Two mums flew to Ibiza for 10 hours after bagging return flights for £37 - and say it was cheaper than a day trip to London. Clare Jeffs, 36, and Hannah Brown, 38, fancied a day out and decided to hop on a plane to sunny Ibiza.
They left for Spain on March 30, 2023, and flew via EasyJet from Manchester airport at 3am - touching down at 9am. The pals spent the day exploring the Old Town, having brunch and sunbathing on the beach before heading back to the airport to catch a 9pm flight back to Manchester.
Clare and Hannah got back home to Manchester in time to wake their kids up the next morning. Clare, a complaints advisor, said: "I had a baby last year. I haven’t spent a day away from her since she was born.
"She has some medical issues, so I didn’t really want to take her on holiday. I assumed I wouldn’t be abroad for a good few years. So, I went to look for a trip out in England - London or something. But the flights were cheaper to go to Ibiza for the day.
"I said to Hannah - 'I think I’m going do something absolutely crazy and go to Ibiza for the day' and she said 'take me'. I knew she would."
Hannah, a marketer, found someone to care for her twins - Charlotte and Sophie, nine - and Clare asked her husband, Sam, 32, to look after their 11-month-old daughter, Daisy. Clare said: “I waited for my husband to come back to ask if that is OK because he would have to book the day off to look after Daisy.
"He said yes - so we booked it straight away.” The friends jetted off on the two-hour-and-50-minute flight to Old Town, Ibiza, and explored the area before ending the day on the beach.
Clare said: “The flight was for 5.45am and was all on time. When we got there, we picked up a hire car and drove to Old Town.
"We had brunch, had a walk around the harbour and the old church and just around the old streets. Then we sat watching the sea from a wall. It was beautiful.
"We then went to the beach and ate paella, and then drove to a different beach where we stayed there for a couple hours before leaving at around 8pm. My favourite part had to be by the sea. I am in my happy place by the sea, it was really relaxing to sit watching the waves and to destress.”
Hannah and Clare raved over their experience - despite not knowing the area well before arriving. Clare said: “We had our food at Cafe Montesol.
"We had it recommended to us by a random girl on Twitter. I saw she went to Old Town, and I asked her where we should go for food. I had the best avocado on toast ever there. It was amazing and we had churros that were divine.”
The mums spent £37 each on return flights, and £70 on food and travel and walked 15k steps. They flew back to the UK at 9pm and arrived home at midnight.
Clare said: "When I got back, I was so tired that I just went straight to sleep. It felt weird being back in my own bed that I was in this morning, but I felt refreshed when I woke Daisy in the morning.
“For those that want to do it, I would say you definitely could have gone to cheaper places for food and had a smaller budget than we did.” Clare enjoyed their day out so much she already has another day trip abroad in mind to surprise Hannah with for her birthday.
She said: "I cannot recommend it enough it is amazing. It is very tiring, but it is such a good thing to do. It is something different and doesn’t need to cost loads.
"I loved having a day to myself and my best friend. I felt lifted. It was a great idea. It was so nice to step away from real life. I really recommend it to mothers that want a day to themselves to chill.”
