Travel to your field of dreams

The crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd – these are the sights and sounds that make watching a baseball game from Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park a must for any true baseball fan. But for most of us, the closest we come to these parks is watching the game on TV.

Now, sports fanatics can live out their fantasies at any one of North America’s great sports stadiums. It’s all part of a growing sports tourism trend, planning vacations around fastballs and home runs instead of sun and sand.

A number of travel agencies offer vacation packages that cater to the sports-obsessed traveller. For a Canadian source try Roadtrips at http://www.roadtrips.com/.  Packages include hall of fame induction tours as well as other sports events – tennis, auto racing, and baseball to name a few. They offer first-class tickets and accommodation. You can request a catalogue through their website, or subscribe to their email newsletter. 

New England-based Sports Travel and Tours (http://www.sportstravelandtours.com or call 1-800-662-4424) is another possibility. Sports Traveand Tours has a number of packages that suit your travel and accommodation needs. Or you can custom-design a more affordable itinerary of your own, scaling back on the price of the tickets or the level of accommodation. It’s a great way to see live sports action – and maybe live out some of those childhood dreams.

And if you prefer not to give up on the sun and sand entirely – cruise lines have also joined the trend, matching tickets to a game in a port town with a cruise for a vacation that includes both the field and the beach.  Check out Fancruises.com (http://www.fancruises.com) for available packages.

(With additional material from 50Plus.com)