Cheap return flights: The popular European destinations where you can go for a day trip - and it costs less than a train to London

A savvy student has unveiled how day trips to European destinations can be cheaper than a train ticket from Bristol to London. Ellie Whiten, 22, has been on nine foreign day trips for consecutive months since October 2023, and says she has experienced a cheap “taster course of Europe.”

She has visited Italy, Edinburgh, Belfast, Switzerland, Venice, Italy and the Netherlands all for a day - and less than £100 each. The University of Surrey student says she has been to Edinburgh twice for £40, Pisa, Italy for £50, Geneva, Switzerland for £60, Belfast for £45, Venice for £45, Rome for £45, and now Amsterdam for £70.

A train from Bristol to London Euston today (Monday 6 May) when bought on the Trainline app costs around £46. A ticket from Coventry to London Euston can cost up to £92, and a train from Sheffield costs up to £88.

The student from Sussex, England, flew to Amsterdam on April 9th for 14 hours in an epic day trip to photograph tulip fields which only bloom for eight weeks a year. She said: “We booked the flights in February it was £38 to go from Gatwick to Amsterdam and £45 for the way back. We got a ticket to Keukenhof which was £31 and included transport there and back from the airport.

“We got off the plane and found the bus outside it took 20 mins to get there and we literally had the whole day. Buses came every 15 minutes, and we could get on whatever one. We landed at 8:30am got there at about 9:45 and left about 4:30."

She managed to keep costs low as her main food for the day was a £4.99 meal deal that she took with her after buying it from Boots at the airport. She added: “It’s sort of like a holiday but sort of isn’t - it’s a long day. It doesn’t sound like a lot but if you’re getting a 6am and 9pm flight it’s a lot of time.”

Listed below are the European destinations Ellie visited for a day that turned out to be cheaper than many trains to London from UK cities. 

June 2023 - Pisa, Italy, £50

July 2023 - Edinburgh, Scotland, £40

August 2023 – Belfast, Northern Ireland, £45

September 2023 – Geneva, Switzerland, £60

October 2023 – Venice, Italy, £45

November 2023 – Rome, Italy, £45

December 2023 – Edinburgh, Scotland, £40

April 2024 – Amsterdam, Netherland, £70