Which travel gift voucher for a weekend away: Favotrip, Buyagift or Virgin Experience Days?
Gifting a weekend away sounds simple until you compare what the voucher actually buys. Buyagift and Virgin Experience Days sell experience vouchers with a choice of hotels, Favotrip sells a fixed-value voucher that bundles the hotel and the activity into one booking. Here is the factual comparison, with verified figures rather than marketing copy.
Three models: choice voucher, collection voucher, or complete package
Buyagift and Virgin Experience Days work on the pick-your-own principle: the recipient gets a voucher and chooses a hotel or experience from a collection, then books with the venue. Favotrip works the other way round: the hotel and the activity are already paired in the voucher (spa day entry plus an overnight stay, for example), so the recipient only picks a date and books in one step. Neither model is universally better; it depends on who you are buying for.
Comparison at a glance
The table sums up the three providers on the points buyers care about most.
| Feature | Favotrip | Buyagift | Virgin Experience Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (verified example) | from €69 | £249.99 (Two Night Hotel Break for Two) | varies by collection |
| Validity | 12 months | 12 months (24 for Experience Boxes) | 12 months |
| Hotel + activity in one voucher | Yes | No | No |
| Paid extension | no, fixed 12 months | up to 2 times, £20 each |
Over James Whitfield
James writes for the Favotrip English-language desk on short breaks from the UK to the continent. Coverage focuses on Eurostar-reachable cities, theme-park weekends with a hotel attached, and continental spa breaks where the value beats anything closer to home. Prefers concrete hotel picks over travel-brochure prose.