A Brit who loves extreme day trips has been to 15 cities so far this year – including a recent adventure in Africa for quad biking and traditional Moroccan food for less than a night out in the UK.
Luke Simmonds joined two friends whom he met in an extreme day trip group for his 24-hour adventure.
The trio flew from London to Marrakesh, heading out from Stansted airport last month.
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For the 36-year-old, who hails from Surrey, it was the perfect way to tick another destination off his ever-growing travel list – without using up any of his precious annual leave.
The lightning-fast getaway wasn’t his first that week, though, with Luke having already ticked off Rimini, San Marino and Disneyland Paris a few days before.
“People think flying to Africa for the day must cost a fortune, but honestly, I’ve spent more on a night out in London,” the IT consultant told Whats The Jam .
“At least this way, I get a proper adventure and memories that last longer than a hangover.
“I’ve always wanted to see Marrakesh and thought – why not just go for the day?
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“They [extreme day trips] can get quite tiring as you can be awake for 24 hours sometimes.
“I’ve got used to it, and I’ve even done back-to-back extreme day trips.
“But when you’ve quad biked through the desert and eaten tagine in Marrakesh, the tiredness is 100% worth it.”
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Despite being on the continent for just a few hours, Luke made the most of every minute.
The flights set him back £147, which is more than he’d usually spend on an extreme day trip.
Some of his previous outings cost as little as £18 return.
Food and drink came in at around £30, while the quad biking cost just £28, including airport pickup.
A shared taxi back to the airport cost another £5 each.
In total, Luke reckons the day set him back around £230, including UK travel, which is still cheaper than a typical night out back home, where he would splash around £250.
He said: “It might’ve only been a few hours, but I packed so much in – it felt like a proper holiday.
“From riding through the desert to wandering the markets, every moment felt like an adventure.
“You don’t need a week off or a big budget to see the world.
“This trip proved you can have a real adventure in just one day.
“I came back feeling like I’d been away for a week.
“Sometimes a change of scenery, even for a few hours, is all you need to reset.”
Luke booked the trip on 12 July months in advance, and although it wasn’t his cheapest, he says Marrakesh offered great value.
His day started at 1.30 am when his alarm went off, and he crawled back into bed the next morning at 3 am.
Luke caught the travel bug after COVID when the world reopened.
Since then, he’s racked up 49 countries and counting, with plans to tick off even more.
In 2025 alone, he’s been to Istanbul, Switzerland, Malaga, Cluj Napoca, Sarajevo, Gothenburg, Dubrovnik, Milan, Inverness, Alicante, Liechtenstein, Reus, Rimini, Disneyland Paris, and now Marrakesh – with Hamburg, Prague, Vilnius and Barcelona already booked.
He’s even taken on some mega-trips – like India, Singapore and Bahrain in just 10 days and a three-country dash through North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania over a bank holiday.
But it’s not all solo travel – Luke now helps organise trips through travel groups, acting as an informal tour guide for dozens of others looking to do the same.
He said, “I think not being able to travel during the pandemic just made me want to explore even more once things opened up.
“Now I can’t get enough of it – there’s always somewhere new I want to tick off.
“It’s great sharing these experiences with others, too.
“Helping organise trips through the group means more people can see how easy it is to fit real adventures into everyday life.
“We’ve had people on their first-ever flight join us for a day trip.
“Seeing their faces when we land somewhere completely new is brilliant – that’s what keeps me doing it.”
Not everyone is on board with Luke’s jet-setting lifestyle, with critics calling out the environmental impact of quick-fire flights.
But he says it’s not that simple.
He added: “The plane is flying anyway – me being on it doesn’t increase emissions.
“A modern aircraft now produces fewer emissions per passenger than a diesel car.
“I care about the planet, too, but I’m not going to pretend that skipping one flight is going to save it.
“I’ve got it down to a routine now.
“I’d 100% recommend this kind of travel – you get to explore the world without breaking the bank or taking loads of time off.
“It’s made me feel like I’ve really lived.”
