First trip to Lambeau in 20 years, need advice!

Longtime “lurker” here, and a pretty much lifelong Packer fan. Born in 1987, lived in Sheboygan from 1992 through 1997, and have been a diehard Cheesehead ever since. I will be FINALLY heading back to my homeland for the Bears game in September, timed to also watch my alma matter (Utah State) attempt to take down the Badgers at Camp Randall two days later. I am looking for a little advice as I plan this trip, and am hoping I can get some advice here.
1) Traffic: I was initially thinking about flying into Green Bay and out of Milwaukee, but the rental car price for 3 days is so much higher ($270) than flying into and out of Milwaukee ($72), and the flights are also about $70 cheaper. Considering this is a “Gold package” game, will the traffic from the Milwaukee airport up to Green Bay be insane? I plan to fly into Milwaukee by about 10, so I would be on the road by about 11. Would I have any issue getting to Lambeau considering it is a Thursday night game? I plan to stay in the Sheboygan area after the game.
2) Tickets: Right now stubhub is listing tickets starting at about $225 a piece. Should I expect prices to go up or down as gameday approaches. I realize that the combination of playing the Bear, along with a Gold package game, make the tickets that much harder to come by. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
3) What to do on the off-day? Friday is wide open, and I would like to find something to do that my better half would enjoy. She is also an Aggie alum, and a converted (somewhat) Packer fan, but to get her excited about the trip I need a killer Friday planned. We’re open to staying pretty much anywhere in the Green Bay, Milwaukee, Madison area on Friday night considering the football game is not until Saturday night. Any suggestions?

Thanks for any and all assistance!

Try checking in to the hotel on the way up. That way you use I-43 which isn't under construction like US41 is in the valley. In GB traffic will start to really get intense about 4:30 as people leave work to get home for the game plus the tailgaters getting to the stadium area. Stadium traffic starts getting busy about an hour or two before kickoff. Plan on hitting some of the commercial tailgating sites to kill time or just wander in the stadium.

Price will probably go up seeing as a lot of Bear fans will also try to drive to the game.

Sheboygan area has some PGA hosting golf courses that opened in the past few years. Local wineries, Packer HOF / stadium tours. Brewers host Mets.

Leaving by 11 will give you enough time to get to GB. Ticket prices will probably go up closer to game time. Buy your tickets from a reputable dealer.
Drive down to Madison on Friday. See the Capitol or go sailing on the lakes. Checkout the performing arts center in each town.
Check out Bay Beach Amusement park. It's quaint but fitting for GB.

Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate it!

Airline tickets and car now booked, now just need to figure out tickets to the game. The $225 on stubhub is tempting if that is as cheap as its going to get. Do season ticket holders already have tickets in hand? If not, maybe a bunch will flood the market whenever the tickets arrive.

Bay Beach will be closed by then. http://www.baybeach.org/ They only open weekends when school is in session.

I'm planning a trip to Green Bay to see my Cardinals play the Packers, my first and probably only trip to Lambeau Field. I've basically lived in Arizona my whole life and haven't traveled very much. Anybody want to do a house swap? I live about 10 miles from the Cardinals stadium....hehe! I'm also looking to get awesome seats, prefer the Leap sections. This is my bucket list and hope to fulfill it.

^ If you're looking for a house to rent, I would suggest looking at some of the houses on Shadow that have backyards facing Lambeau, as those homes are always rented out for games.

As to the original poster, I was born and raised in GB and only just moved to Milwaukee for work a year ago. I can tell you firsthand that the traffic going to GB from Milwaukee is crazy before a game. Since you're staying in Sheboygan at some point I'll assume you're taking 43 instead of 41. 43 is (marginally) better. Not sure if construction will be finished by then - currently, it is very backed up through Port Washington. Get to GB as early as you can to beat the rush. I had to sell my tickets last year because with traffic it wouldn't have been worth it. Sometimes I really miss being within walking distance of Lambeau.

Enjoy it cause it's an awesome experience.


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Don't pay $225. Tickets are just getting in hand and prices will fall dramatically in the 2 weeks before the game. Expect to pay $170 apiece AFTER stubhub fees or $150 apiece from a person for that game. For example, the giants playoff game was flooded with tickets a week before. You could go to that game for $125. Right now people are in the "make me sell" phase regardless of whether they are planning to go to the game or not (given that its a Thursday night gold package game).

I get my tickets through Titletown Tickets, I find they are the cheapest online. You can always get it from a scalper but you will need to wait to the closest to kick off to get the best price from them.