“It’s 4:15am, and I’m not feeling very romantic yet.”
London isn’t cheap. And Valentine’s Day in London is even less so. Between pricey restaurants, exorbitant theatre tickets and £7 pints, the question feels increasingly reasonable: could it actually be cheaper, and possibly even more romantic, to fly a thousand miles and back for the day?
4am- possibly the least romantic time?
To test this theory out, I went on an extreme day trip to Alicante. An extreme day trip means travelling abroad for less than 24 hours: an early flight out, a late flight home, and no hotel. The concept has been around for years, but a quick glance at Google Trends suggests it’s more popular than ever.
4am is arguably the least romantic time to wake up. Amorous poetry is yet to be written about the early morning journey to Stansted. But stepping onto Spanish soil, feeling that blistering 15-degree February sun, did feel quite special. Especially when it’s rained every day in the UK so far this year.
My first stop was the Museu de Fogueres. Alicante’s answer to Madame Tussaud’s. Entry is free, compared with £27 to pre-book Madame Tussaud’s in London. Neither is exactly romantic, but on price alone, Spain took the initial win.
Everyone’s favourite Alicantean hero…
Lunch followed at the Mercado Central. Some ham of unknown origin and fresh bread cost less than a mid-range £5.50 supermarket meal deal back home, was undeniably tastier, and undoubtedly more romantic. Feeling slightly fresher and surprisingly motivated post-lunch, I attempted arguably the most ambitious feat of the day, climbing up to the Castell de Sant Ferran, Alicante’s highest point. A few rest stops later, I was pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the vista. Back in London, a lift to the top of The Shard (with a glass of Champagne included) costs £38. I’m choosing the Castell.
A well-earned rest stop.
It’s in the evening that a London Valentine’s Day really starts to take its toll. You’d be hard pressed to get change from £40 for a pre-theatre set meal, and sub-£100 tickets to most shows are like gold dust. By the end of the day, Spain had delivered beaches, views and sunshine, all free. And the drinks didn’t cost much more.
Some serious ham.
Financially, the entire Spanish day trip came to £112.50 per person. A comparable Valentine’s Day in London- breakfast in bed, Madame T’s, drinks and a Shard trip, a three-course meal, theatre tickets and travel totalled £234.18. Of course, it’s possible to do Valentine’s Day in London for far cheaper, but none of the options considered are necessarily luxuries.
On paper, Spain wins.
But romance isn’t just about money. The Spanish trip involved a 4am start, budget airlines, airport stress and a six-hour journey home. The London day offered reasonable sleep, fewer logistics and crucially, a guilt-free conscience.
Using Ryanair’s emissions data, I worked out that two 1,000-mile flights emit roughly 215kg of CO₂ per passenger, about the same as driving from London to Glasgow and back, or eating 200 beef burgers.
That is not a romantic number of beef burgers.
A mere six hours left of the 22-hour round trip.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder is no fan of the extreme day trip trend. He told City News:
“I guess a relationship will either stand or fall on whether you are still speaking to your partner after a silly o’clock alarm, the hell of an early morning security check, arriving already exhausted before some heavy-duty sightseeing, rushed lunch, drinks (no time for dinner), being frisked again and then drinking to fill the time before your delayed flight departs and finally arriving home almost 24 hours after you left”.
And yet, Brits are increasingly tempted. Last year alone, UK travellers made nearly 18 million trips to Spain. Research by insurer Aviva suggests 35% of Brits have taken or plan to take an international day trip, with Gen Z leading the charge.
So which is better value? Spain won the day on cost, London on conscience. Romance scores were close: 3.5 hearts out of five for Spain, 3 for London.
The real question, perhaps, is simpler: how far are you willing to go for romance? For me, the answer turned out to be about 2,000 miles.
If you want to feel jealous, you can see more on the story here.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineIs an extreme day trip to Spain better value for Valentine’s Day than a romantic day out in London?
Short Headline"I’ve just had a beer in McDonalds, and now it’s time to go home..."
StandfirstCan a 22-hour round trip be cheaper than a romantic day in London?
“It’s 4:15am, and I’m not feeling very romantic yet.”
London isn’t cheap. And Valentine’s Day in London is even less so. Between pricey restaurants, exorbitant theatre tickets and £7 pints, the question feels increasingly reasonable: could it actually be cheaper, and possibly even more romantic, to fly a thousand miles and back for the day?
4am- possibly the least romantic time?
To test this theory out, I went on an extreme day trip to Alicante. An extreme day trip means travelling abroad for less than 24 hours: an early flight out, a late flight home, and no hotel. The concept has been around for years, but a quick glance at Google Trends suggests it’s more popular than ever.
4am is arguably the least romantic time to wake up. Amorous poetry is yet to be written about the early morning journey to Stansted. But stepping onto Spanish soil, feeling that blistering 15-degree February sun, did feel quite special. Especially when it’s rained every day in the UK so far this year.
My first stop was the Museu de Fogueres. Alicante’s answer to Madame Tussaud’s. Entry is free, compared with £27 to pre-book Madame Tussaud’s in London. Neither is exactly romantic, but on price alone, Spain took the initial win.
Everyone’s favourite Alicantean hero…
Lunch followed at the Mercado Central. Some ham of unknown origin and fresh bread cost less than a mid-range £5.50 supermarket meal deal back home, was undeniably tastier, and undoubtedly more romantic. Feeling slightly fresher and surprisingly motivated post-lunch, I attempted arguably the most ambitious feat of the day, climbing up to the Castell de Sant Ferran, Alicante’s highest point. A few rest stops later, I was pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the vista. Back in London, a lift to the top of The Shard (with a glass of Champagne included) costs £38. I’m choosing the Castell.
A well-earned rest stop.
It’s in the evening that a London Valentine’s Day really starts to take its toll. You’d be hard pressed to get change from £40 for a pre-theatre set meal, and sub-£100 tickets to most shows are like gold dust. By the end of the day, Spain had delivered beaches, views and sunshine, all free. And the drinks didn’t cost much more.
Some serious ham.
Financially, the entire Spanish day trip came to £112.50 per person. A comparable Valentine’s Day in London- breakfast in bed, Madame T’s, drinks and a Shard trip, a three-course meal, theatre tickets and travel totalled £234.18. Of course, it’s possible to do Valentine’s Day in London for far cheaper, but none of the options considered are necessarily luxuries.
On paper, Spain wins.
But romance isn’t just about money. The Spanish trip involved a 4am start, budget airlines, airport stress and a six-hour journey home. The London day offered reasonable sleep, fewer logistics and crucially, a guilt-free conscience.
Using Ryanair’s emissions data, I worked out that two 1,000-mile flights emit roughly 215kg of CO₂ per passenger, about the same as driving from London to Glasgow and back, or eating 200 beef burgers.
That is not a romantic number of beef burgers.
A mere six hours left of the 22-hour round trip.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder is no fan of the extreme day trip trend. He told City News:
“I guess a relationship will either stand or fall on whether you are still speaking to your partner after a silly o’clock alarm, the hell of an early morning security check, arriving already exhausted before some heavy-duty sightseeing, rushed lunch, drinks (no time for dinner), being frisked again and then drinking to fill the time before your delayed flight departs and finally arriving home almost 24 hours after you left”.
And yet, Brits are increasingly tempted. Last year alone, UK travellers made nearly 18 million trips to Spain. Research by insurer Aviva suggests 35% of Brits have taken or plan to take an international day trip, with Gen Z leading the charge.
So which is better value? Spain won the day on cost, London on conscience. Romance scores were close: 3.5 hearts out of five for Spain, 3 for London.
The real question, perhaps, is simpler: how far are you willing to go for romance? For me, the answer turned out to be about 2,000 miles.
If you want to feel jealous, you can see more on the story here.
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