Haywards Heath man travels across Europe without taking annual leave

Michael Cracknell has perfected the art of seeing the sights around Europe in quick time, flying off to cities and coming back in a day without needing to take any holiday.

The 35-year-old has now honed his skills to help take dozens of people away with him on his trips having amassed a following of more than 250,000 people wanting to know how he travels the world.

Michael, from Haywards Heath, said: “At first there were people who were quite sceptical and told me I couldn’t possibly do anything in a day. I wanted to prove that you could.

Michael's views from the Swiss Alps (Image: Michael Cracknell / SWNS)

“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.

“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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Matthew, a photographer by trade, said his love for day trips began in 2002 when he was training to be a pilot and visited Toulouse with his father.

He re-started the one-day trips in 2020 shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic but, after starting his Extreme Day Trips Facebook group, went viral after telling people he had planned a day in Benidorm for under £100.

Views over the Swiss mountains (Image: Michael Cracknell / SWNS)

The group now has more than 250,000 members and Matthew looks to take other people across the world on his weekends away.

He recently took 20 people with him to visit Switzerland for the day for less than the price of a train to Edinburgh.

When reminiscing on his favourite trips, Mr 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.

Mr 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."