COLUMBUS, Ohio — For those planning to travel to Atlanta to cheer on the Buckeyes for the College Football Playoff National Championship, pull out the wallet and act quickly.

What You Need To Know

  • We are a week away from Ohio State and Notre Dame squaring off in the college football national championship game

  • Lots of Buckeye fans are planning to make the trip to watch the game at Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta

  • But getting there won’t necessarily be easy or cheap

On Ticketmaster, the lowest ticket available to attend the game currently is about $1500. If you add your hotel, flights or gas, food and drinks and you’re looking at an expensive few days. 

Most flights the day before and after the game are sold out, but if you’re willing to leave a few days earlier and come back a few days after the game, there is more availability. 

Southwest Airlines added more non-stop flights between Columbus and Atlanta for fans heading to the game. 

At last check, they have extremely limited availability for about $500 dollars each way.

Of course, another option is to just drive. Atlanta is about 600 miles away from Columbus and it takes about eight-and-a-half hours to get there by car.

One travel agent said the ticket prices are the main issue and your best bet might be to wait until you get to Atlanta to buy them as there could be more resale tickets popping up, especially the day of the game. 

“If you really want to go to the game to see this fantastic team, as you know, ride that wave that they are on right now and be a part of it then, then you've got game tickets out there that are available and there's probably going to be some they're selling there,” said Voniessa Brownfield, president of Weekley Travel in Newark. “However, if you can go a couple days, you know, pre-the-game and stay a couple days later or just, I hate to say it, but just drive. You know what, just drive down and just get a hotel and then take your chances on getting your game tickets.”

Here’s some good news though. Hotels look to be the cheapest part of the trip. There are plenty of them still available, even near the stadium, for around $200 dollars per night.

For more information about Weekley Travel, visit here.