I flew to Italy with my two children for 24 hours to eat pizza in Pisa and it only cost £318 – it was cheaper than taking them to London for a day out

• Roxanne Balciunas, from Sheffield said the trip cost less than going to London
• READ MORE:  I took a day trip to Milan for £20 – and people say it’s cheaper than going to London

A mother claims that flying her children to Italy for only 24 hours to eat pizza was cheaper than a London family outing.

Roxanne Balciunas, from Sheffield, often jets off on ‘one day’ trips abroad – but this time she opted to take her two children along for the ride.

Cherry Balciunas, six, and Tayo Balciunas, 14, accompanied their mother for a whirlwind 24 hours in Italy, driving straight from school to Manchester Airport.

The hospitality worker says the trip cost her £318 in total, and was a great way to ‘get the kids off their phones and iPad.’

Roxanne Balciunas often goes on solo 24 hour trips, however this time she opted to take her two children straight from school all the way to Pisa, Italy (pictured from left: Tayo Balciunas, 14, Cherry Balciunas, six and Roxanne Balciunas, 39)

She shared a video of the short getaway on TikTok and Facebook with the caption: ’24 hours in Pisa to eat some pizza’. 

The mother and her brood boarded the flights to Pisa at 7pm, with each ticket costing £35 each.

After landing at 10pm, the trio checked into a £150 hotel for the night before a day filled with exploring the city. 

In total, Roxanne said the family only spent £50 during the 24-hour trip, which went on pizza and gelato – and they even money spare to buy souvenirs. 

Before flying home at 6pm the next day, the family managed to squeeze in a good amount of sight-seeing, visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa Cathedral and the Opera del Duomo Museum – all for free.

Despite the 33-degree heat, they did not spend a penny on public transport because everything in Pisa was within walking distance – and they even made their way by foot to the airport, which is 45 minutes away on foot. 

Roxanne said this isn’t the first time she has taken her kids on day trips to Europe and says it’s a cheap way for her them to visit new places around the world on a budget.

Roxanne said: ‘It’s a cheaper alternative to a day out at home. If we were to go to a theme park it would cost a couple of hundred for the day with food, travel and the tickets.

The mother of paid £35 each for their plane tickets, while the three spent absolutely nothing on public transport (pictured: Tayo Balciunas)

The trio spent £150 on a hotel room for the night so that they could rest for a day filled with activites (pictured left: Cherry Balciunas). The following day they managed to pack in a day full of sight-seeing, visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa Cathedral and the Opera del Duomo Museum – all for free (pictured right: Tayo Balciunas)

‘It was definitely cheaper than a trip to London for sure. 

‘We walked through the city and got some trinkets like fridge magnets and keyring and then had some gelato.

She added: ‘We enjoyed pizza whilst we were there too. It was covered in salami and pepperoni and my son said it was the best pizza he had ever eaten.

‘We sat outside and ate it. It was lovely and the atmosphere was great.’

Roxanne said on a regular Saturday in the UK, the family would normally have no plans.

She said the trip was a great way to reduce her kid’s screen time and both Cherry and Tayo thoroughly enjoyed their 24-hours in Italy on June 23.

Roxanne said: ‘On a Saturday at home we wouldn’t normally be doing a lot.The main reason for this trip was to try and get the kids off their phones and iPad.’

The hospitality worker believes 24 hours is enough to see most cities, having already ticked off day trips to Amsterdam and Belgium, with Copenhagen and Ireland next up on the list. 

‘It’s just cheaper and I think in some cities, 24-hours is enough to see everything. 

‘The kids loved it and were really excited. The kids love seeing the leaning tower of Pisa and took lots of photos.’ 

The family only spent £50 on expenditure, which included pizza  (pictured) and gelato – they even had some spare change for souvenirs

This is not the first time the Roxanne has taken her children abroad for a 24-hour trip, having previously visited Amsterdam and Belgium with them (pictured: Tayo Balciunas)

She continued: ‘We’ve done these kinds of day trips before. We’ve been to Amsterdam before and Belgium for the day too and I’m taking Tayo to Copenhagen for the Christmas markets in November.’

‘Ireland is one of the next trips on the list too.’

Since returning home from their swift visit to Pisa, Roxanne shared a TikTok video online documenting their cheap getaway and other keen travellers were quick to comment on the mum’s ‘brilliant’ money saving hack.

One user said: ‘This is brilliant. Thanks for sharing.’

Another added: ‘We need to do a trip like this one day!’

A third commented: ‘What a great idea.’

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