I’ve travelled all over the world without using annual leave – this is how

Michael Cracknell, 36, spends his spare time travelling across Europe - reaching as far as Switzerland and Athens from his home in West Sussex - and he does it all in one day. It means he doesn't have to take any time off work and still has another weekend day to recover. A photographer by trade, Michael, from Haywards Heath, is also the founder of the Extreme Day Trips Facebook group - which has more than 250,000 members. He uses the group - founded in October 2022 - to organise trips with others, while members also share their experiences with like-minded people. (Photo: SWNS)

Proving people wrong

Michael said of his first trip: “There were people that were quite skeptical and told me I couldn’t possibly do anything in a day. I wanted to prove that you could. It just grew from there and exploded into what it is today. I am very surprised by how popular it has become. I had no clue this would happen. It is all done in a day, so you don’t have to take any time off work and you still have one day of the weekend left to recover, do your shopping and your washing. Then you can go to work on Monday and say ‘oh I popped over to Athens at the weekend’ and you haven’t used any holiday days. I wasn’t very keen on being away from home for long periods of time so the day trips were the perfect answer to travelling for me." Michael says his love for one-day trips began in 2002, when he was training to be a pilot and visited Toulouse with his father. (Photo: SWNS).

Rediscovering his passion

In 2020 Michael reignited his passion for 24-hour adventures and booked several trips, before the pandemic put a pause on his hobby. After starting his Facebook group, he says a post went viral in which he planned a day trip to Benidorm for under £100, which he says is his cheapest yet. This year he began bringing people from the group on trips with him - taking 20 people to Switzerland just last weekend. So far, he has planned around 12 trips with roughly 15 people on each of them. Michael is unsure on how many holidays he has been on since he began, but he says it is “quite a lot”. (Photo: SWNS).

Making friends for life

Michael said: “I have been all over Europe on day trips since 2022. People love the trips and they enjoy themselves. I don’t charge I just plan it, and people book for themselves. I can’t believe how good the community is. They are just so grateful and they can’t believe we have done it in a day. And there are now well over 100 people that I have done that for. I have made many friends from this. The friendships which are forged from there are incredible. Most of the time when you get back you are absolutely tired. You are still buzzing from the day, but you certainly sleep well that night. You kind of get used to it but for new starters the tiredness can be overwhelming.” (Photo: SWNS).

Planning further trips

When reminiscing on his favourite trips, Michael also mentioned visiting Athens with his father and two brothers. In what he says was a “really special day” the family flew to the Greek city and visited all the main tourist sites in 24 hours for only £149 each - including dinner and activities. He says that with a train to Edinburgh alone costing more than that, it is a no brainer to take part in his fun-packed trips abroad. On his top tip, Michael said: "The key to cheap trips is to book flights as far in advance as you can during a sale." (Photo: SWNS).