Planning a Super trip?

If you're dreaming of cheering on the Seahawks in Detroit, here's a game plan.

Even if you can't get a ticket to the big game, you can soak up the Super Bowl excitement in the streets around downtown Detroit's Ford Field, where the game will be played.

But for Seahawks fans trying to take part in history, getting there will probably not be cheap or easy. Airline tickets will only get pricier. And getting a room within walking distance of the stadium will be next to impossible since the NFL, media, corporations, celebrities and early-bird fans have filled virtually all downtown hotels and motels.

Tourists will find a city in transition. Detroit, with almost 1 million residents, has long been known as the Motor City, thanks to Henry Ford, who started building cars there in 1896 and put the world on wheels. The city became an industrial powerhouse in the 20th century, with the establishment of the headquarters of Ford and General Motors, and gave birth in the 1960s to Motown music.

Yet poverty and racial inequality endured in Detroit, flaring into destructive riots in 1967 and furthering the decline of the inner city. Middle-class residents moved to the suburbs; visitors stayed away. City leaders have struggled for decades to revitalize the city's center, enjoying some success in recent years with new businesses, casinos and two new sports stadiums opening downtown, including Ford Field. Now they're hoping the 40th Super Bowl will put Detroit firmly back on the map.

Here are some tips on getting to the Motor City, getting a hotel room and having some fun in downtown Detroit:

The big picture

Things will get really busy around Feb. 2, the start of the Super Bowl "weekend" leading up to the Feb. 5 game. Besides parties in virtually every bar, club and restaurant in downtown Detroit and beyond, the city will host the Motown Winter Blast, a winter carnival in downtown Detroit, and the NFL Experience, a football theme park.

For general information, go to the Web site of the Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Committee at www.sbxl.org. For visitor information, contact the Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-338-7648 or www.visitdetroit.com. Its Web site includes an interactive map that shows restaurants, hotels and more.

In downtown Detroit, be ready for crowds and intense security, especially on game day. "We're expecting 100,000 visitors for the Super Bowl," said Carolyn Artman, a manager with the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Airlines: You can put a 24-hour hold on most airline reservations, so you could reserve seats, then pay after Sunday's game. To find the best price for airline tickets from Seattle, try these strategies:

• Northwest Airlines has nonstop service between Seattle and Detroit, one of its hubs; phone 800-225-2525 or see www.nwa.com. The going price Friday was about $435 for round-trip airfares on Feb. 2 and 6.

• Discount airline Southwest may have cheaper flights, although you'll have to change planes, usually in Chicago: 800-435-9792 or www.southwest.com.

• The Kayak.com search engine (www.kayak.com) is a good way to get an overview of airfares. Comparison-shop on online travel-agency sites such Expedia (www.expedia.com) or Travelocity (www.travelocity.com). And traditional travel agents in the Seattle area are offering some packages that include airfare, hotel and more. (See seattletimes.com for more information on the packages.)

Train: It's a long ride, about three days each way via Amtrak's Empire Builder train from Seattle to Chicago, then transferring to the Wolverine train from Chicago to Detroit. Round-trip prices start at about $340. Information: 800-USA-RAIL or www.amtrak.com.

Driving: It's a long drive, about 2,300 miles, in winter conditions, from Seattle to Detroit. RVers should be aware there's no parking in the NFL-controlled lots around Ford Field and it's tough to find RV campgrounds around Detroit that are open in winter.

Where to stay

To find a hotel, get on the phone or online fast. Most hotels in Detroit and nearby areas have a four-night minimum over Super Bowl weekend. But it'll be very hard to find a downtown room — you may need to stay 30 to 60 miles away — and rates have skyrocketed, especially in metro Detroit.

The three-county area that includes Detroit has about 32,000 hotel rooms. As of Friday, there were about 5,000 rooms available, according to Artman of the city's visitors' bureau. Most were well outside the city, up to an hour's drive away in Toledo, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Detroit Super Bowl committee has an official hotel-reservation service at 866-783-7240 or go to www.sbxl.org and click on "lodging." The Web site quickly lets you see what hotels are available and gives the distance of each hotel from downtown Detroit. The phone line will be open until 9 p.m. Sunday.

You can also comparison-shop for hotels at online travel agencies such as Expedia (www.expedia.com) Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) or booking sites such as www.hotels.com.

If you do luck into something within walking distance, be ready to pay: Rooms at the Comfort Inn Downtown, normally about $100 a night, are going for more than $400 a night around the Super Bowl.

But before you sink that kind of money into what's normally a budget motel, check it out on travelers' Web sites such as www.tripadvisor.com (search for the city and the hotel name).

TripAdvisor is an online forum with frank comments by individual travelers who've stayed at hotels, and former guests' comments about the Comfort Inn Downtown ranged from "dirty" to "disgusting."

Close by in Canada

Another lodging option is the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, just a few miles from downtown Detroit across the Detroit River. Staying there means dealing with an international border, so take your passport or other proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate plus photo ID.

Windsor's tourism office has a useful section on Super Bowl lodging, shuttle-bus service and more at www.visitwindsor.com (click on "Super Bowl XL Windsor" at the top of the page), or phone 800-265-3633.

Scams

Be sure to safeguard yourself, especially if you're booking lodging or buying tickets through private sources. The Super Bowl, like any big event, draws con artists. Some tips:

• Pay by a credit card if possible; that provides some protection under U.S. fair-credit laws if you don't get the goods or services for which you've paid.

• Make sure you are fully aware of the policies on cancellations and refunds.

Getting around Detroit

Wherever you stay, try to avoid driving into downtown.

The best way to get to and from downtown Detroit is to take one of the shuttle buses that will run from six suburban and city locations (including the centrally located Wayne State University). Called the Super Bowl Park & Ride, the buses will be run by the Detroit Department of Transportation: www.ci.detroit.mi.us/ddot or 313-933-1300.

Once downtown, hop aboard the People Mover, an elevated light-rail train that makes a three-mile loop with 13 stops: www.thepeoplemover.com or 313-962-7245.

Fan fun

Fans can play at two big events in downtown Detroit: the Motown Winter Blast and NFL Experience.

The mostly free winter festival runs Feb. 2-5 and has dozens of concerts (many in heated tents), an ice-skating rink, ice sculptures and a 200-foot, multilane snow slide. There's also the Taste of Detroit, featuring samples from more than 20 restaurants, a vendors/artists marketplace and more. Get details at www.motownwinterblast.com/ or 313-963-8418.

For indoor fun, the NFL Experience is a football theme park (produced by the NFL) with more than 50 interactive games and displays, plus entertainment, at downtown Detroit's Cobo Center, Feb. 1-5. Information: www.superbowl.com/features. Get tickets ($15 for adults, $10 for children under 12, with timed entry) through Ticketmaster, 866-849-4635 or www.ticketmaster.com.

For a useful interactive map and guide to downtown Detroit, showing restaurants, bars, clubs and more, go to the Detroit Free Press newspaper's site, http://media.freep.com/flash/ddg2006/index.htm.

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com