I flew to Venice for an extreme day trip and it cost less than a day out in Manchester

An ambitious traveller has told how he enjoyed an 'extreme day trip' to Venice for less than the price of a day out in Manchester.

Kevin Gill treated himself to 18 hours in the stunning World UNESCO heritage site with a maximum budget of £100.

The 43-year-old from Runcorn managed to visit the city’s romantic waterways and enjoy the local cuisine and said the price of the trip was near what he would spend on a day trip to the Trafford Centre or the Liverpool ONE shopping complex.

Kevin bagged return flights for £44, spent £18 on return bus tickets to and from Manchester Airport, £7.50 on pizza, gelato and pasta and £1.70 on a gondolier taxi ride across the Grand Canal - a grand total of £71.20.

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He decided to embark on the trip after his cousin told him about 'Extreme Day Trips' which involves traveling aboard with two fixed rules. They included completing the trip in under 24 hours with a maximum budget of £100 which includes all travel expenses.

Kevin said: "Extreme travelling has turned my ambition of seeing the world into a reality.

"I felt inspired by reading all of these posts on the Facebook page of different people travelling to different places for so cheap just for the day. I had no idea traveling like was possible."

A keen traveller since his 20s, Kevin flew to Venice on February 19 and was back in time for work the next day. He arrived in the Italian city at 9.30am local time and caught the 5.45am flight back on February 20 - arriving home with plenty of time before his evening shift.

He said: "The weather was lovely, the sun was out, it was nice to escape the UK. It wasn't busy like the it had said online as I was able to walk around the narrow streets and visit the attractions without much hassle."

He got to see famous sites including the Ponte di Rialto bridge, the Piazza San Marco, and Saint Mark's Basilica.

Kevin continued: "A typical day trip to a shopping centre can be comparable in price. You would have to pay for the petrol or diesel, you'd do some shopping maybe buy yourself a jacket, then you would have to get yourself something to eat, that's not including if you want to go the cinema - it all adds up.

“I no longer need to have to spend thousands to go on a week long holiday. It has returned me to days when 20 years ago travelling was cheap, accessible and affordable."

Kevin advises those interested in a 24 hour 'extreme day trip' to "properly research the area".

He said: "Don't do it on a whim, research the area properly, find out what you want to do as the last thing you want is to regret missing out on something. Make sure where you are going is safe, there is public transport as you don't want to miss your flight home."