October Half Term Day Trips Abroad 2026: 4 Flights Under £75, Checked

A week of half term and nothing booked. A week away is a lot of money. A day abroad isn't. Here are four, one from each airport, with the time you're home so you know who'll be asleep in the car.

When is October half term 2026?

Most schools in England break up from 26 to 30 October. Check your own school's dates, they're not the same everywhere.

Every flight below is the cheapest same-day return on Google Flights for that date, checked on 6 October 2026.

Do children pay full fare on a day trip abroad?

Fares are per person, and on these airlines children aged two and over pay for a seat too, so price it for everyone. Half term fares climb fast, so check the trip page before you book.

1. Dublin from Birmingham, Mon 26 Oct: £43

Best for: little ones. Ryanair out at 06:05, landing at 07:15, home by 19:30. About 8.4 hours in the city and about £89 all in on our trip page. An hour in the air, and you're back in time for bath and bed.

The National Museum, the National Gallery and Phoenix Park are all free. Monday 26 October is a bank holiday in Ireland, so the city will be busy and some places keep holiday hours. Check before you go. Check Ryanair's ID rules for Ireland before you go.

Dublin from Birmingham on Mon 26 Oct

2. Cork from Manchester, Tue 27 Oct: £36

Best for: the longest day for the least money. Ryanair out at 06:55, landing at 08:10. About 11.8 hours in the city, the most on this list by miles, and about £103 all in. The catch is you're home at 23:30.

The English Market is free and it's the reason to go. Fitzgerald's Park, with the Shakey Bridge and the Cork Public Museum, is free too. Cork City Gaol is about £10 for an adult if it rains.

Cork from Manchester on Tue 27 Oct

3. Lanzarote from Liverpool, Wed 28 Oct: £57

Best for: older kids who want a beach. Ryanair out at 05:45, landing at 09:55. Four hours each way, and Lanzarote is on UK time. About 7.9 hours in Arrecife and about £94 all in. You fly home at 20:20 and land at 00:25, so this one's for teenagers, not toddlers.

Playa del Reducto, the town beach, is free, and so is the Charco de San Ginés lagoon. The Castillo de San José museum is about £4.60. The bus from the airport is about £2 there and back on our cost data. Sunset's at about 19:13, so you get the whole afternoon.

Lanzarote from Liverpool on Wed 28 Oct

4. Wrocław from Stansted, Sun 25 Oct: £73

Best for: kids who need a mission. Ryanair out at 08:55, landing at 11:55, home at 23:55. About 7.6 hours in the city and about £104 all in. The clocks go back at 2am that morning, so you get an extra hour in bed before a civilised flight.

The mission is the dwarfs. Wrocław has hundreds of little bronze dwarfs hidden round the old town, and finding them costs nothing. The Market Square and Ostrów Tumski are free. If it pours, Hydropolis, the water museum, is about £9 and the zoo and Afrykarium about £20 for an adult.

Wrocław from Stansted on Sun 25 Oct

Where to go for a day trip abroad from the UK?

With kids, start with the time you're home, not the price. Dublin wins for under-fives. Cork if you can carry a sleeping child to the car. Lanzarote and Wrocław for older ones. Our trip pages show the hours in the city and the time you land back for every date, from every UK airport.

Every day trip from Birmingham

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Photo credits. Top: Paul Stephenson, CC BY 2.0. Ha'penny Bridge: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0. English Market: Dan Curran, CC BY-SA 4.0. Papa Krasnal: Klaudiax, public domain. Wrocław Market Square: Slawek Ilski, CC BY 3.0.