While you might go on holiday to forget work and school tasks, a trip away doesn’t have to be without its educational value.

Manchester Airport offers flights to a variety of destinations and it has rounded up 11 of them that can double as a break away and an educational trip.

From Rome to Egypt, here are the holidays that can keep the brain cells ticking over during the upcoming half term holiday and who knows, you might even learn a thing or two!

All destinations listed here can be travelled to via direct return flights from Manchester Airport. Prices here are accurate as of Wednesday February 5, 2025 and refer to the February half term school holiday period from February 13-23.

For more information or to book your flights, head to the Manchester Airport website.

11 educational trips you can fly direct to from Manchester Airport

Belfast

  • Highlights - Tour the picturesque Causeway Coast and explore The Titanic Museum.
  • Flights – Ryanair from £39pp.

A trip to Belfast can include The Titanic Museum on the city’s waterfront which pays testament to arguably the most famous ship ever built – recounting the story of its construction right here in the city’s docks up to its fateful voyage across the Atlantic.

The museum houses the slipways where the ship was constructed, a huge range of interactive exhibits and galleries, and the SS Nomadic – the last surviving ship built by White Star Line, the constructors of the Titanic – which is open for tours.

Ypres, Belgium

  • Highlights – Sanctuary Wood and Flanders Fields Museum.
  • Flights – Arrive at Charleroi Airport with Ryanair from £52pp.

Sanctuary Wood, on the outskirts of Ypres, has some of the best preserved First World War trenches to be found anywhere, says Manchester Airport.

This section of the Front was held by British and Canadian troops and you’ll find war cemeteries and grand memorials to both nearby.

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Berlin

  • Highlights – Natural History Museum, Berlin Wall, Berlin Story Bunker, Brandenburg Gate and Berlinische Gallerie.
  • Flights – From £91pp with easyJet.

Europe’s biggest collection of dinosaur fossils is housed at the Natural History Museum in Berlin.

The jewels in its crown are the largest mounted dinosaur fossil in the world – a 40ft-tall Giraffatitan – and a well-preserved Archaeopteryx, the feathered dinosaur species described as the evolutionary ‘missing link’ between dinosaurs and birds.

Lisbon

  • Highlights – Lisbon Earthquake Museum and reconstructed streets.
  • Flights – TAP Air Portugal from £134pp.

On 1 November 1755, a huge earthquake struck off the coast of Portugal’s capital city, reducing large areas to rubble. Half an hour later, 20ft tsunami waves crashed through Lisbon’s port and city centre.

More than 50,000 people lost their lives in one of Europe’s worst-ever natural disasters but it became the first major earthquake to be studied scientifically, rather than being explained away as an act of God, and it still shapes our understanding of earthquakes and tsunamis today.

Malta

  • Highlights – Malta National Aquarium and coral reefs including Blue Lagoon.
  • Flights – easyJet from £153pp.

Learn about the oceans, ecosystems and the need to protect them in Malta. Its coral reefs extend for miles and boast an abundance of marine life including colourful fish, rays, eels, octopus, crabs and cuttlefish.

Some of the best spots to explore include the Blue Lagoon, a shallow stretch of water between the islands of Comino and Cominotto and Xlendi Bay in the southwest of Gozo.

Rome

  • Highlights – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Arch of Titus and the Capitoline Museums.
  • Flights - Ryanair for £182pp.

Legend has it that Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus, who were raised by wolves after being abandoned at birth, before establishing a new city on Palatine Hill at the direction of the Gods, Manchester Airport explains.

The hill remains at the heart of modern Rome, and scattered around it are the well-preserved ruins of what was once the centre of European civilisation.

Pompeii

  • Highlights – City walls and pizza (Naples, less than 15 miles from Pompeii, is pizza’s birthplace).
  • Flights – To Naples with Ryanair from £218pp.

Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. A thick layer of ash encased the city and preserved its streets, houses, temples, furniture and artworks, as well as creating casts of people and animals in their final moments.

The site covers nearly 200 acres and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offering unrivalled insight into daily life in a Roman city nearly 2,000 years ago.

La Palma

  • Highlights – Roque de los Muchachos Observatory and Astro La Palma.
  • Flights – Tui from £221pp.

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory is in Taburiente National Park, at an altitude of more than 2,000m above sea level where it’s free from cloud cover and light pollution, ensuring crystal clear views of the night sky.

The observatory has one of the largest arrays of telescopes in the world and its visitor centre is open year-round, with pre-booked tours also available.

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Loch Ness

  • Highlights – The Loch Ness Centre, lake cruises and ruins of Urquhart Castle.
  • Flights – To Inverness with Loganair from £233pp.

Enjoy a staycation and visit The Loch Ness Centre explores the history of Britain’s largest freshwater lake and also charts the sightings and scientific attempts to investigate ‘Nessie’ down the years with a series of interactive exhibits.

After you’ve toured the visitor centre, take to the waters of the Loch with Deepscan Cruises and search the depths using the world-class sonar equipment on board. Your cruise will also take you past the ruins of Urquhart Castle, a Highland landmark on the Loch’s shores.

Egypt

  • Highlights – Pyramids of Giza and National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
  • Flights – To Cairo with EgyptAir from £525pp.

Ancient Egypt has fascinated kids and adults alike for centuries, and the spectacle of the sun rising over the Pyramids of Giza is hard to top. Temperatures hover around the high teens and low twenties in February, perfect for getting out and about on foot and exploring one of the world’s most important archaeological sites.

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Mexico

  • Highlights – Chichen Itza and water park at Xcaret.
  • Flights – To Cancun with TUI from £1,178pp.

The Yucatan region was at the heart of the ancient Mayan civilisation and many of their cities and monuments are remarkably well preserved, including the Chichen Itza – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Tulum, a Mayan outpost on the Caribbean Sea, boasts a stunning backdrop of white sand coast and is also open to the public to explore – and the huge water park at Xcaret, near Playa Del Carmen, mixes fun and adventure with educational experiences like watching a recreation of the Mayan Ball Game, an ancient sport played by the lost civilisation.