Seeing the world one day at a time: extreme day trips take off as the UK’s newest travel trend
From breakfast in Britain to dinner in Berlin, UK travellers are exploring a new way of seeing the world without booking a hotel.
With cheap plane tickets and a flurry of social media attention, more Britons are attempting the ‘extreme day trip’. But, what actually is this new travel trend and is it really a viable way of seeing the world.
It certainly isn’t for everyone. However, for those who perhaps have limited annual leave, can’t afford a week abroad, or simply love to sleep in their own bed, the extreme day trip could be ideal.
The concept is easy. You book the first flight out, taking off before sunrise and land in your location just as the shops and attractions begin to open. From here, it’s a race against the clock to fit in as much sightseeing and activities as possible, before flying home late at night. No expensive hotel needed. Sounds like an adventure, right?
This new way of travelling has certainly taken off, no pun intended. In fact, experts at Confused.com suggest that as many as 3 in 10 Brits (30%) have already been on an extreme day trip, and a further 13% have been on multiple.
Many of these individuals have taken to social media to promote this, posting snaps and videos of glorious beaches, attractive food spots and iconic landmarks, all in one day. But are these social media depictions simply too good to be true?
The members of the ‘extreme day trip’ online groups don’t think so. 24hr travellers and those interested in the trend have formed various communities, particularly on Facebook. One of the largest groups boasts over 354k members, while others are centered around UK departure airports. These groups act as a hub for these daring travellers, providing them with a space to share photos and details of their day trips, offer itineraries, reveal top tips, and post about new flight deals. From joining these groups and connecting with some of the members, it’s fascinating to learn more about the passion and creativity involved in curating the perfect 24 hours abroad.
One member from the ‘Extreme day trips from Bristol Aiport’ group shared their exciting day trip to Monaco, in which they boarded a 7:20am flight to Nice and then got straight on the number 80 bus that took them into the heart of Monte Carlo. Upon arriving they spent the day walking the F1 track, car spotting, visiting casinos and walking around the marina and palace, before arriving back at Nice airport by 7:45pm.
It was interesting to read about this itinerary as I myself recently visited Monte Carlo for the day whilst on a trip in the South of France and recognised how qualities like the walkability and the number of activities made it a good day out.
But what actually motivates these travellers to spend a single day abroad rather than several days or even a week.
I spoke to Rick, creator of extremedaytrips.com, which is a site designed to make the process of booking extreme day trips easier, allowing for users to:
“search several weeks at once and use filters that are specifically useful for day trips”
“People can also save searches, set price alerts, view ready-made itineraries and then book directly with the airline.”
“The main aim is to take away a lot of the repetitive searching and make it easier to find trips that are genuinely achievable in one day.”
When asked about why there has been a rise in this travel trend, he explained that he thinks:
“people have less spare time and less disposable income than they used to, but they still want to travel and have new experiences.”
“An Extreme Day Trip might only require one day off work, or no time off at all if you travel at the weekend.”
“You also avoid the cost of a hotel, and the flights can be very cheap because you are often using less popular services early in the morning and late at night.”
“It allows people to see more places and make their travel budget go further.”
“There is also something nice about regularly having a trip to look forward to. Instead of having one big holiday and then waiting several months for the next one, you could have a different city or experience planned every month or two.”
Cost is clearly a defining motivator for extreme day trippers. According to Luton Airport’s 2024 travel trends report, around 39% of ‘holi-day’ travellers stated that eliminating accommodation costs was one of their main reasons for booking day trips. This doesn’t come as a surprise with hotel and Airbnb stays remaining increasingly expensive, with European accommodation costing an average of €150 - €250 per night.
I also spoke to Dan, an avid extreme day tripper, who believes it is the perfect option for fulfilling his love of travelling whilst not breaking the bank. He has visited Amsterdam, Faro, Malaga, Basel, Ibiza and most recently Prague as day trips. He took the time to discuss his recent trip to Prague:
“A few weeks ago a friend and I wanted to take a day trip to another city in England, but after looking at train prices we realised, as always, that it would be cheaper for us to go and visit a European city for the day.”
“With that in mind, we spent a few days searching for the cheapest and most viable flights on Skyscanner.”
“We considered Prague, Tirana and Rome, but ended up deciding on Prague as it was marginally cheaper than the others at £60. The flight to Tirana was also slightly longer so we would have had less time in the city and Stanstead was the departure airport for the other flights, which was more difficult and expensive to get to than Luton Airport due to the cost of trains.”
“We boarded onto a National Express coach which cost £30 for a return ticket, which ironically is half the price of the plane ticket, despite it only being a 66 mile journey, whilst Prague is 855 miles away!”
“We also laughed at the fact that this was the cheapest option to get to the airport, with the train costing £55 – practically the same cost as the flight!”
“We arrived into Prague at 9am local time, giving us 12 hours before our 9pm flight back home.”
“As soon as we arrived we bought a 24hr unlimited public transport ticket which cost around 152.58 Czech Koruna (£5). This is an all-inclusive ticket, which gave us unlimited travel on bus, train and metro which was great and we both agreed that this was one of the best cities we had been to for public transport.”
“After getting off the bus, we instantly got on a metro that took us into the heart of Prague city centre. When compared to the London Underground, we found it was significantly cleaner, less busy and better managed, with underground trains coming every three minutes.”
“The city itself was incredibly beautiful and we spent the day visiting the main tourist attractions like the Charles Bridge, the Prague Astronomical clock and the Christmas markets, before heading back to the airport to catch our 9pm flight.
“We arrived back into England at 11:45pm and were back home by 1:30am, meaning we had successfully conquered Prague in 24hrs.”
Prague is a popular destination for extreme day trippers, but Rick from extremedaytrips.com has also shared that
“Ireland and Northern Ireland are probably among the easiest. Places such as Dublin, Cork and Belfast have lots of short flights from the UK, there is no language barrier for most British travellers, and the flight schedules can give you a surprisingly long day. For example, it is sometimes possible to have around 14 hours in Cork, which is plenty of time to explore the city properly.”
“Some want a little winter sunshine, so destinations such as Alicante are popular because the airport is close to the city and the beach.”
“Others want to see a famous European landmark or tick somewhere off their list. Trips to see the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Sagrada Família in Barcelona are all very achievable in a day with the right flights and a bit of planning.”
However, are extreme day trips really as smooth and exciting as they seem? What happens when things don’t go to plan?
Confused.com found that more than 2 in 5 (43%) day trippers still faced the usual issues that you would on a normal holiday, particularly flight delays which can eat into limited time in the location and cause added stress to the day.
Some people may also worry about the exhaustion of spending the whole day travelling. Do you truly have the energy to wholeheartedly immersive yourself in the culture and experience of the country?
One Tiktoker who has been on several day trips admitted that it is very tiring, which is why she only does them on a Saturday, as knowing that she has the Sunday to recover before work on Monday makes it all worthwhile.
The general consensus is that extreme day trips are absolutely worth it for those who want a quick fix of international travel and are willing to compromise on a lack of sleep and potential stress to enjoy a new country.
Rick agrees, suggesting that day trips are amazing provided you:
“give yourself as much time as possible at the destination”
“I like to make the most of every minute. I normally work out what we want to see, the best route between everything and a few backup options in case something is closed or we have more time than expected.”
“You do not want to spend a large part of a short trip standing around trying to plan the rest of the day on your phone, especially with a poor signal or low battery.”
Check out Rick’s website: extremedaytrips.com to find the best day trips and search for itineraries, which include airport transfer information, essential tips and a walking route designed around the amount of time you are likely to have.”
It is certain that 24 hour day trips are not going anywhere any time soon. So, the question is, will you take the leap and board onto the UK’s latest travel trend? What location for an extreme day trip is at the top of your list?