To go abroad for one day?

[Teacherbee85]

I'm reading about people who do 'extreme day trips' from the UK to abroad.

I've been looking into it and I've found flights that go to various European cities - leaving first thing in the morning and coming back late at night.

I'm so tempted to say fuck it and just book a solo trip.

Any thoughts?

In my head it sounds great but I think the getting to and from.both airports then getting around, then possible delays mean I wouldn't do it for the few hours I had

I'm currently doing over 2 weeks on Ryanair (paid for) hand luggage. I have friends who reckon they can't do a week without checked luggage and after this trip I honestly can't see how it can be necessary.

Many years ago, there was a company based in Bournemouth called Bath Travel. They used to do various day trips using their own flight company with one plane, Palmair. Lord Bath used to stand by the departure gate saying good trip to every passenger

My wife and I did Venice for the day, this gave us the taste and we stayed in Venice many times.

My favourite was a day trip to Cairo. My wife had to be careful where she went so she booked Cairo for me as fascinated by Egyptian history. Left Bournemouth Airport 5am. Went to the Cairo museum, coach tour of Cairo (dirty), spent time at the Pyramids at Giza, went down inside a pyramid, and the area around the Sphinx. Back to Bournemouth by midnight. Saw all the bits I needed to. Wonderful memories.

I seem to recall that the last time we flew from Bournemouth. Lord Bath's son was resurrecting Bath Travel. Not quite the same, though.

Slightly different, but my wife and I did many weekend trips to the States. Both Washington and New York. First flight out Friday morning, last flight home Sunday evening. Very full on, but worth it each and every time.

That’s like saying “eating meat is bad for the planet but it doesn’t matter if I buy steak in the supermarket because that cow is already dead”. That’s not how supply and demand works.

And I hate the “but there’s someone else doing something worse than me” argument. “What’s the harm in me throwing a crisp packet on the ground when other people are fly tipping mattresses?”. Take some personal responsibility.

I don’t think we all need to give up flying completely or anything radical but deciding to take an “extreme day trip” dwarfs most other day-to-day decisions in terms of environmental impact.

Dh has done it more than once, for an exhibition or a concert in Paris or Berlin. We do live in outer London though - fairly handy for both Eurostar and Heathrow or London City airport.

Doh! Still go for it. If no delays it will be fine, especially if you pick somewhere with easy airport travel at the destination (eg Salzburg, Leipzig, Bratislava, Jerez, Paris, Seville to name but a few).

I don’t buy the “having children is bad for the planet” argument. Unless you’re such a radical environmentalist you think we should sacrifice the entire human species to save the planet, having kids is fairly essential to humanity’s continuation. It’s not optional at the population level We’re already heading for a population crisis due to plummeting birth rates (who is going to pay for all the old people?).

Comparing having children to taking a flights for a nice lunch and a couple of hours sunshine is totally laughable, sorry.

Do all you eco zealots check where your out-of-season fruit/veg has come from or your rubbish purchases from Amazon? They don't arrive in the UK on a magic carpet or a wind-powered container ship. I'm as careful as can be to avoid green beans from Kenya or cheap polyester from China so taking the odd empty seat on a flight to Europe doesn't dent my conscience.

The excuse of the eco-denyer

Dh and I once went to Brussels for the day with 2 other people. Had a lovely day.

Got some Christmas shopping in. Also flew to Glasgow for the day with work colleagues again it was a great day. This was probably at least 15/18 years ago.

Maybe when I was younger I could get on board with this, but these days I couldn't be arsed with dealing with airports for the sake of only one day.

Amsterdam has come up a lot because of how quick the flight is but there is certainly plenty to do in Amsterdam that justifies spending more than a day there.
I could see it as a fun novelty thing to do, but it does sound like doing it for a novelty rather than the actual joy of exploring somewhere properly.

Some from myself & family

I know people who fly to Iceland, go to the Blue Lagoon hot spa, lunch, then fly home the same day

Also
Ferry, Dover, Dunkirk, drive to Belgium for duty free & back again

Also
Fly Heathrow, train to Amsterdam & back

Also
Ferry John O Groats to Orkney, coach tour round & back

Ferry from mainland Scotland to Outer Hebrides, drive & ferry back from a different departure point on the islands

Ferry from mainland England to Scilly isles, coach tour round isles & back

Train London to Dundee & back in one day

Ive been to Amsterdam and Barcelona for a day go fof it

We used to do regular day trips to France. Loved them.

Empty flights still flew during covid to keep slots open

I have a hobby where people do this quite a bit and I get infuriated. The environmental impact really cannot be justified for such a short trip (the plane is flying anyway argument is nonsense as it is just a result of many individual decisions, which can be changed). The huge amount of similar business travel frustrates me equally.

I went to Paris for the day last month and going to Brussels for the day next week. God bless the Eurostar flash sale!

Have you been to the US and seen what they are driving, even in cities like Chicago? Have you researched ommissions globally?
Us doing our home recycling and limiting our flying is going to do nothing.
OP I do day trips around the UK, so it's no different. You get the vibe of a place and then can decide to do longer. Flying from Liverpool, it's cheaper to get a cheap hotel and do an overnight, so research it and if you can make it work, then go for it. It's one if the things thar makes me keep my fitness up, at nearly 60, I don't want to stop travelling. I also think that the more travel, the less shite you buy and don't have meat eating pets etc.

Maybe when I was younger I could get on board with this, but these days I couldn't be arsed with dealing with airports for the sake of only one day.

This. I used to love airports when I was younger but hate them now. Not sure if they've got worse or I've just got older and grumpier.

GHG emissions from the Internet dwarf that from global air traffic, and what do we do with that? Sexting, funny cat videos and arguing with strangers on Internet forums.

If you want to save the planet then go offline and go abroad for the day - but it's not really about saving the planet, it's about keeping us plebs in our place (both literally and metaphorically).

I live in Brussels so we do this a lot. Though in our case there are loads of places you can get to in under 2 hours from home by car or by train. We often pop to NL for lunch or shopping. Germany for xmas markets. Lille is lovely. Don't really bother with Paris, though i have to go there for work.

I'm a smoker, I do this often and bag cheap cigarettes in duty free. Win win!
Yes it's tiring but I'm in my 50s, menopausal and pretty knackered generally, and I manage it.
I'm in London so easy for me to get to a few airports. The places I arrive at, it's usually 15-20 mins to the city centre. Although one thing to be wary of is passport control. If you go somewhere popular at peak time, you could get stuck in a long queue now we can't use the EU gates anymore.

Go for it!! Personally I'd rather find a cheap hotel/hostel for one night. People who are saying it's not environmentally friendly - it's not making a difference if them flights are already scheduled regardless of you getting on them; not like your getting on your own personal plane. And if you are, don't 🤣

I travel once a fortnight for work. If the flights are on time, then it’s a breeze.

However, they are frequently delayed or cancelled. As long as you accept that there is a probability you won’t get the time you were planning, then go for it!

Go for it! I'm in Paris for the day today- I did have something I needed to pick up here, but done now and now I am having a lovely lunch