Stefanie Curran, 41, drove four hours for a meeting in Crawley – and ended up getting a solo flight to Crete when she found out it had been cancelled last minute
A woman ended up flying to Greece after driving four hours for a work meeting that was cancelled.
Stefanie Curran, 41, had an important meeting scheduled with a potential new client in Crawley, West Sussex on May 7, and travelled the night before from her home in Torquay to stay overnight in a hotel.
When she found out last minute that the meeting was cancelled, the mum-of-two said she was left frustrated. But she was determined that her journey, arranged childcare and hotel stay would not be wasted, and looked up flights from nearby Gatwick Airport.
She ended up flying first thing the next morning to the Greek island of Crete, and spent the day shopping and sunbathing. Stefanie got home at 6am the next day after her mammoth day trip – which cost £590 in total.
But the single mum said it was worth the tiredness and the cost for the spontaneous sunny trip abroad. Stefanie, a director for a social enterprise, said: “I had an important meeting with a new potential client and I was disappointed when it was cancelled. I didn’t just want to drive home after coming all the way to Crawley, then I realised I wasn’t too far from Gatwick Airport.
“I thought I’d see if there was anywhere I could go that might cheer me up, since I was already there – and I saw Crete. It was a long day out and it wasn’t cheap, but it was such a treat to have a day away without my kids.”
Last month, a savvy mum-of-four shared her top tips to jet off abroad on a budget – and said her adventures are cheaper than some UK day trips. Catriona Lee, 45, from Orpington, South East London, recently bagged return flights to Tirana, Albania, for £25 with Ryanair.
She has ventured on 10 city breaks over 10 years, including four that she has taken in the space of just four months. The mum says she often goes on 12-hour city breaks which can cost a lot less than going to the theatre with her four kids.
Catriona says her children “really enjoy” discovering different cultures and they “talk about it all the time.” She said: “A museum in London will sometimes cost more in order to take them all out. It works out cheaper to take them out for a day and they get to see other cultures and try different foods.”
The family’s favourite destinations include Venice, Berlin, Marrakech and Billund, where the family had a trip to Legoland. Catriona said: “I would rather take them away all day rather than going to a one-hour museum or theatre show, which can get expensive. We just save all our money and do one trip every one or two months.” The most memorable highlights for Catriona were in Albania and Morocco.”
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