Manchester in $500s-$550s RT

If it's a UK adventure you're after, you really couldn't ask for a better starting point.

You could easily kill a week in the John Rylands Library alone, but why not stretch out — you've got plenty of options! Scotland, Ireland, and the rest of England are all right at your fingertips.

One possible route takes you through Liverpool (an hour by train). Absorb the city's omnipresent Beatles atmosphere, then head for the ferries. One goes to the Isle of Man, home to a viking castle and some lovely coastal scenery. The other takes you out of the UK and straight into Dublin.

And of course, there's London — fares into the capital are preeeetty steep right now, so you'd save some cash and get a scenic train ride through the countryside if you fly into Manchester. Snag those December dates and you can see the city all decked out for Christmas :-)