Our $100 extreme day trip from Dallas-Fort Worth
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You can take a train from Denver International Airport to Union Station downtown for $10 round-trip. Photo: Gregory Castillo/Axios
Popularized on TikTok, the "extreme day trip" is a budget-friendly way to take a vacation without paying for a hotel.
Why it matters: Vacations are getting more expensive than ever. Flights, hotels and meals can easily turn even a short trip into a four-figure expense.
- Extreme day trips promise a workaround: Fly somewhere in the morning, explore all day, and return home that night to sleep in your own bed.
Zoom in: I thought I'd try an extreme vacation for $100 from North Texas, taking advantage of low-cost airfare (before the war in Iran drove up jet fuel prices).
How it worked: I booked a $46 same-day round-trip flight from Dallas to Denver on Frontier Airlines, leaving at 6 a.m. and returning at 9 p.m.
- That left me with just $54 for everything else: meals, transportation, activities and whatever unexpected expenses came up.
The intrigue: With such a tight budget, every dollar mattered and every minute counted.
- Express parking at DFW Airport cost $18, bringing my remaining budget to $36. A $10 roundtrip train ticket from Denver International Airport to downtown dropped my spending money to $26 for the rest of the day.
What went right: I landed just before 8am, giving me roughly 10 hours in Denver before I had to head back to the airport. The train ride from the airport was smooth, getting me downtown in just under 40 minutes.
- My first stop was Union Station, where I grabbed a $4 coffee at Pigtrain Coffee Co. before taking in the sights on foot, including Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.
- At 11 a.m., I met up with Axios Denver reporter Esteban Hernandez at Tequila + Tacos. I ordered a Sonoran-style bacon-wrapped hot dog topped with borracho beans and a really fresh slaw. It was delicious — and surprisingly filling — and cost $13.41.
- After we ate, Esteban gave me a quick tour of downtown, pointing out a few murals and local spots before I caught the train back to the airport around 2 p.m.
What went wrong: A strong storm was passing through Dallas the night I landed. The end of the flight got pretty bumpy. We made it to the jet bridge, but passengers couldn't get off the plane for about an extra hour.
- After finally deplaning, I took a bus to the express parking lot, got in my car and drove home slowly through the rain.
- By the time I walked through my front door, it was 11:30 p.m. I had been awake for more than 20 hours and I could feel it.
Follow the money: All in, the trip cost $91.41 — $46 for the flight, $18 for parking, $10 for the train, $4 for coffee and $13.41 for lunch.
Yes, but: I booked this trip way before airfares went way up.
- A comparable flight on a weekday in April is $107 — about a 133% increase from the $46 fare I booked.
- Without access to the Capital One Lounge, the math would have been much harder. The lounge gave me free breakfast, snacks, dinner, drinks and even a quick shower to help power through the long day.
Between the lines: Extreme day trips can be a surprisingly fun way to see a new city on a tight budget — if you're willing to sacrifice sleep and pack a lot into a single day.
- But they're also a reminder that the cheapest trips often require the most planning.
- Everything has to go right. One delayed flight or missed train and you could suddenly be paying for a last-minute hotel.
The bottom line: I'm not sure I'd do it again. I spent so much time optimizing the day and stressing about staying within my budget that I never really relaxed. By the time I got home, I was completely wiped — and I got sick the next day.
- That said, it was still nice to meet up with my colleague and catch a glimpse of the mountains, even if it was only from afar.