Reading the words “extreme day trip” conjures, for me, the vision of an adrenaline-fuelled excursion somewhere in the UK. You know: skydiving in St Andrew’s, say, or bungee-jumping in Bangor; coasteering in Cornwall or paragliding in the Peak District.
It turns out I’m woefully behind the times. The term refers to the latest heinous holiday concept – one that I’m convinced may be the single worst trend to ever grace the world of travel. The idea is simple, albeit horrifying: travellers fly to a destination, tick off a jam-packed list of activities, and fly back again, all within the space of a day.
It has gained traction on social media, where, for example, the hashtag #extremedaytrip has clocked up thousands of posts on TikTok. A Facebook group called Extreme Day Trips, meanwhile, has attracted more than 327,000 members ready to swap experiences for just how far a person can reasonably fling themselves in a 24-hour period. And then there’s extremedaytrips.com, a site where community members share their one-day itineraries from the UK, including timings, tips, tricks and prices. Now, the practice has officially gone from fringe to mainstream: tour operator Tui has launched an extreme day trip to Lapland for its winter 2026 programme, departing from 11 UK airports.
Read more: Tui launch ‘Search for Santa’ day trip to Lapland amid climate concerns
The “Search for Santa” itinerary is, for want of a better word, ambitious. Holidaymakers will be served a full English breakfast during the 3h 30m (approx) flight before arriving in Kittila, Finland, around midday. They’ll grab snowsuits and boots, head to an “ice village” to see the ice hotel and ice bar, hop on a sleigh ride pulled by reindeer, switch to a husky-led sled ride, go for a trip on a snowmobile, meet a Lapland local who’ll impart stories and legends about the area, engage in some arts and crafts, take a journey through snowy woodland to meet Santa and his elves, and warm up with a hot juice by the campfire before returning to the airport. Oh, and on the plane home, they’ll be served Christmas dinner.
I’m exhausted just writing it, let alone doing it; God knows when you’re supposed to fit…
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