FAQs
Got questions about Europe Unlocked™? Here you'll find everything you need to plan and book your next trip.
About Europe Unlocked™
What Is Europe Unlocked™?
Europe Unlocked™ searches every city, every date and every trip length from your airport in the UK or Ireland, and shows you complete trips built from direct flights: out, a night or more away, and home again. We find the trips and the cheapest flight combinations. You book each flight yourself, directly with the airline. We're the team behind ExtremeDayTrips.com. Europe Unlocked™ is for trips where you stay the night.
What Kinds of Trip Can I Search For?
There are five ways to search, each a tab at the top of the search. Single City: a city break to one place, there and back, from 1 to 7 nights. Every city you can reach from your airport lines up, cheapest first, with the flights out and home already priced. Multi-City: two, three or four cities in one trip. Instead of flying home between cities, you fly on to the next one, and home from the last. Every city you stay in gets a night or more, and at least 12 hours on the ground. Overnighter: one night away, two days there. Pick a trip that flies out early and home late the next day, and a single night gives you two full days in a new city. Weekender: out on Friday or Saturday, home on Sunday or Monday. Search two months of weekends at a time, to one city or a few, and pick the one worth packing for. Christmas Markets: trips where you sleep in a market city on a night its market is open, with one market or several on the same trip. Each trip names the market, shows its dates and links to its official website.
Is There a Europe Unlocked™ App?
There's no App Store or Google Play app, and you don't need one. Add Europe Unlocked™ to your phone's home screen and it opens full screen, just like an app. iPhone: in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Android: in Chrome, tap ⋮, then Add to home screen. There are step-by-step instructions on our Add to Home Screen page.
Why Do Some Trips Come Home to a Different Airport?
Only when you ask for it. With one airport in your search, every trip comes home to it. Add a nearby airport, and a trip can fly out of one and home to the other: out of Manchester and home into Liverpool, say. That opens up more trips, and often cheaper ones. If a search comes back thin, it may suggest an airport near yours, which you can add with one tap. Every trip shows clearly where it lands. If you need to get back to your car, tick "Return to the airport I leave from".
Searching and Booking
How Do I Find a Trip?
Open the search, choose your airport (you can add nearby airports too), and set your dates, or pick a preset such as the school half terms. Then narrow it down by price, nights away, flight times and how many cities you want to visit.
Where Can I Go?
The search shows everywhere you can reach from your airport, cheapest first: leave the destination empty, or add a city to see only the trips that visit it.
How Do I Book?
We're a search platform, and we don't sell flights. When you've found a trip, use the links on it to book each flight directly with the airline. You pay the airline's own price, with no middleman, and you're in full control of your booking. Your money goes straight to the airline, never through us, and if anything changes, you deal with the airline directly. Each flight is its own booking. That's why every trip gives you a night or more, and at least 12 hours, in each city you stay in: an ordinary delay costs you some sightseeing, not your next flight.
Are the Prices Live?
Not to the minute. Each trip shows when we found it, for example "Trip found 2 days ago". Prices are for flights only, per person, and budget fares move quickly, so always check the price with the airline before you book. If you see a bargain, book it sooner rather than later.
Do the Prices Include Hotels?
No. We find the flights; where you sleep is up to you. Each trip shows how many nights you'll spend in each city, so you know exactly what to book. If you book your room before your flights, make it refundable, and check where your hotel is against the airport you land at. Some cities have more than one.
Can I Share a Trip with Friends?
Yes. With a free account, tap the share icon beside a trip's price in the search, or Share on your shortlist. You get a short link and a picture of the trip to send on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, email or anywhere else. Your friends don't need an account to open the link: they see the whole trip, every flight and the price.
What Do Your Prices Include?
Each flight's basic fare, per person, with the free small bag that fits under the seat. A cabin bag or a hold bag costs extra, priced by each airline, so add it before you compare. A two-city trip has three flights, so a bigger bag costs extra three times, and each extra city adds one more flight. So travel light: pack for half the trip and wash your clothes midway, at a launderette or your hotel.
Is the Price the Same for Two, or for a Family?
Prices are per person, for one seat, and for the flights only. The cheapest fares often have only a few seats left at that price, so check the total for everyone with the airline before you book, and book every flight of the trip straight away.
Why Not Book a Package City Break?
A package gives you a hotel and ATOL protection for one price. We find flights only, per person, from 23 airports in the UK and Ireland, and you book each flight directly with the airline. You choose the nights, one city or up to four in one trip, and where to stay. Choose a package for the protection and a hotel picked for you; search with us for the cheapest flights and the most choice.
Membership
Is Europe Unlocked™ Free?
You can search trips leaving in the next 14 days for free. Members see every trip on the full calendar, about six months ahead. See membership for the price and what's included.
Can I Get a Refund?
Yes. If you're not happy, ask for a full refund within 7 days of joining, or within 7 days of a yearly renewal. You can cancel at any time so your membership doesn't renew. The details are in our refund policy.
How Do I Cancel My Membership?
Sign in, open the membership page and choose Manage subscription. That opens the page of our payment provider, Stripe, where you can cancel so your membership doesn't renew. If a renewal has gone through by mistake, ask for a full refund within 7 days of it.
Am I Protected by ATOL?
No, because we don't sell travel. ATOL covers package holidays and flights sold by travel companies; you book each flight directly with the airline, which has its own duties if it cancels or delays your flight. Paying by credit card adds further protection.
Is This the Same as My ExtremeDayTrips.com Membership?
No. Europe Unlocked™ is from the team behind ExtremeDayTrips.com, but it's a separate membership, for trips with nights away rather than there and back in a day.
Travel Planning
How Much Time Do I Need at the Airport?
Plan to arrive 2 hours before your flight. Security queues can take anything from 10 minutes to an hour, so give yourself plenty of time.
What Size Bag Can I Take on a Budget Airline?
Each airline has its own cabin bag rules. As a rough guide to the free under-seat bag: Ryanair: 40 x 30 x 20 cm easyJet: 45 x 36 x 20 cm Wizz Air: 40 x 30 x 20 cm Rules change, so please check the latest on the airline's official page before you pack. On a multi-city trip, check every airline you're flying with.
Where Can I Find Cheap Airport Parking?
Try YourParkingSpace or JustPark for spaces near the airport, often on someone's driveway. Official airport parking can be good value too if you book ahead. Check where your trip lands before booking parking. If you're coming home to a different airport, public transport might be the smarter choice.
Travel Tips
What Apps Help on a Trip?
A few we like: - Google Maps for getting around - Citymapper for local transport in big cities - Flighty for live flight updates - Revolut or Monzo for better exchange rates abroad On a multi-city trip you may fly with three different airlines. Install each airline's app and save every boarding pass the night before.
What If a Flight Is Delayed or Cancelled?
Check the airline's app for updates and rebooking, keep your phone charged, and claim compensation if you're entitled to it. On a multi-city trip each flight is a separate booking, so if one is delayed, the next airline doesn't have to wait for you or rebook you. That's why our multi-city trips never rely on a tight connection: you have at least 12 hours in each city you stay in, and at least 7 on a same-day stop. Every trip shows your time on the ground in each city.
Can I Travel with Children?
Of course. Choose shorter flights and cities with things for all ages. Use the school holiday presets to line trips up with half term, and the flight time filters to avoid very early starts. On a multi-city trip, the hours-on-the-ground filter makes sure every stop has enough time to enjoy it, and travelling with cabin bags only makes moving between cities much easier.