A savvy woman who has gone on eight minibreaks in the past two years has revealed how she travels on a budget.
Anne-Marie Moss, 45, from Accrington, Greater Manchester, is a receptionist in a mental health hospital and often organises to go straight to work from the airport.
The mother-of-three says she first caught the travel bug after taking her daughter Trinity, 20, and two of her friends to Kraków, Poland, in December 2021.
Since then, she has visited Poland four more times and also managed to explore Romania and Palma in Spain by booking flights in the middle of the week.
While organising that first trip, Anne-Marie was stunned to learn that the return flights were only £16 each.
Anne-Marie Moss (left) and her school friend Rachel pictured hiking in the Tantra Mountains in Poland in March 2022
Meanwhile, an apartment in the city centre that slept all four of them only cost £100 for two nights.
During their trip, Anne-Marie took Trinity and her friends Imogen, 24 and Tianna, to the Christmas market, Auschwitz and salt mines.
Blown away by the affordable trip, Anne-Marie decided to reach out out to her old school friend Rachel, 44, to see if she wanted to join her on another visit to Poland in March 2022.
Anne-Marie said: ‘I fell in love with it. After we came back home, I wanted to travel again.
‘I hadn’t seen [Rachel] in 30 years but I said, “shall we go for it?” It was last minute, and we got £35 return flight.’
On this trip, the two old friends flew to the Tantra Mountains in Poland, visited the thermal spa and spent only £50 on their accommodation.
What’s more, the pair had such a good time on their 48-hour whirlwind holiday that they returned to the area in April 2022.
On this occasion, they packed in kayaking, quad-biking and cycling over the course of another two-day trip – which cost just £120 in total.
Anne-Marie pictured kayaking in Poland in April 2022. The mother-of-three and her friend Rachel spent just £120 on activities
Before heading home from their second trip to the Tantra Mountains, Anne-Marie and Rachel also enjoyed some quad-biking
Since then, Anne-Marie has been three times more times – taking school mum, Jill, 50, and her family in May and June 2022.
In December 2022, Anne-Marie and her twin sister Donna took their daughters Trinity and Jasmine, 21, back to the Tantra Mountains area.
She explained: ‘Jill couldn’t come the first time we had planned to as her passport had expired.
‘So, I still took her family. I booked a surprise visit in June so she could go. We belly laughed the whole time.’
Jill, Heather and Anne-Marie (right) pictured in front of their RyanAir flight to Palma earlier this year
Left: Anne-Marie pictured in Romania in February 2023. Right: Anne-Marie (right), Jill and Elisabeth on their recent 24-hour trip to Palma
In February 2023, Anne-Marie, Jill and their friend Elizabeth, 50, spent two nights in Bucharest in Romania.
She added: ‘We went to the castles and thermal spa. It was fabulous. It cost us £116 each in total.’
Last month, Annie-Marie spent 24 hours in Palma in Spain after jetting off with Jill and her work friend Heather, 40.
She continued: ‘I’m often hopping off the flight and heading straight to my shift.
‘I sleep on the plane home. It was about £110 each in total. It’s cheaper than going round Manchester!’
In May, Anne-Marie will be setting off for Marseille in France for another 48 hours – having bagged return flights for £29.
During her trip with her twin sister and their friends Elisabeth and Rachel, the women have planned to kayak around the coat and go on a cruise.
Anne-Marie usually takes her trips mid-week and books the first flight possible and the latest one back to make sure they make the most of the time they have.
She explained: ‘I work shift work, so I usually go mid-week.
‘I try and get an early flight out and then try and get the last flight home. We just have backpacks.’
Although Anne-Marie is happy for more women to join in on the trips, she says they have to have an adventurous spirit to keep up with the group.
She joked: ‘You’ve got to be up for things. We don’t relax by the pool!’
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