Newburyport to Foxborough is about 65 miles. On a clear day, roughly an hour and fifteen minutes. On a World Cup match day at Gillette Stadium — with 64,000 fans, 75% fewer parking spaces, and documented traffic chaos that already showed up at a single March preview event — plan for considerably longer.
Unless your group has a Salter Transportation charter bus. Then the drive is handled, the timing is planned, and the only thing your group has to focus on is the match.
Here is how to plan a group trip from the North Shore to FIFA 2026 at Gillette, step by step.
Step One: Choose Your Match
Seven fixtures at Gillette between June 13 and July 9. The marquee draws are England vs. Ghana on June 23 — Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden — and Norway vs. France on June 26, which puts Kylian Mbappé against Erling Haaland in what is already being called the group stage match of the tournament. The quarterfinal on July 9 is the most prestigious fixture Gillette will host all summer — one of only four in the entire 48-team competition.
For groups that want the easiest scheduling, Haiti vs. Scotland on Saturday night June 13 is the only weekend kickoff on the full slate. No work conflicts, no rush-hour traffic on I-95 heading south on a Tuesday afternoon.
Step Two: Get Your Tickets Through Official Channels
FIFA manages all ticket sales through their official platform, with a verified resale and exchange marketplace for those who missed the initial sales windows. Group organizers should coordinate ticket purchases early — especially for the England, France, and quarterfinal fixtures, which will see the highest demand and fastest sell-through. Mobile tickets are the only format. No paper tickets will be accepted.
Step Three: Lock In Your Charter Bus
This is the step most groups leave too late — and the one that matters most. Parking at Gillette is reduced to about 5,000 spaces for the World Cup and requires both a prepaid reservation and a match-day ticket just to enter a lot. The MBTA commuter rail runs from South Station — not from the North Shore. For groups from Newburyport, Amesbury, Salisbury, or anywhere along the coastal corridor, driving independently means I-95 to Route 128 to Route 1 on a match day, competing for a handful of parking spots with 60,000 other fans.
We also know the reality on the ground because of what CBS Boston reported after the March 26 Brazil vs. France friendly — traffic so bad that Foxborough’s police chief said it “sucked,” GPS apps routing hundreds of cars through residential back streets, fans walking miles along train tracks, and even the France team bus barely making kickoff on time.
Salter Transportation picks up your group at a single North Shore location and drives directly to Gillette. After the match, the bus is waiting — no parking lot chaos, no surge-priced rideshares, no wondering how 40 people are getting home at midnight. See our charter services here. For groups with members coming from further across Eastern MA, our Beacon Mobility sister company NRT Bus covers the broader region.
Step Four: Plan Your Match Day Timeline
Gates at Gillette open two hours before kickoff. FIFA security screening regularly adds 45 minutes or more. Plan to be at the stadium at least three hours before the match. From Newburyport, budget two hours of travel time on a World Cup match day — potentially more for the weekday afternoon fixtures. For a 4:00 PM Tuesday kickoff like England vs. Ghana, that means your charter bus should be departing no later than 11:00 AM.
Salter handles all routing and timing planning. You tell us your match, your headcount, and your pickup location — we build the schedule around those details.
Step Five: Build the Full Day
FIFA Fan Festivals will run at Boston City Hall Plaza throughout the tournament, with live entertainment and big-screen viewing. Patriot Place — the dining and retail complex surrounding Gillette — transforms completely on match days. For youth soccer groups especially, arriving early and taking in the pre-match scene is part of the experience. Plan for the full day, not just the 90 minutes of regulation.
Salter Transportation has served the North Shore community for over 50 years. We provide charter and field trip bus rentals, corporate shuttle services, and community group transportation across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The World Cup is the biggest group trip we will run this summer — and we are ready for it. Learn more about who we are here.
Contact Salter Transportation for a group charter quote. We will get your North Shore crew to Foxborough and back — comfortably, on time, and together. Reach our team here.
