3 Ways to Save Money On Your Last-Minute World Cup Trip to Toronto

As someone visiting the city during the World Cup, you’re about to see Toronto at its best — vibrant, diverse, glittering — and its worst — congested, frustrating and absurdly expensive.

I’ve lived here for over a decade so I’ve seen the city get busy before. The Oasis and Taylor Swift tours attracted out-of-towners in droves. Each year, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival draws a heaving international crowd that dwarfs the 300,000 visitors expected to descend on the city while the World Cup’s here.

Whenever the city kicks into overdrive, so does the cost of enjoying it. It’s an inevitable trade-off, but you do have some control over the severity of the financial hangover you'll leave town with.

If that’s a concern — and it probably should be unless you work for FIFA — take a moment to decide whether any of these money-saving ideas work for you.

Train-ing camp

Most people in the Greater Toronto Area can’t say enough bad things about our public transit system. It’s one of the few things we all agree on. But Toronto’s trains, buses and streetcars can reduce how much of your cash evaporates while you’re here.

If you don’t want to stay downtown, where you’ll pay a premium for everything, look at a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) or Go Transit map to find hotels, home stays or Airbnbs that are within walking distance of train or streetcar stations. Go Trains can get you as far as Hamilton, Oshawa and Barrie, so if you're fine riding the rails for extended periods, you don't have to stay in Toronto at all.

Commit to taking transit and you can avoid renting a car, too. If you’re concerned about getting into the city from Pearson International Airport, take the UP Express. It’s three stops to Union Station and only $12.35.

By taking transit on game day, you can avoid both surge-priced rideshares and the soul-sucking gridlock you’ll get stuck in on the way to BMO Field. The TTC can be unpredictable, but the traffic is reliably awful.

There are several ways to get to BMO Field by taking public transit toward Exhibition Place:

You can tap your credit card or debit card when getting onto a TTC vehicle, so you probably don’t need to bother getting a Presto Pass for making these payments. It won’t save you any money. A Presto Day Pass, however, can save you a few bucks if you plan to ride the train at least five times in a single day.

The cheap seats

No ticket, no problem. BMO Field isn’t the only place to experience World Cup madness in Toronto. And the alternatives won’t require selling one of your kidneys.

One place to join the throngs is at one of the public watch parties taking place across the city. While admission to these events is generally free, you may have to reserve a spot in advance. Check an event’s website for details.

Some of the bigger watch parties include:

The watch parties are sure to fill up, so you might need an alternative place to watch the games with an enthusiastic crowd. One inexpensive option is to head to a local Cineplex movie theatre.

Several Cineplex locations around the Greater Toronto Area will be showing TSN’s coverage of more than a dozen matches. And yes, Cineplexes in Toronto serve booze.

Tickets are currently on sale through the Cineplex website for $9.95 plus a $1.50 online booking fee. Plug “FIFA” into the search bar and you’ll see a list of what’s available.

The cheap eats

Toronto’s food scene is known more for quality than affordability. If you’re here for more than a few days, consider heading to some less expensive, though still accessible, parts of town for meals. You’ll soak up some culture, treat your tastebuds and give your credit card a temporary rest.

Little Jamaica

Located on Eglinton Avenue West between Marlee Avenue and Keele Street, you’ll find a hub of Caribbean and West Indian culture — bars, shops and some of Toronto’s most beloved local Jamaican restaurants.

Little Jamaica is generally a glitz-free zone, but there is magic behind some of those simple storefronts. Near Dufferin Street, you’ll find a bunch of good Mexican spots, too.

Chinatown(s)

Toronto is blessed to have multiple Chinatowns. There’s a gut-busting selection of affordable noodles, dim sum, hot pot and barbecue in each one.

The area near Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West is the city’s largest and best known Chinatown. (It’s also by Kensington Market, where there’s no shortage of places to grab something tasty on the cheap.) Head east on Dundas and get ready to drool.

Venture over to East Chinatown, near the intersection of Gerrard Street East and Broadview Avenue, to find equally excellent Asian grub. You’ll generally pay a little less for it, too.

Little India and the “other” Danforth

Gerrard Street East, between Coxwell and Greenwood Avenues, is arguably Toronto’s premier spot for South Asian food (residents of Scarborough may disagree). No need to ask the restaurants here to make the food spicy. They know what they’re doing.

Another excellent hub for Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi food is on Danforth Avenue. You might know the Danforth as the Greek part of town, but if you head east toward Victoria Park you’ll find yourself surrounded by mouthwatering options in what’s been dubbed Banglatown.

Don’t be caught flat-footed

We get it. Budgeting isn't Priority One when you’re attending one of the biggest parties on the planet. It’s not necessary, realistic or fun to examine every decision through a financial lens.

But it doesn’t hurt to prepare for what’s awaiting you in Toronto. In exchange for witnessing all that fancy footwork, the city is probably going to kick a gaping hole in your finances.

If you plan to pay for most of your expenses with credit, that debt could weigh on you long after the last chant fades. A few judicious choices here and there can lighten that burden.