Day Trips from London: Every Airport, Priced for the Day
The cheapest day trip from London right now is Cork from Stansted on Wednesday 25 November, £28.00 return on the flights and £83.85 for the whole day on the ground.
Day trips from London are the cheapest in the country, mostly because you've got five airports to choose from and the low cost airlines fight over them. The cheapest full day we can find across the lot right now is Cork out of Stansted at £83.85, and £28.00 of that is the return flight. Every one of these is costed the same way we cost all the other extreme day trips on the board, so the price includes the train, the lunch and the dinner rather than just the airfare.
Cheapest full day from London right now is Cork from Stansted on Wednesday 25 November, £28.00 return on the flights and £83.85 once the ground costs go on. Checked 4 November. See the day
Which London airport is cheapest for a day trip?
Stansted, by a nose. Here's where the four sit right now on their cheapest November day, flights first and then the whole day on the ground.
Stansted, Cork on Wednesday 25 November, £28.00 return and £83.85 for the day, checked 4 November. Gatwick, Cork on Wednesday 18 November, £30.00 return and £85.85 for the day, checked 5 November. Luton, Knock on Thursday 19 November, £31.00 return and £96.30 for the day, checked 4 November. Heathrow, Dublin on Saturday 28 November, £79.00 return and £117.85 for the day, checked 4 November.
Why is Heathrow so much dearer?
Because the airlines flying day-trip-friendly routes out of Heathrow are mostly full service carriers with full service prices. You're paying about £34 more for the day than you would from Gatwick for a similar city. What you get back is a shorter run to the airport if you live in west London, which for some people is worth the difference.
Want to see where your money actually goes? BudgetBro tracks it in any currency, free.
What's the cheapest city to fly to from London?
Cork, twice over, from both Stansted and Gatwick. It's an easy one for a first day trip too, because the airport sits close to the city, almost everything worth seeing is walkable and the English Market does lunch for a few quid. We've gone through the day trips abroad from Stansted in more detail if Stansted is your airport.
How much of the price is the flight and how much is the day?
Roughly £28 to £31 of flight and £55 or so on the ground, from the three cheap airports. That ground figure is the bit most people forget, and it's why a £28 flight turns into an £84 day. It covers getting to and from both airports, getting into the city, a lunch and a dinner.
Which London airport gives you the most hours abroad?
That comes down to the route rather than the terminal, so search the date rather than the airport. The per-airport write-ups have the detail, Gatwick, Luton and Heathrow.
Can you do a Christmas market as a day trip from London?
Plenty of them, and November and December are when these get busiest. Every market we've costed, from every UK airport, is on the Christmas markets pages.
Is a day trip from London actually worth it?
At £84 for a day in Cork, everything in, yes. At £118 from Heathrow it's closer and you'd want to really fancy the city. The thing that kills these days is never the fare, it's booking a 06:00 flight and forgetting you need to be at the airport by 04:30, so look at the whole day before you book rather than just the price.
Fares move as seats sell, so check your date before you book. Founders pay £19 a year for every date we check.
Day trips in this article
The cheapest day trips of the week, by email
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
Related Articles
Day Trips Abroad from Edinburgh, and What They Cost
Every day trip we've costed from Edinburgh Airport, with the flights, the transport and the food in one figure.
· 3 min read
Day Trips from Belfast: What's Actually Possible
The honest picture on same-day trips out of Belfast, what they cost, and when the cheap days come back.
· 2 min read
Day Trips from Cardiff: Where You Can Go and Back in a Day
Every day trip we've costed from Cardiff Airport, with the flights, the bus and the food in one number.
· 3 min read
Latest Articles
View all articles
Valentine's Day Trip From Birmingham and Bristol 2027
The cheapest Valentine's day trips for two from Birmingham and Bristol in February 2027, from Dublin to Prague, with flight times and what the whole day costs.
· 3 min read
New Year's Day Trips Abroad 2027, From £73.85 All In
New Year's Day is the cheapest day to fly in the first weekend of 2027. Here are the best day trips abroad on Friday 1 January, home the same night, with whole-day costs.
· 3 min read
Flight Time Manchester to Copenhagen, and a Day There
Manchester to Copenhagen is under two hours in the air. Here is exactly how long it takes, what time you land, and whether you can do Copenhagen in a day.
· 3 min read