Travel to Houston for World Cup could cost travelers thousands

The world’s largest sporting event will descend upon Houston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup beginning next month, bringing a flood of international visitors to the Bayou City. Those visitors will need to pay a pretty penny to watch their home nation take the pitch at what is now called Houston Stadium.

Just how much will the cross-continent trip cost visitors from the seven nations set to play Group Play matches in Houston? Prices vary by nation, but a common theme arises. Get ready to shell out big bucks.

Flights to get to Houston cost upwards of $600—far more if visitors aren’t willing to suffer through multiple layovers—and the cheapest match tickets on the secondary market often run upwards of $400 (tickets via FIFA as the direct seller are either unavailable, or only available for “pitchside lounge,” tickets, which begin at $1,700).

Getting to Houston and enjoying a World Cup match is no easy ask for international visitors, though we at Chron want to help those willing to bite the bullet and pay up for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Want the cheapest route to Houston Stadium from one of the seven nations set to play in Houston next month? Check out flight prices, routes and ticket prices below. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $804 (from Berlin)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $440 (via Seatgeek)

Germany’s World Cup opener vs. Curaçao has a (relatively) cheap match price of $440, with a seat located in the top deck of Houston Stadium (consider that the case for all of the listed match prices below). Getting to Houston will be the more expensive cost. Flights from Berlin to Houston on June 11 or 12 check in at $804 at the cheapest, taking passengers from Berlin to Frankfurt to Seattle to Houston. Want to eliminate one leg of the trip? Pay $935, then go from Berlin to London to Houston. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $674 
Cheapest game ticket cost: $440 (via Seatgeek)

The trip from Curaçao International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) isn’t as arduous as one would think. Simply slap down nearly $700, then take an hour flight from Curaçao to Panama. Wait for a one-hour layover, then take the four-hour flight from Panama to IAH. Not exactly hellish travel, especially compared to many of the treks below.  

Cheapest flight ticket price: $928 (from Kinshasa)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $637 (via Seatgeek)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s club will make Houston its home for much of this summer, using the city as its World Cup base camp. Will DR Congo’s players be joined by a wave of fellow countrymen in Houston? Not unless they want to pay more than residents of almost any other nation competing in Houston. 

DR Congo gets a double dip of price pain. Its lone Houston match is against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, and travel accommodations aren’t exactly cheap, nor easy. Travelers can pay a cool $928 for a 30-hour journey, which goes from Kinshasa (DR Congo’s capital) to Angola to Qatar and, finally, to IAH.

Seeing DR Congo in Houston? Pricey. Seeing DR Congo pull off an upset over Portugal after waiting 52 years to even enter the tournament? Priceless. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $865 (from Lisbon)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $637 (via Seatgeek)

Ronaldo’s potential last World Cup creates a rise in ticket prices for Portugal’s pair of matches on June 17 and June 23 (Portugal is the only nation with two guaranteed matches in Houston). It’s also not exactly cheap to make the trip from Portugal to Houston to see the all-time great on the world’s stage. Travelers can choose a one-layover trip from Lisbon to London to IAH, though that requires an overnight London layover. There’s a similarly-priced option with no overnight layover, though that journey takes passengers from Lisbon to London to Dallas to IAH. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $970 (from Amsterdam)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $460 (via Seatgeek)

It may cost you nearly $1,500 in travel-plus-ticket fees, but at least the travel schedule is rather easy, with a flight that goes from Amsterdam to Dallas, then Dallas to Houston. You won’t even lose a day in the process, leaving at 10:55 a.m. Amsterdam time, and landing at 6 p.m. CT. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $905 (via Stockholm)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $460 (via Seatgeek)

The travel isn’t quite as easy as Amsterdam to Houston, but a similarly smooth route awaits those in Sweden hoping to reach Houston for the World Cup. Travelers can take the two-hour flight from Stockholm to Helsinki, then make their way stateside with a stop in Dallas preceding the final landing in Houston. Swedish travelers will start their day at 7:15 a.m. Stockholm time, then land at Houston’s Hobby Airport at 6:18 p.m. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $794 (from Tashkent)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $793 (via Seatgeek)

I feel for the Uzbek fans who will have to pay a premium to watch their home nation in Houston thanks to Ronaldo and Portugal as the opponent. Perhaps a one-layover travel day will help ease the pain felt in their wallets. Travelers can fly from Tashkent to Dubai, then fly directly to IAH after a three-hour layover, making for a relatively easy journey compared to other nations descending upon Houston. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $852 (via Riyadh)
Cheapest game ticket cost: $159 (via Seatgeek)

Traveling from Saudi Arabia to Houston requires just one layover in Dubai, with a smooth trip despite the admittedly high price tag. That cost is offset by the cheapest match in the Bayou City in June, with prices to enter Houston Stadium for Saudi Arabia vs. Cape Verde checking in at just $159. 

Cheapest flight ticket price: $853
Cheapest game ticket cost: $159 (via Seatgeek)

Cape Verde is a small island off the west coast of Africa, the most remote of the seven nations competing in Houston. It’s not impossible to get to Houston from Cape Verde, however. Travelers would need to take four flights to get to Houston, beginning with a trip from Nelson Mandela Praia International Airport on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde to Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon. Stops in Montreal, then Newark follow, with a final flight from Newark to IAH. 

Any Cape Verde travelers who find their way to Houston deserve to be commended. Perhaps they’ll see their nation make history with a victory in their first-ever World Cup match.