Going on 13 extreme day trips cured my fear of flying
In a bid to conquer a deep-seated fear of flying, Claire Howard, 47, an English teacher and mum-of-two from Solihull, West Midlands, booked 13 extreme day trips over the course of a year, visiting each destination for just 24 hours.
Her ambitious excursions included cities in Spain, France, Poland and Switzerland, among other places.
Claire's phobia first began when she was 21, back in the late 90s, when she went on a solo round-the-world trip. Her flight from Perth, Australia to Singapore, was hit by extreme turbulence which triggered a lifelong phobia.
"I was young, I was on my own and loads of people on the flight had started getting out prayer beads," she recalls. "It was terrifying. That was what sparked my fear of flying. I did fly again, but I reached the point where I had to go to the doctor and get Diazepam [anxiety medication] to get on a plane."
Claire's fear would typically start to escalate a couple of days before her departure date. "I would begin obsessing about getting on the plane and running through all sorts of scenarios," she explains. "When I got on the plane, any sort of sound or judder made me freeze. For me, it is the lack of control, you can’t get off. The fear is paralysing. I can’t concentrate on anything but analysing the plane to see any signs of something wrong. I become frozen from the fear."
Once she reaches the holiday destination, Claire calms down, but she admits the build-up to having to get back on the plane again to fly home "overshadows all the fun and excitement."
She booked her first solo day trip from Birmingham airport to Geneva in January 2024. "After a late night of scrolling I just booked one. I decided to go on my own, I just thought, 'If I can do this then I can do anything.'"
But on the day of the flight she woke up feeling so terrified, she tried to pull out. "When I woke up the next morning in the cold light of day I panicked and tried to cancel. But there was a £40 cancellation fee and I had only spent £42 on the flights so I decided to just go. I was really anxious but also so excited. The feeling when I got back and I had done it was amazing, I was on such a high from it."
In fact, she enjoyed it so much, Claire ended up achieving her ambition to go on 13 extreme day trips last year. Even better, she managed to complete all of them without needing to take any holiday leave.
The idea was first sparked two years ago, when Claire had a frightening wake-up call – a reminder that life is short. After receiving the devastating news that she was carrying the BRCA 1 gene, giving her a high chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer, she went into hospital to have a preventative hysterectomy.
The operation was a moment of realisation and prompted Claire to reduce her working week from five days to four. "What I didn’t want to do was spend my precious day off cooking or cleaning," she says. "Then I saw the Extreme Day Trips Facebook group. I decided I was going to use my day off to do 12 trips in 12 months. I was going to force myself to get on a plane once a month. If I was only there for a day, I didn’t have time to waste stressing about the flights."
To her delight, the ambitious plan worked and helped to finally conquer her fear, after 25 years of being held back by it.
"Flying has become much easier, I'm now used to the routine of it," she says. "I now feel that I know what the noises are on the plane and everything is normalised."
Claire brought her two children Henry, 17 and Caelia, 16, along on many of the trips, creating special memories for them too. And her favourite trip? Claire says she particularly connected with Poland, visiting the cities of Warsaw, Bydgoszcz and Poznan.
Other more popular tourist destinations she visited include the Spanish cities of Alicante, Malaga and Palma, along with Berlin and Bucharest.
Through some clever cost-cutting, she managed to do all 13 trips by spending under £2,600 in total. To avoid pricey plane food, Claire brought her own packed lunches and also used the food app Too Good To Go to source discounted food while abroad. Flights varied from just £27 to £65 for day returns, so each trip only came to £180-£200, including activities and food.
Claire has loved her adventures so much that this year she is planning another six trips and has already booked a flight to Budapest next week.
"I'm not going to stop," she smiles. "I want travel to continue being part of my life."
Additional research: SWNS
Read more on extreme day trips:
Why extreme day tripping is taking off – and three jaunts to book now (The Telegraph, 8-min read)
We flew to Mallorca for the day to sunbathe and it cost just £61 (Yahoo Life UK, 2-min read)
Mums travel to Ibiza for a 12-hour holiday – and return in time for the school run (Yahoo Life UK, 2-min read)
