'I've travelled across the world without taking any time off work - here's how I do it'

• Michael Cracknell takes ‘extreme’ day trips across Europe, traveling thousands of miles in 24 hours
• He balances his passion for travel with work, packing trips into a single day to preserve his weekend
• Cracknell founded the Extreme Day Trips Facebook group, now with over 250,000 members
• His viral trips, including a £100 Benidorm adventure, have sparked a growing community

Meet the man who has made “extreme” day trips his hobby, traveling thousands of miles in just 24 hours.

Michael Cracknell, 35, spends his free time exploring Europe, venturing as far as Switzerland and Athens from his home in West Sussex.

He packs it all into a single day, so he doesn't need to take time off work and still has a free weekend day to unwind.

A professional photographer from Haywards Heath, Cracknell is also the creator of the Extreme Day Trips Facebook group, which has grown to over 250,000 members.

Launched in October 2022, the group allows Cracknell to coordinate trips with others, while members can share their own adventures with fellow enthusiasts.

Cracknell said of his first trip: “There were people that were quite sceptical and told me I couldn’t possibly do anything in a day. I wanted to prove that you could.

“It just grew from there and exploded into what it is today. I am very surprised by how popular it has become. I had no clue this would happen.

“It is all done in a day, so you don’t have to take any time off work and you still have one day of the weekend left to recover, do your shopping and your washing.

“Then you can go to work on Monday and say ‘oh I popped over to Athens at the weekend’ and you haven’t used any holiday days.

“I wasn’t very keen on being away from home for long periods of time so the day trips were the perfect answer to travelling for me.”

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Cracknell says his love for one day trips began in 2002 when he was training to be a pilot and visited Toulouse with his father.

In 2020 he reignited his passion for 24-hour adventures and booked a load of trips, before the Covid 19 pandemic put a pause on his hobby.

After starting his Facebook group, he says a post went viral where he planned a day trip to Benidorm for under £100, which he says is his cheapest trip yet.

This year he began bringing people from the group on trips with him - taking 20 people to Switzerland just last weekend. So far, he has planned around 12 trips with roughly 15 people on each of them.

Cracknell is unsure on how many holidays he has been on since he began, but he says it is “quite a lot”.

He added: “I have been all over Europe on day trips since 2022. People love the trips and they enjoy themselves. I don’t charge, I just plan it, and people book for themselves.

“I can’t believe how good the community is. They are just so grateful and they can’t believe we have done it in a day. And there are now well over 100 people that I have done that for.

“I have made many friends from this. The friendships which are forged from there are incredible. Most of the time when you get back you are absolutely tired. You are still buzzing from the day, but you certainly sleep well that night.

“You kind of get used to it but for new starters the tiredness can be overwhelming.”

When reminiscing on his favourite trips, Cracknell also mentioned visiting Athens with his father and two brothers.

In what he says was a “really special day” the family flew to the Greek city and visited all the tourist sites in 24 hours for only £149 each - including dinner and activities.

The planner says that with a train to Edinburgh alone costing more than that, it is a no brainer to take part in his fun packed trips abroad.

For 2024, Cracknell says he has one more group trip planned in two weeks time to Switzerland - with 2,500 people having applied to visit the country with him.

He added: “I love Switzerland so much. The public transport there is so much more reliable than what we have here. The key to cheap trips is to book flights as far in advance as you can during a sale.”

Have you ever dreamed of traveling across Europe in a single day? Share your thoughts, favourite destinations or any "extreme" day trip experiences in the comments section.