Train prices are pretty steep, as one 21-year-old recently found out.
Trainee shipping officer Joe Furness recently flew from Newcastle to London via Menorca after discovering it would be cheaper than getting the direct train.
He shared a photo of himself on a beach on Instagram, along with the caption: “I can have a night on a Spanish island, hire a car, have a cocktail on the beach, fly back to London and still have £40 left over, or I could have sat on a train.
“What would you have rather done?”
Furness claimed that purchasing a Virgin Trains ticket from Newcastle to London would have costed him £78.50 on the day that he needed to travel.
Instead, he opted to fly with Thomas Cook from Newcastle to Menorca for £15.00, then from Menorca to London for £10.99.
He also spent £7.50 on car hire and £4 on a cocktail, leaving him with £40 left over.
According to the Evening Standard, he took the trip abroad “to show just how ridiculous the UK train fares are”.
HuffPost UK has contacted Virgin Trains for comment and is awaiting response.
The Best Places to Go in Europe for Every Kind of Traveler
(01 of12)
Open Image ModalYou have your heart set on a European vacation, but now you have to decide where to go. With endless options, it's hard to pick just one city or country. Where you go should reflect what you want to do there, so here are 11 different options tailored to 11 different kinds of travelers. Some of the choices may surprise you!
Romantic: Lake Como, Italy(02 of12)
Open Image ModalNight Owl: Croatia (03 of12)
Open Image ModalSkip out on Mykonos or Ibiza and instead party the night away in Split, Rijeka, Zadar, and (during the summer months) at Hvar and Pag Island in Croatia. The summer season brings dozens of music festivals to the area, like Hideout and Ultra Europe, while the major cities tend to take over the nightlife scene when the weather cools down.
(Photo: Thinkstock/iStock)
Budget: Portugal (04 of12)
Open Image ModalAdventurer: Fjord Norway(05 of12)
Open Image ModalShopper: Antwerp, Belgium(06 of12)
Open Image ModalArt Aficionado: Spain (07 of12)
Open Image ModalFoodie: Copenhagen, Denmark (08 of12)
Open Image ModalSports Fanatic: England (09 of12)
Open Image ModalFamily Friendly: Edinburgh, Scotland(10 of12)
Open Image ModalLuxury: Switzerland (11 of12)
Open Image ModalOff the Beaten Path: Slovenia (12 of12)
Open Image Modal