I enjoyed a day out in Italy for just £52 – including flights, pizza, wine and two fridge magnets

A woman has revealed how she treated herself to a trip to Pisa for just £52 after a five-hour stopover in Italy saved her trip to Ireland by £162.

After flying from Dublin to visit her distant boyfriend in Malta, Katie Nolan was shocked to see that a return flight home would cost £214, so she decided to take a five-hour stopover in Pisa, Italy.

Katie, 29, owner of ‘Sleek N Easy’ hair styling products, from Kildare, Ireland, spent just £52 on travel, food, drink and fridge magnets during her stopover in Italy, where she was able to enjoy a freshly baked pizza by the iconic leaning Tower of Pisa.

Using Ryanair’s affordable flights, Katie turned what would otherwise have been an inconvenience into a mini day trip – and it went so smoothly that she was still able to get up and go to work the next day.

Katie said: ‘I was visiting my distant friend in Malta. A flight from Malta to Dublin costs over 250 euros.

‘But flying from Malta to Pisa and staying five hours to see the Leaning Tower, eat pizza and then fly from Pisa to Dublin was cheaper.

‘It was cheaper to fly indirectly to Ireland as I’ve done this from Spain to Ireland via the UK a few times.

“It was cheaper than a day trip to Dublin, as Dublin has been in the top 10 most expensive cities in Europe for the past few weeks.”

This is exactly what Katie spent in Pisa: £12.87 flight from Malta to Pisa, £10.74 on wine and pizza, £1.72 on two fridge magnets, £1.29 on water, £8.59 return for the train from Pisa airport to the city centre, a £17.18 flight from Pisa to Dublin.