9 holiday destinations you can fly to for less than a UK train ticket

What do Seville, Marrakech and Budapest have in common? They all cost less to fly to than a train ticket from London to Glasgow. It sounds too good to be true, but in an era where air travel is more accessible than ever and UK rail fares continue to skyrocket, the cheapest weekend breaks are no longer staycations in quaint British seaside towns. Bite-sized 48-hour getaways are trending and extreme day trips – where travellers catch early morning flights to short-haul destinations and return within the same day – are becoming increasingly popular.

But where to go? Metro has compared train journeys between some of the UK’s busiest stations with budget airline flights to find out which trips come out cheaper. From Mediterranean beaches to cities bursting with culture, plenty of destinations can be reached for less than a train ticket — here are our top picks. We’ve compared the cheapest return flights to popular holiday destinations with advance single train tickets to locations all over the UK.

But to see how much it costs to fly on the same dates as a train journey, here’s where you can fly to for less than a return ticket from London to Glasgow for March 7-14, which costs £127. Hungary has been named as one of the world’s top 10 destinations for 2025, and the capital of Budapest has no shortage of activities to keep travellers busy — including those on a budget. A visit to the Hungarian Parliament, with its dramatic neo-Gothic architecture, should be top of any hit list (be sure to book in advance as tickets sell out quickly). Buda Castle and St Stephen’s Basilica are also well worth a visit.

Another must is a night cruise along the Danube River, which separates the Buda part of the city from Pest, and a dip in the iconic Szechenyi baths, one of the largest thermal spas in Europe. If that sounds like your ideal getaway, you can book return flights from £27 with Ryanair, who fly direct to Budapest from airports across the UK. Metro‘s Alice Murphy turned her back on a staycation in Cornwall after discovering she could fly to Budapest and back for less than the £137 train fare.

Alice broke down the cost of her entire trip below:. Read more about Alice’s trip to Budapest here. Tirana is a hidden gem for travellers on a budget. Hotel rooms in the Albanian capital cost as little as £20 a night, while it’s not unusual for restaurants to serve main courses for £6. Chelsea Dickenson, aka Cheap Holiday Expert on Instagram, challenged herself to spend under £100 on a getaway to Tirana — and came back with change.

But there’s more to this Balkan metropolis than cheap prices. One of the city’s top attractions is Bunk’Art, a former Cold War bunker that has been transformed into a history and contemporary art museum embedded in a hillside. The fusion of Albania’s chequered history with modern art encapsulates the city’s transformation from isolated Communist state to funky European holiday spot. Wizz Air fly direct to Tirana from London Luton for as little as £25 for a return — that’s cheaper than a single train ticket from London to Cardiff, which starts from £31 for an advance fair.

Poznan is a great choice for travellers looking to avoid the crowds of Warsaw and Krakow. There’s plenty to do, but the standout is definitely the food. This place does Polish cuisine at its finest. Don’t miss the famous St Martin’s croissant (a pastry with a white poppy-seed filling), it’s well worth a try. Poznan city centre has a real buzz about it with a variety of restaurants, pubs and clubs to choose from, as well as multiple museums and Art Nouveau architecture to admire.

Poznan – Poland 🇵🇱 How to spend 2 days in Poznan, what to do & where to stay : 🏠 La Guitarra – 32€/night (not worth it) 🎒Activities : – Visit the old town and its colourful houses – Take a look at Stary Browar – Have a drink at KontenerArt – The Srodka district – Enjoy a walk along Malta lake #poland #travel #poznan #citytrip #cheaptravel. Travellers on a budget can bag return flights from £27 with Ryanair, who fly direct from airports across the UK.

That makes a round trip to the Polish city cheaper than a single journey from Cardiff to Manchester via train, with fares starting from £29. Metro‘s Steve Charnock recently picked Ostrava for our annual round-up of unmissable destinations to visit in 2025. This Czechia city is a great destination for travellers in search of vibrant nightlife, with a modest mix of old-school Czech taverns, hipster breweries and value-for-money restaurants serving up hunks of meat.

Stodolní Street is full of late-night drinking dens which come alive in July for Colours of Ostrava, a music festival that will see Iggy Pop and Justice headline this year. The event takes place at Dolní Vítkovice, an industrial heritage site that’s been turned into a cultural hub. Ryanair runs return flights to Ostrava from London Stansted for as little as £31. That’s cheaper than a train ticket from London to Newquay, which costs from £44 for an advance single.