If you live in the Maritimes, all Blue Jays games are away games. I’m not a big sports fan myself but I know how devoted some people are to their chosen teams. So, I thought I’d see what’s available (as of today) to Blue Jays games considering the cost of the flight, hotel and availability of baseball tickets.
Airfare to Toronto
Airfares Halifax to Toronto have been awfully high lately. The cheapest summer fare at the moment is $416.
Airfares to Toronto from New Brunswick are much better. The lowest fares are available on many dates so if you have some flexibility, you can go when hotel rates might be a bit cheaper and see weekday games which tend to have better ticket availability.
Here are a couple of examples:
Aug. 7-11 Moncton to Toronto $333 Air Canada (Pearson) Aug. 8-11 $327 Porter (Toronto City) – Jays vs. Rays Aug. 8-10.
Aug. 23-27 Fredericton to Toronto $307 WestJet – Jays vs. Angels Aug. 23-25 .
Fares Saint John to Toronto are also in the $321-338 range through August on Air Canada to either Pearson (YYZ) or Toronto City airport (YTZ).
Like Halifax, the lowest fares from Charlottetown are $416+.
Accommodation in Toronto
Sometimes scoring a hotel deal means finding an upscale hotel charging the same rates as the midscale hotels. The Fairmont Royal York has a special Blue Jays Homerun Rate for guests who have a ticket stub for a game the date of arrival or departure. On both August example dates above, the rate would be $179 for a Fairmont Queen – Traditional Decor. The rate requires a non-refundable one night deposit. Join Fairmont President’s Club to get free wifi. The advance purchase rates Aug. 7-11 at the Holiday Inn Express Toronto Downtown and Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Downtown are $180 and $175 respectively.
Baseball Tickets
Family members recently bought Blue Jays tickets for the August, 28th game. There were very few sets of 2 seats available on the lower levels. They bought the “best available” option which was in the upper level for $30 each. The game is on a Sunday with a giveaway promotion happening. However, when I checked a couple of the weekday games on the dates above, the availability was much better.
Other Cities
Fares to many U.S. cities have been pretty good recently. Here are some fares from Halifax to a couple of game destinations:
Cleveland Aug. 18-22 $385 United or American
The Doubletree by Hilton Cleveland Downtown – Lakeside has an advance purchase sale rate of $134 USD for Hilton Hhonors members. It’s in a great location near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and less than a mile from Progressive Field. Shuttle transportation is available if you don’t want to walk. (If you have elite status with another hotel chain, and have proof of a stay with that chain, Hilton will match your status to Gold or Diamond and a benefit is free breakfast.) The Wyndham Cleveland at Playhouse Square has a Swing Batter Batter Swing rate that includes breakfast and a $15 food or merchandise credit for Progressive field but it currently has no availability on Aug. 20. (Games Aug. 19-21)
Similar to the Toronto weekend games, these games have promotions with giveaways but there are still tickets available at various prices.
Anaheim Sept. 14-20 $508 United
Two of the nearby hotels are the Comfort Inn & Suites with a CAA rate of $112 USD and the Staybridge Suites with a CAA rate of $117 USD. Both have complimentary hot breakfast. These hotels are about halfway between Angels Stadium and…Disneyland! And there is lots of availability for tickets to the ball games. (Games Sept. 15-18)
Anyway, there it is. Not quite a home run as far as deals go, but at least a base hit, maybe.
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