DIEHARD football fans looking for a cheap way to travel to Paris for the World Cup play-off next month may find themselves a little disappointed.

In a week where Aer Lingus and Ryanair were berated for raising flight prices on dates around the crunch match against France, it seems that what they're offering isn't too far from the alternatives.

A Sunday Tribune survey found that whether it's planes, trains or automobiles, the price of arriving in the French capital for the biggest football showdown since the 2002 World Cup is not going to be cheap.

And while alternative routes might shave a little off the budget they can certainly add to the time.

In spite of the furore surrounding last week's price hikes, the National Consumer Association (NCA) didn't receive a single complaint.

By now, both of Ireland's carriers have fixed prices for the extra flights put on to sweep the green army over to the continent, while at least three travel agents are offering a variety of packages.

Ryanair announced that it would put on additional flights from €125 one way, including taxes and charges. Booking on its website last week would have thrown up prices of around €235-€280.

Aer Lingus also added an extra flight to its 18 November service, carrying an additional 327 people. Booking with the airline last week would have cost fans €240 for a midnight return flight or €289 to return the following morning. Flying from Cork is also an option at €332.

Besides the two main carriers, many fans will swear by package deals that include chartered flights, match tickets and even accommodation for those who want it.

Abbey Travel, which recently became the official agent for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), received an allocation of around 800 of Ireland's 8,000 tickets.

Its package costs €341 for a day trip, including a €22 ticket, or those wanting to stay overnight can fork out €421.

Marathon Travel is also offering day trips (€249) and overnight stays (€405 and €369) but those prices do not include match tickets which are available but will add between €80 and €120 to the price. That means an overnight trip with entry to the game could cost up to €525.

Club Travel is offering day trips with match tickets for €319 plus tax, or an overnight stay with ticket for €399.

But for anyone looking for a cheaper alternative to the well-worn track, there isn't a huge amount in the way of bargains.

Booking flights with London stop-overs does not seem a viable money saver while flying into alternative destinations and making your own way to Paris may save money in some cases but rarely time.

Flying to Lyon in France will cost you €95 and a train connection to Paris will set you back a further €84. That makes a total of €179 for travel only, but the train journey will take around two hours.

Alternatively fans could catch a €120 Aer Lingus flight to Frankfurt in neighbouring Germany followed by a €90 return train ticket to Paris. Those journeys, however, would require an overnight stay.

Flying to Brussels isn't going to save you much either, costing €229 on Ryanair last week, before you add an €86 train ticket to Paris – bringing the whole cost to €315.

Booking a flight to London Heathrow through Aer Lingus last Friday would have set you back €141 which would pave the way for a €176 Eurostar ticket whisking you into Paris for 5.30pm. That journey will set you back €317.

Even the ferry companies want in on the action. "Irish Ferries rejigs schedule to provide dedicated sailing to France for Irish soccer fans" came an announcement last week

The Oscar Wilde cruise boat is now set to depart from Rosslare at 2pm on Tuesday 17 November and will arrive in the port of Cherbourg at 10am the following morning. The return trip leaves at 9.30pm on the Thursday, finally docking in Ireland by 3.30pm on Friday.

While the thought of travelling by sea may be attractive to some – and the €304 charge for a car and four people will certainly help – the seafaring option is certainly the longest trip and will take a considerable bite out of the week.

Irish Ferries even pleads that "travelling by car, fans can also recover all or part of their cost by stocking up on low-cost wines and beer for Christmas".

Whatever method of travel madness fans opt for, this may prove a very expensive 90 minutes abroad.

Paris Match: Cost of French Connection *

1. Dublin to Paris direct: One hour, 40 mins flight, around €250

2. Cork to Paris direct: Two hours, 35 mins, around €330

3. Dublin–London– Paris: One hour, 20 mins flight, then 1hr 40 mins to Paris, costs vary greatly

4. Dublin–Frankfurt, train to Paris: Two-hour flight, four-hour train journey, around €210

5. Dublin–Lyon, train to Paris: Two-hour flight, two-hour train journey, around €180

6. Dublin–Brussels, train to Paris: One hour, 35 mins flight, 1hr 20 mins train journey, around €300

7. Dublin–London, Eurostar to Paris: One hour, 20 mins flight, two hour, 20 mins train, around €320

8. Ferry, Rosslare to Cherbourg, train to Paris: 20-hour ferry trip, 3-31/2-hour train journey, €220pp

* Times are estimated, costs quoted are for return trips, and will vary