Things will get really busy in Motown around Feb. 2, the start of the Super Bowl "weekend" leading up to the Feb. 5 game at Ford Field. 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, 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.

"We're expecting 100,000 visitors for the Super Bowl," said Carolyn Artman, a manager with the visitors bureau.

Airlines

If you want to get a jump on it and beat the rest of the crowd, put a 24-hour hold on most airline reservations. That way you could reserve seats, then pay after today'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.)

Hotels

To find a hotel, get on the phone or online fast. Most hotels in Detroit and nearby areas have a four-night minimum for the Super Bowl. 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. 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. today.

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.

Oh, 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, 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. A couple of 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, avoid driving into downtown Detroit.

Instead, 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 3-mile loop with 13 stops: 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 features 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 with more than 50 interactive games and displays, plus entertainment, at the 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

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