An extreme day tripper visited a different country for a DAY for five weekends in a row – including flying to Switzerland to spend one hour up a mountain.
Luke Simmonds, 35, got the bug to travel after the pandemic and came across a Facebook group sharing extreme day trips.
He decided to give the short trips a go and has spent the last year travelling.
Luke recently packed in five day tips on his weekends in September in October – visiting Italy, Poland and Lithuania.
He even flew to Switzerland and France to spend an hour up the mountain and to see Mont Blanc.
Luke aims to get the cheapest flights he can – spending as little as £8.99 on one way- flight tickets.
Luke, an IT consultant, from Guildford, Surrey, said: “It’s certainly cheaper than a day out to London.
“It gets addictive after a while.
“You can pretty much go anywhere for a day and have enough to occupy yourself.
“It’s a really good way to sample places – if you like a place you can go back.”
Luke spent the pandemic volunteering with the ambulance service and said it changed his view on life.
He said: “Not being able to travel made me want to more.
“I wanted to get out and see the world.”
In summer 2023 Luke travelled to three countries in Europe – Poland, Stockholm and Copenhagan – in a week.
He started booking day trips after joining a Facebook group of people doing the same.
He flew to Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, with his girlfriend Amy Hughes, 24, – spending just £30 each on return flights each – and said the day trips spiralled from there.
In the last year he has spent a day in Estonia, Monaco, Nice, Gdynia in Poland, Legoland Denmark, Nuremberg in Germany, Oslo in Norway, Churwalden in Switzerland, and Brussels.
He said: “Hotels are expensive. If you can just pay for flights you save so much money.”
In September Luke ended up going on a day trip for six weekends in a row.
He set off to Kaunas, Lithuania, with his brother, Olly Simmonds, 38, for just 17 hours. They flew from Luton with Wizz Air on a £12.99 flight and arrived at 00:55am.
They spent the next day visiting the war museum, Kaunas Castle and wandered around the town before heading back on £33.69 per person flights.
The following weekend headed off to Grindelwald, Switzerland, with strangers from the Facebook group.
They set off from Gatwick at 7am to Basel on a £38.99 flight before getting a bus, two trains and a cable car.
Luke said: “We had an hour and a bit up the mountain. The views were stunning.
“Once you’re up the mountain – how long do you really need?”
The friends had a late lunch in the village before catching two trains back to Zürich airport to catch their evening flight.
Luke spent the next weekend on a solo trip to Wrocław, Poland – spending £42.17 on his flights and £134.36 in total.
He said: “I had a free weekend. I had a really nice time.”
In October, Luke headed to the French Alps with his friends from the Facebook page.
They flew to Geneva on an 8.10am flight before hopping in a hire car to travel the hour to Chamonix.
The pals went up in the cable car to ascend the Aiguille Du Midi and see Mont Blanc.
Luke said: “It was enough time to see the mountain.
“The views from the top are breathtaking with loads of snow. It was a stunning sunny and crisp day with unlimited visibility. We had amazing views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains.
“We all got altitude sickness.”
Luke flew to Pisa, Italy, the next weekend with Amy – and did the whole trip for less than £90.
Luke was meant to go on a trip to Malaga the following weekend but bailed when his plane hit a bird and had to do an emergency landing.
The couple saw the sights and ate pizza and ice cream.
He already has seven more day trips booked – including a trip to Agadir, Morocco on £8.99 tickets.
Now a seasoned day tripper, Luke says his top tips are not being set on a location and planning ahead to get cheaper flights.
He also says it is worth looking out for the airport sales and being flexible on your destination and timings.
Luke said: “There’s so many places out there you can go to.
“It’s a different way of travelling.”
Kaunas, Lithuania
Flights: £46.68
Lounge: £0.00
Hotel: £12.50
Food and Drink: Approx €25 (£21.10)
Train to Luton Airport £9.19
National Express Coach back £15.50
Funicular: €1 (£0.84)
Kaunas Taxi: €12.50 (£10.55)
Bolts: €8.15 (3 journeys) (£6.88)
Museum: €5 (£4.22)
Total: £127.46
Grindelwald, Switzerland
Flight costs: £93.99
Train: £46.73
Cable Car: £61
Food and Drink: Approx £35
UK travel costs approx £42.40
Total cost: £279.12
Poland
Flights: £42.17
National Express Coaches: £29.00
Bolts in Poland: £26.52
Food and Drink: £27.50
Museum: £9.17
Total: £134.36
Chamonix, France
Costs:
Flights: £38.98
Share of Hire Car: Approx £38
Cable Car: €78.00 (£65.85)
Food and Drink: €11 (£9.20)
UK train ticket: £13.65
Total: £165.68
Pisa, Italy
Costs per person:
Flights: £40.24
Rail Replacement Bus: £0.00
National Express Coach: £17.00
Pisa Mover: £10.90
Food and Drink: £19.29
Total: £87.43
