A mum has revealed how she and her son jet off on extreme day trips across Europe to ride the continent’s biggest rollercoasters – all while spending less than the price of a day out in the UK.
Sian Imm plans three adrenaline-fuelled trips a year with her son Harvey, 24, as they aim to visit as many theme parks as possible.
The pair have already ticked off parks including Efteling in the Netherlands, Phantasialand in Germany, Futuroscope in France, Gardaland in Italy, PortAventura and Ferrari Land in Spain, Europa-Park in Germany, Walibi Belgium and the Pixar Experience in Belgium.
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The 47-year-old, who is also mum to Bailey, 25, says she’d never pay more than £75 for flights.
School learning partner Sian started taking day trips abroad after finding flight prices during term time increasingly unaffordable.
“We first started getting into theme parks when the boys were really little,” Sian, from Gloucestershire, told Whats The Jam.
“It started with them wanting to build a theme park in the garden and asking neighbours and friends to drop off wood.
“When they were little, they put a post on my Facebook asking people for wood and people would call and ask where I wanted it dropped off.
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“They were obsessed with theme parks and rollercoasters.
“They loved Minecraft and would make rollercoasters on there.
“Every time someone went to a theme park and went on a rollercoaster, they’d get a cred so they racked up rollercoaster creds.
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“After doing lots of theme parks in England, when we went abroad on holiday we’d look for a theme park or funfair with a rollercoaster so they could get a cred.
“Harvey has always been an adrenaline junkie and I have since I went to America when I was younger.
“It’s become an obsession and if there’s a chance we can go to one, we will.
“Last year, we had two days off and did Alton Towers one day and drove to Thorpe Park the day after.
“It’s something that brings us together.”
The family’s favourite parks are different, with Harvey naming Germany’s Phantasialand as his top choice, while Sian says Europa-Park in Rust is her favourite.
Sian and IT technician Harvey search for bargain flights using Skyscanner.
If they decide to stay over, they budget £350 for the whole weekend including hostels with private rooms and bathrooms.
She said: “Flights are normally through Ryanair or Easyjet but we never get a bag as that will cost more than the flight sometimes.
“Our cheapest flight was an £18 return to Alicante, Dublin and Gothenburg.
“For a weekend break, I would never pay more than £75 at the most for both of us.
“Our weekend budget at a maximum with spending money is £350 but if we drink it can be more but we try to do it all for this, otherwise we couldn’t afford to do it.
“We do spend more if there’s something there we desperately want to do.
“We take advantage of genius rewards on Booking.com and free breakfasts.
“We never go crazy on accommodation and will often look for city hostels that have private rooms with a private bathroom.
“We’ve never had a bad one yet.”
Next, they plan to take on the rollercoasters at Energylandia in Poland, Parque Warner in Madrid, and Movieland Studios in Italy.
The family’s love of travel has become so well known that relatives now buy them holidays instead of physical gifts.
Sian added: “Our sons and parents buy us trips for Christmas presents as we would much rather that than and encourage them to come with us.
“We buy our boys trips to encourage them to stay close and enjoy time away together.
“Friends and family think we are crazy but have joined us on trips and really enjoyed it, always saying they felt like they’d been away for a lot longer and felt like they’d had a break.
“At home, we don’t always have a lot of time together due to work.
“When we go away, we are together without any distractions and temptation to do work and just enjoy our time together.”
