Frustrated commuter saves £70 on train fares by flying from Manchester to London... via Iceland

North Wales Live

14-05-2025

A frustrated commuter claims he saved £70 on 'ridiculous' train fares by flying to London from Manchester… via Iceland. Muscab Salad was on his way home to London after a trip to Manchester when he discovered the return train back to the capital was a whooping £130.
The 32-year-old said he found the price 'ridiculous' so went looking up other options there could be. Muscab discovered he could get a £21 Jet2 flight to Keflavík in Iceland, where he spent 18 hours sightseeing and exploring the city.
The savvy traveller said he took a £36 Play flight back to London the same evening, with the whole trip costing him a total of £57. As well as saving himself £75, he claims flying through Iceland was a bonus as he always wanted to visit.
In his viral online video documenting his trip, Muscab is seen enjoying a hot chocolate in the Icelandic town before he is off to try the country's national dish, Hákarl. The content creator said he also visited a thermal bath and spoke to the locals while walking around the city.
In his viral video, Muscab said: "I definitely recommend day trips, do it more, F the trains."
Muscab, from West London, said: "I was in Manchester and needed to get back to London. [Going via Iceland] was so much cheaper. I wanted to go to Iceland at some point so I thought I might as well do the flight route back."
He said he got the idea after seeing the price of the rail tickets. He said: "It was £130 because it's more expensive in the morning. I went in the morning and I came back in the early morning the next day.
"I needed to be in London by afternoon so I had time. In total the flight was £57. I flew there and back with budget airlines, it was literally half the price. It just makes more sense, it was so much cheaper.
"I went around the town. I had the food there, I spoke to random people. It was just a fun day out, it wasn't like a full holiday. I went to a thermal bath and had the national dish which is fermented shark. It was better than I expected."
Muscab claims the price of trains in the UK is not justified and that it is too expensive compared to European countries. The traveller said he would do a similar trip again instead of paying for the train and would recommend it to others looking to explore other cities.
Muscab said: "Train tickets in the UK are expensive, I feel like everyone knows that. Even if you book in advance it's still expensive, it's still cheaper to fly. It's cheaper to meet up in Spain than meet up in Manchester, that's how ridiculous it is.
"We have the most expensive trains in Europe, it's not justified. I would 100% do it again. Seeing another country is not a bad thing, it's a bonus.
"I'm happy I got to experience Iceland. I recommend that people travel, it's a lot cheaper than people think."
Commenters on Muscab's video have expressed their frustration over UK rail prices, while others pointed out it would have been cheaper to take a coach. One said: "Something needs to be done about the trains in the UK. It's ridiculous."
Another said: "So it's cheaper to go out of the UK than to get to another city in the UK." While one agreed saying: "£130 for a train is wild."
One person had a different suggestion advising: "Coach is a tenner, probably quicker than multiple flights and no need to go through security multiple times." Another commented: "I would have just booked a coach."