Is booking cheap flights for a day out abroad insanity or genius?
When Becky Allison and Amy Scott wanted to go on a day trip together, their first thought was London. Based in Liverpool, the capital seemed like the obvious choice - that was until they saw the cost of train tickets.
A trip from Manchester to London was going to cost Allison, 26, and Scott, 28, £180 each, so they decided to do something a little different: a day trip abroad.
The pair spent just £45 on an easyJet flight to Denmark’s capital of Copenhagen for the day, catching a 7am flight from Manchester and returning to the UK at 11pm that evening.
From Copenhagen's airport, you can get an affordable, 15-min metro train to the city centre.
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“It was a weird concept of time to have visited a different country and be back in your own bed the same day, but it was such a nice day we were really pleased we did it,” Allison said.
Day trips abroad appear to have had an uptick in popularity in this post-lockdown climate. With rail prices at an all-time high and the weather in the UK so unpredictable, a cheeky trip abroad for less than 24 hours seems like a smart option,
But, is it really worth it?
If cost and value for money is the main factor to consider, then it would appear so. After doing some of our own research for a day out over a weekend in August, the cheapest price for a London to Manchester return ticket we could find for Saturday, 12 August was £82 (relatively cheap, but we were warned there were only a few tickets at this price left).
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A quick look on Skyscanner showed that, on the same day, you could fly return to Ireland for £33, Denmark for £41, Northern Ireland from £42, the Netherlands from £49, Germany from £64, Scotland from £72 and - if you want to push your budget just a little - Italy from £84.
Plus, since it would only be for the day, you wouldn’t need to pay any extra for carry-on luggage, or spend any extra cash on a hotel for the night.
Other benefits of flying somewhere for the day include the option of a new country and city to visit, a new culture to have a glimpse into, and different eateries and sights. Plus, unlike a train, you know the flight won’t be overbooked so there’s never a risk of standing room only.
If ease is a factor, then perhaps the flying somewhere for a day route is not the right choice for you, seeing as you often have to be at the airport two hours before your flight so there would be a lot more waiting around than if you were to simply get the train.
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Catching the train is also a better option for the eco-conscious traveller. According to LNER’s carbon calculator, a train journey from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly would produce just 11.51 KG CO2 emissions per passenger, while the same journey by plane would emit 70.7 KG CO2.
Whatever your personal preferences, day trips to Europe are certainly having a moment. Similar to Allison and Scott’s jaunt to Copenhagen, mums Clare Jeffs, 36, and Hannah Brown, 38, flew to Ibiza in Spain for the day in March this year, grabbing flights for just £37 return.
Watch: Mums fly to Ibiza for 10 hours after bagging return flights for £37 - cheaper than day trip to London
A separate group of mums also flew to Ibiza for just 12 hours after nabbing flights for £34 return and filled their ‘Sunday Funday’ with good food, cocktails and sunshine.
Grabbing the Eurostar could also prove to be a cost-effective day trip, with Emma Denley, 30, recently taking her friend on a birthday lunch trip to Paris on the Eurostar for £84 each - the same price as a London to Manchester train ticket.
"It was a great surprise for my friend as she thought we had just booked the day off to go for some food - little did she know we would be sipping on coffee with freshly-baked croissants near the Eiffel Tower instead," Denley said.
"We spent the morning exploring the streets of Paris, going through different neighbourhoods and looking at iconic places and beautiful buildings.
"We got ourselves a lovely bit of lunch and then spent the rest of the day shopping. We caught the 7pm Eurostar, which got us back to London at 8.30pm."
Additional reporting by SWNS and Caters.
