stay at a hotel right next to the venue. Find a hotel a few miles away on a public transportation line and take the bus to and from.
- Don't buy beer or food at the venue.
- Get a tour buddy to split costs with.
- Don't bother with merch.

mace1229

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

mcgruff10

mace1229 said:

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

Not necessarily true. I have five kids and hit up four shows last year. In 2014 my wife and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend to see them. 2011 I hit up pj 20 and Toronto 1. It s definitely not as easy as it used to be but you can do it.

buck502000

Use miles for airline tickets and hotel rooms...

CW55354

1. If you have decent credit, get a rewards card. Southwest has one that gets you enough points for a free round trip flight just for signing up. Drawback is they only operate in the continental US and a few spots in the Caribbean and Mexico. If you pay off your card every month, its free money to get you free airfare; and Southwest flights are cheaper with no charges for 2 bags. Way cheaper than the major carriers and no blackout dates.
1a. For major carriers, especially to foreign countries, check flights via http://matrix.itasoftware.com. You can look at a calendar to see what day will be the cheapest to fly. You can save enough to pay for an extra day at the hotel and more by flying a day or 2 earlier, for example.
2. Hotels, you can do the same thing. I have a Hilton Rewards Amex and get about 5 free nights per year. I used SW and Hilton points for TOTD in San Francisco so the trip cost me nothing except for food and tickets/merchandise.
3. Priceline, if you know how to use it right, will get you amazing deals. Go to betterbidding.com. There are 2 tricks you can use there. One is the "calendar of wins" where people post what hotel and what price they won their hotels for. This gives you a good reference for how to bid and what hotel you are likely to get. The second, and more important one is it teaches you how to game the system a bit to make sure you get the hotel at the very lowest bid it will accept. It works best in big cities where they have multiple star levels and zones. It's complicated to explain, but easy to do once you learn how. Will save you $$ big time.

4. Go for tickets in smaller cities. Better chance of winning also means likelihood of closer tenclub seats. Also, usually cheaper hotel, food, etc. when the tours are released, I go for tickets based on the win % posted by ten club.
5. Find a buddy to stand in merch line while you stand in GA line or vice versa. Then there is no anxiety about getting the poster or shirt you want. Lots of people think it's a waste of a morning, but you are literally surrounded by people who share the same passion as you. You can meet and hangout with some pretty cool people. And the locals in line can give you ideas on what else is worth doing in the town you are in.
6. Finally, keep in mind that sometimes a more expensive hotel is a better option if it's closer to the venue or to things you want to do. Renting a car or uber, mass transit can start to add up. Another tip is to find a hotel that offers free breakfast and bonus if they offer a happy hour or evening reception. We stayed 3 days in Boston and had breakfast and dinner free every night. A hotel in Savannah offered a free wine, beer and appetizer happy hour for 2 hours every night. That can save you a ton of money if you are on a budget. Or it will allow you to splurge a little more one night.

Hope this helps.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

mcgruff10 said:

mace1229 said:

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

Not necessarily true. I have five kids and hit up four shows last year. In 2014 my wife and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend to see them. 2011 I hit up pj 20 and Toronto 1. It s definitely not as easy as it used to be but you can do it.

But the thing that really needs to be taken from this post is...

Scruffy procreated. And not just once.

mcgruff10

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

mace1229 said:

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

Not necessarily true. I have five kids and hit up four shows last year. In 2014 my wife and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend to see them. 2011 I hit up pj 20 and Toronto 1. It s definitely not as easy as it used to be but you can do it.

But the thing that really needs to be taken from this post is...

Scruffy procreated. And not just once.

Lol. That was a good one!

Thirty Bills Unpaid

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

mace1229 said:

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

Not necessarily true. I have five kids and hit up four shows last year. In 2014 my wife and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend to see them. 2011 I hit up pj 20 and Toronto 1. It s definitely not as easy as it used to be but you can do it.

But the thing that really needs to be taken from this post is...

Scruffy procreated. And not just once.

Lol. That was a good one!

Lol

Sorry. I just really wanted to be an idiot this morning. I'm killing time and procrastinating before I go fall down a mountain on my bike (1st ride of the year for 'me and me and me and me and my friends'- RHCP Vancouver).

If you don't see any posts for a while from me... you know what has happened.

(Weird... I just went to submit this post and a red warning popped up saying I've attempted to post 5X in the last 20 seconds... and now need to wait 120 seconds before I can post this really profound one)

RoleModelsinBlood31

Strap bags of wine to your body with cinch belts. You'll save your whole row money at the show and meet lots of cool folks.

Weston1283

- Take the cheap 5 am flights
- sleep in the airport
- Don't drink

mcgruff10

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

mcgruff10 said:

mace1229 said:

If you want to travel and see PJ, don't have kids!

Not necessarily true. I have five kids and hit up four shows last year. In 2014 my wife and I flew to St. Louis for the weekend to see them. 2011 I hit up pj 20 and Toronto 1. It s definitely not as easy as it used to be but you can do it.

But the thing that really needs to be taken from this post is...

Scruffy procreated. And not just once.

Lol. That was a good one!

Lol

Sorry. I just really wanted to be an idiot this morning. I'm killing time and procrastinating before I go fall down a mountain on my bike (1st ride of the year for 'me and me and me and me and my friends'- RHCP Vancouver).

If you don't see any posts for a while from me... you know what has happened.

(Weird... I just went to submit this post and a red warning popped up saying I've attempted to post 5X in the last 20 seconds... and now need to wait 120 seconds before I can post this really profound one)

If you get lost let me know and I ll be there in about three days to save you.

Odd.... i tried to reply and I got the same message. What the heck?

Gorgeous day here in Jersey...got to be twenty five times as nice where you are!

shortstack

eat beans

rattzey

We always try to get a room with some kind of kitchenette, then we hit Safeway or Costco for food and beer and we don't eat out. I wait till after the show to really get into the beers, maybe a few at a pre party but that's about it. My wife works for an airline so that helps too!

red mos

I love traveling to see shows, not just PJ. I do it as cheaply as possible. I usually go to shows in my state, and megabus for the ride if needed. I usually stay with friends( no lodging-hotel fee). If we do stay in a hotel, we do it cheap. Drove to Tulsa 2014, stayed the night in a best value inn for 60 bucks in OKC, ate a $5 grand slam breakfast at Denny's right across the street, then drove to Tulsa the next morning. Stayed in a hotel similar. My friends and I make a mini vacation out of it. Hit up casinos and play nickel slots/ penny slots just to have fun.

Have done Jazzfest in NOLA the same way 3x. Stayed at an knights inn, in Kennner,and split the hotel bill. We have easily gotten a room with Two beds for a few days for very cheap like knight inn or best value inns. You just have to look online,and at what you want to spend. Food and beer is simple, eat cheap,(usually 1 big meal with bill split but I also budget. I also save up all the change I have, per day, and that adds up. People are amazed when I tell them that most of the money comes from a huge bucket of change. When we get ready to travel to a show, I cash it in and put it in an envelope with the rest of money I save from paychecks. When we flew for jazzfest, we did the entire trip (plane, took the 6am red eye flight), hotel, car rental). That ended up being $500 a peice. That does excludewe we spent on food, merch, casino. But getting there, with all the basic things needed to be taken care of we did it for $500 a peice. Did PJ in Dallas, Tulsa, and OKC, the same way.

2-feign-reluctance

Connect with board friends & share a room & some Taco Bell.

bootlegger10

Like others have said...look for cheapest flights, car pool if possible, and book cheaper hotels that are further away from the venue. Every other cost is what you would be spending if they came to your city. Like one person mentioned though, staying further away from the action may end up being more expensive as far as cab and rental car costs, along with wasted time getting to and from. If you can spare it get the hotel that is convenient.

Zod

When I was younger. If went to a show at the Gorge in Portland where the transportation time (car and ferry) was over 5 to 6 hours, we'd simply skip sleeping Or try to. We'd drive back after the show. If I started to nod off we'd pull over at a rest area and snooze for an hour. The 20 year old broker version of me had an aversion to paying for hotels.

When we did. After Portland 2000 we drove to Boise through the night. We got to the hotel at something stupid early like 7 or 8. They let us check in early so we all crashed out. It was like getting 2 nights for the price of 1.

Now that I'm older, I don't have it in me to do stuff like this. I tend to use hotels more liberally now. If I travel outside my regular zone then it's usually where I have friends and a place to crash. IF you have to get a hotel trying to find a cheaper one (or airbnb) and limit nights.

Back in the day whenever we went to Vancouver/Seattle shows we'd stay up as long as we could at Tim Horton's, and then crash in the ferry lineup waiting for the first sailing the next morning.

I guess the short answer is if you want to be really cheap and it's in driving distance. Substitute hotels for overnight driving binges

hsohi

Depending on location or time of the year I skip the hotel experience and instead sleep under the stars in a local park. Amazing the things you see and hear.

mr bungle

don't get in the merch line!

foodboy

its easy if you can't afford it don't do it. i don't buy merch. fly on air miles or points like i did for philly 1. try to drive and cheap motel it

FoxyRedLa

I consider a local show an 8 hour drive. Anything past that I'm pushing it if there were a family emergency. So saying that I only drive and I'll cut shows that are 8 hours out in any direction. I will string shows together. I've done PIT to Buff. Ughh Cincin to St Louis. You get the point. I come in the night of the show and leave early the next morning. So no food or drinks. I bring my own cooler. Sandwiches pop chips easy done. Water tea.

Next tour I may have to add loaner vehicle costs in. I have blown out my milage in my buggy.

rgambs

Don't stay in a hotel, camp at a campground or RV park...You save half or more of your money. Drive to the closest Walmart or whatever with a big parking lot and walk, bus, or cab the rest of the way to the venue...Short cab or bus ride is often half the price to park.
Flights just aren't cheap when your timeframe isn't flexible, drive anything less than 6 hours.
Skip the bars and restaurants, take a good friend with you and split booze and food by a nice little campfire for the pre and post show festivities.

tschav

Lots of great advice. Thanks for everything you've posted so far.

I've been getting more in tune with credit card points/rewards stuff (blogs like The Points Guy) and can get a Boston hotel for $150/night using points vs paying $350+ in cash. Flights are definitely going to be rough but ways to cut back on taxis/restaurants/bars are all good.

Lost In Ohio

Weston1283 said:

- Take the cheap 5 am flights
- sleep in the airport
- Don't drink

I'm pretty sure one and two mean three is gonna happen.

Weston1283

Lost In Ohio said:

Weston1283 said:

- Take the cheap 5 am flights
- sleep in the airport
- Don't drink

I'm pretty sure one and two mean three is gonna happen.

Hotels just aren't worth it to me. A hotel is a flight or a ticket to another show

my2hands

Weston1283 said:

Lost In Ohio said:

Weston1283 said:

- Take the cheap 5 am flights
- sleep in the airport
- Don't drink

I'm pretty sure one and two mean three is gonna happen.

Hotels just aren't worth it to me. A hotel is a flight or a ticket to another show

Dont you want to spend some time in the place you are visiting? That's half the fun of our PJ road trips, checking out places and cities along the way