'I paid £950 for a 24-hour trip but it was completely worth it'
A woman flew more than 3,400 miles for a 24-hour 'dream trip' – squeezing in sightseeing, a Broadway show and pancakes before flying home the next day.
Julia Lynn is convinced that the £950 she forked out for the extreme daytrip was money well spent. The 56-year-old jetted off solo from London to The Big Apple for a whirlwind one-night getaway – flying across the Atlantic simply for the thrill of it.
Despite the short stay, she managed to cram in Times Square, the Rockefeller Centre and a cheeseburger at Junior's. Julia, from Bedforshire, admits that some people were shocked by her extreme day trip. Her adventure came after TUI announced a new 'extreme daytrip' from the UK to Lapland.
Have you got an extreme daytrip story you'd like to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
"People called it mad, crazy, bonkers – but always followed it with, 'We're not surprised'. I'm always off on some kind of adventure. I spent years of my life sitting at home wondering about what could have been and things I'd missed out on," Julia said.
'It's a cliché but I think you really can only regret the things you haven't done. What's the worst that could have happened? I wish people were more adventurous – why not just go for it?'
After finding a cheap return flight with Delta for £510, Julia set off on 19 July with just hand luggage and her travel companion, Nigel – a plush sushi toy. She flew from Heathrow to JFK in the afternoon with her return flight around the same time the following day.
And she planned the entire trip around one thing – seeing the final performance of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, starring Nicole Scherzinger. Julia said: 'I whizzed through immigration in five minutes and was in my hotel around 75 minutes after landing.
'I couldn't stop smiling as soon as I stepped out of the subway. The buzz, the lights, the energy – it was like stepping into a movie," Julia said.
'As well as being obsessed with travel, I also love musical theatre, so really this was the perfect combo. I'm a massive musical theatre fan – I've seen nearly 200 shows – so this felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The ticket cost £200, but it was worth every penny.'
Julia, who works as head of business development at a training company, says she spent £180 on a hotel and around £60 on food, drink and a few treats. She calls the super-quick holiday a 'bucket list trip' and 'super indulgent'.
Julia, who once flew to Buenos Aires for two days, says this was her most daring travel stunt yet – but she's already planning the next one. She added: 'I'm already thinking about where I could go next. I'd love to try Tokyo for a weekend or maybe a day in Dubai.
'I've realised you don't need loads of time – just the will to go. If I've inspired even one person to follow a dream or travel solo, I'll be very happy. Travel opens your mind and your heart. You don't have to wait for someone else to go with you – just book the trip. You'll never regret going, you'll only regret not going.'
She also took to Facebook to share details of her journey. The post has racked up hundreds of likes and comments, with people asking for tips on how to pull off a 24-hour adventure.
While the trips may be cheap and a great way to see the world, not everyone is a fan. Cait Hewitt, policy director at Aviation Environment Federation, has criticised day tripping, arguing it relies on a very polluting form of transport amid a climate crisis.
"The argument that 'the plane's going anyway so it doesn't make any difference if I fill an empty seat' really doesn't stack up. Airlines operate on thin profit margins so will be keeping a close eye on which routes are the most popular and how to adjust their schedules in future only to run profitable services," Cait explained.
"By filling that empty seat you could be the person who tips the balance and convinces the airline to keep operating that flight on that route next season, or operating on a bigger, heavier plane than they would have done otherwise.
"An 'extreme' day trip by air can generate a pretty extreme level of emissions if you allocate them per passenger. A single long haul flight can have a bigger impact on the size of your carbon footprint than any other activity you engage in. It could, for example, wipe out all the CO2 savings you'd make by going vegan for a year. Given the really urgent need to cut emissions, it would be cool to think creatively about what extreme green leisure could look like."
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