In the ever-evolving world of online travel trends, a new one has been popping up across TikTok and Instagram: extreme day trips.
The first extreme day trip video I came across was published by a creator whose whole account is centered around these trips. In the video, they took a redeye flight from New York City to Rome, spent the morning and afternoon in Rome, and caught an evening flight back home.
It turns out that there’s quite a few creators who have leaned into this trend, filming themselves hopping on a plane to see the Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, or to soak in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. The content is flashy and undeniably engaging, and many creators are quickly building large followings by publishing regular extreme day trip vlogs
What are extreme day trips?
An extreme day trip is a travel trend where someone books a same-day round-trip flight to another city or country, spends just a few hours there, and then flies back home the very same evening.
Instead of staying overnight, the entire experience, from boarding the plane to sightseeing and returning home, happens within 24 hours. These quick trips can be to nearby destinations, like hopping from London to Paris, or even across oceans, like flying from New York to Rome for a single day.
Why do extreme day trips appeal to people?
Seeing videos of people going on extreme day trips might leave you thinking, “wow, that’s spontaneous and cool” – you can see people having this reaction in the comments. And that’s exactly the point: extreme day trippers are building their audiences on the idea that travel can be impulsive, easy, and glamorous.
I understand why so many viewers are intrigued by extreme day trips, I really do. They’re exciting, and they present the idea that you can see the world, even with limited time. What I see in the comments of these videos is that for many people, these trips represent an accessible form of travel.
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the United States is the only advanced economy without a mandated paid annual leave policy, leaving benefits to be set by individual employers. The result is that many Americans have no PTO (paid time off). And others only have 10 days. With the realities of life mixed in, even two weeks of PTO can very much limit a person’s ability to go on a trip.
There’s also the economic piece. Spending several weeks traveling is a privilege that is financially inaccessible for many people, even if they earn a solid income. Travel requires disposable income. Spending just a day abroad is much more financially feasible than the costs associated with a multi-day trip.
A symptom of bigger issues
I personally read the extreme day trips trend as a symptom of deeper issues. These videos could be a form of escapism for some viewers. If you can’t imagine ever taking three weeks off of work for a dream trip to Europe, then watching someone squeeze Rome into a day makes the impossible feel within reach.
Ultimately, these videos indirectly tap into real frustrations about time, about work culture, about capitalism, and about the privilege of travel.
The problems with extreme day trips
But extreme day trips don’t provide a real resolution for those frustrations. These trips encourage a kind of travel that comes with problems, many of which are holding back our progress toward more sustainable tourism.
Air travel is one of the most carbon-intensive activities a person can do, and making flights a casual, everyday experience only worsens that impact.
I often see in online chatter the argument that “the flights will go anyways.” The idea is that individual choices don’t matter. But as consumers, our demand does influence airlines. Increased consumer demand leads to airlines offering more flights and more routes. We’ve seen this reflected in the air traffic data over recent decades.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that 5.2 billion people will fly this year. This is about 6.7 percent more than in 2024. If that forecast holds true, it will be the first time in history that global air travel surpasses the 5-billion-passenger mark. Airlines, like any other capitalist enterprise, are driven by growth. And that growth is in part fueled by passenger demand.
Then, there’s the impact of extreme day trips on host communities. Tourism always brings a mix of pros and cons for local populations, and unfortunately, extreme day trips likely fall more on the cons end of the spectrum.
For locals in popular day trip cities, the influx of quick-turnaround visitors can add strain to already crowded spaces without offering the same economic benefit that overnight travelers bring. Many popular extreme day trip cities, like Rome, are already experiencing the negative impacts of overtourism, and day trippers add more strain.
Tourism is fundamentally built on a system of exchanges, including the exchange of money for goods and services, and the exchange of cultural experiences. When you’re visiting a place for only a few hours, you simply won’t have the ability to participate in these exchanges like you could if you visited for a few days.
Then there’s the way this trend encourages a more performative relationship with travel. An extreme day trip isn’t as conducive to experiencing a place in depth. With just a few hours in a city, there isn’t much room for learning, connection, context, or understanding.
Flashy, but not a solution
Extreme day trips look exciting on social media, but they’re ultimately a band-aid for bigger issues. They speak to the frustrations many people feel about limited time off and the rising cost of travel, while offering a flashy shortcut that doesn’t solve either problem.
At the same time, they normalize a style of travel that is carbon-heavy, contributes little to local economies, and can reduce places to backdrops for content.
If what people are really craving is more access to travel, I don’t think the answer is extreme day trips. It’s in pushing for work cultures and systems that make time and mobility more equitable. In the meantime, maybe it’s also in rethinking what counts as “worthwhile” travel.
This could mean saving a little longer, so that you can spend a whole weekend in a place rather for just one day. Or, it could mean choosing slower, closer-to-home experiences.
My personal take
Personally, I wouldn’t fly to Rome for a day. Aside from the issues I’ve mentioned above, I just know I wouldn’t enjoy it. I would find it stressful to navigate an unfamiliar city on so few hours of sleep, and I would feel overwhelmed by the urge to pack in as much sightseeing as I can with my limited time there.
The thing is, I have travel privileges. For most of my adult life, travel has felt within my reach.
I have had the privilege of vacation days, financial security, disposable income, mobility, health, and more. Because of this, I’ve been able to travel for extended periods of time, embracing the slow travel mindset.
Would I feel differently about extreme day trips if I didn’t have these privileges? Perhaps I would.
I know some of this critique might come across as a bit of a buzzkill, especially if these videos feel joyful or inspiring to you. I don’t want to dismiss that. I understand why people are drawn to these videos.
And when I talk about my own travel privileges, I don’t mean to create distance. My goal is to be transparent about the perspective I’m writing from, because I realize not everyone has the same access, opportunities, privileges.
For many, an extreme day trip might feel like the only kind of travel that’s possible right now, and that feeling deserves to be acknowledged too.
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Want to travel in a way that’s better for people and the planet? Here are some guides to get you started:
- Learn the main tips for being a responsible tourist.
- Use sustainable tourism tips to travel eco-consciously.
- Travel to places that aren’t facing overtourism to reduce your impact.
- Practice second city tourism when you do want to visit more popular places.
- Be aware of cultural appropriation and avoid it.
- Support Indigenous communities when you travel.
