Christmas Market Day Trips from Birmingham 2026: Five Compared

If you're in the Midlands, every Christmas market coach trip you'll find leaves at silly o'clock and gets you back after midnight. Flying from Birmingham is quicker than half of them, and some days it's cheaper too.

We checked every same-day return from Birmingham to a city with a Christmas market this year. Five work. Here they are side by side, cheapest whole day first.

Which Christmas markets can you do in a day from Birmingham?

• Krakow, Fri 11 Dec: £91 flights, about 8 hours there, £122 for the whole day
• Amsterdam, Wed 16 Dec: £104 flights, about 8.8 hours, £155 for the day
• Budapest, Mon 16 Nov: £133 flights, about 5.5 hours, £165 for the day
• Prague, Thu 26 Nov: £172 flights, about 6.8 hours, £200 for the day
• Dusseldorf, Tue 24 Nov: £175 flights, about 5.8 hours, £222 for the day

The whole-day figure is the return flight plus our estimate for the airport transfer, getting about, lunch, dinner and a drink. Flights were checked between 6 and 8 October, so check today's price before you book.

Krakow or Amsterdam: which is the better day?

Krakow wins on money. Ryanair out at 06:00, landing at 09:30, back at 20:50 and home at 22:30. Eight hours on the ground and the whole day comes in at about £122, because food and drink in Krakow cost a fraction of what they do in Amsterdam. One warning: Krakow hasn't confirmed its 2026 market dates yet, so check them before you book.

Amsterdam wins on ease. easyJet out at 07:05, landing at 09:25, back at 21:30 and home by 21:50. Nearly nine hours there and the train from Schiphol drops you in the middle of town. The Ice Village on Museumplein runs from 3 to 27 December, so this one only works in December. See the Amsterdam day.

Are Budapest and Dusseldorf worth it?

Only if you're set on them. Both give you under six hours, and Budapest means a 06:00 flight with a 19:10 flight home. That's enough to walk the Advent Bazilika market and Vörösmarty tér, eat, and head back. It's not a relaxed day.

Dusseldorf is the dearest of the five at £175 for flights with Eurowings, and you're back on the plane at 18:45. Its markets open on 19 November and run across seven areas of town, so you'll have to choose.

What about Prague?

Jet2 on Thursday 26 November: out at 07:40, back at 21:40, about 6.8 hours in the city. £172 is a lot for Prague flights, but the day itself is the cheapest of the lot at about £28 on the ground. The market on Náměstí Míru opens on 20 November and the big one on Wenceslas Square on 28 November.

So which one should you book?

Krakow if you want the most for your money, once its dates are confirmed. Amsterdam if you want the easiest, longest day and you can wait for December. If you've only got a November weekday, Prague is the safest bet.

Every market we cover, with opening days and hours, is on our Christmas markets page.