I’m a big fan of holiday hacks – anything to help make life that little bit easier and/or more pleasurable – and I’m in!
So when I discovered a little holiday hack that would allow extra days off work, I thought it would a good one to pass on!
So what’s the deal? Well, with a bit of forward thinking (and getting the holiday requests in early), you can capitalise on this year’s bank holidays with days away from the desk – and get yourself a nice little getaway!
Hop along!
Easter is a perfect opportunity to get away. And this year you can take 8 days off for a 16-day holiday by booking off 15th–18th April & 23rd–26th April. The bank holidays fall on 19th & 22nd April, meaning that you can take holiday from 13th–28th April.
Where to go? How about Japan! If you’re a family, don’t let this put you off, as there’s many great opportunities for families in Japan,
There’s a great reason for choosing to visit Japan in April – the weather’s great, with clear skies and mild temperatures.
And have you heard of the cherry blossom of spring? It really is something to be admired.
I found a seven-day holiday to Tokyo with Travel Supermarket for £1,597 per person. It includes flights with British Airways and breakfast accommodation at the four-star ANA Crowne Plaza Narita.
Come what May
The weather is warming up in May and thoughts of days at the seaside are on people’s minds. Plus if you’ve got kids, then May half term offers a great chance to take a well earned break.
If you book off 7th-10th May (four days), there’s a bank holiday on 6th May and you can more than double your time off work with a nine-day holiday from 4th-12th May.
Where to go? How does Greece sound? It’s hot but not unbearable hot, and there’s little chance of rain.
I found a seven-night self-catering holiday to Zakynthos in Greece for less than £200 per person with easyJet Holidays.
The big summer getaway
Well, if the six-week summer break isn’t a great opportunity to make the most of some time off work (particularly if you have kids), then I don’t know what is!
And in late August you can take four days off work to bag yourself a nine-day holiday! With the bank holiday falling on 26th August, book off from 27th-30th August to take off from 24th August through to 1st September.
And if you’re prepared to book something now, you should be able to find a great value for money getaway.
I did a bit of scouring the web and found a nice little getaway to the island of Gozo for just £390 per person with IceLolly.
It’s for a stay at the three-star Downtown Hotel in Victoria, Gozo and offers half-board accommodation plus flights from Luton.
A festive jolly
There must be something really magical about going away for Christmas and the best way to maximise your time off work is to book off 23rd, 24th, 27th, 30th and 31st.
With the bank holidays falling on 25th, 26th and 1st January, you’ll be able to take off holiday from 21st December right through to 1st January. That’s five days off for a 12-day holiday!
The only question is, where to go? Well, if you’re a fan of some December sun, then how about a trip to South Africa? I spent a couple of weeks there on a family break in October and it was hot, hot, hot!
On The Beach has a seven-night festive getaway to Cape Town for £956.34 in December, with a stay at the four-star President Hotel costing from £545.26.
And if it’s a frosty setting you’re looking for to stick with the Christmassy feel of being a bit chilly, then consider destinations like Lapland (great for small kids), Iceland or a European city break getaway.
There’s plenty to choose from – now all that’s left to do is bag the holiday dates before your colleagues get a look in! Good luck!
Where’s next on your getaway list?
25 comments
These dates for getting extra days off work are genius. I hadn’t realised you could stretch annual leave quite as far as this, these holiday scoops are pretty awesome too!
It’s a great hack isn’t it Zena? Glad you liked it and thanks for commenting xx
Thank you for the information.
It’s a pleasure!
My daughters very odd Easter school holidays this year have scuppered my plans for a long break but iv still managed to have a few extra days off to have an extra long bank holiday weekend 🙂
That’s great to hear Kristin – and well done for spotting the opportunity to make the most of what you could get!
My OH always does this with his holiday. Makes sense to have a nice long break 🙂
Definitely! Got to take advantage of the situation! 🙂
I always try to get Nathan to do this but he likes to use his bank holiday days for ‘chilling at home’. Apparently family time in a sunny country can wait 🙁
Louise x
I love bundling my annual leave around bank holidays and making the most of my time off. It’s been popular at my work this year though so I only have around August bank holiday this year.
That’s good to know Helen. I think a lot of people cotton on to the fact that they can get a good deal if they play their cards right!
I keep telling my husband we should plan our next family holiday in Greece, I haven’t been in years and it’s such a lovely place with children.
My other half used to do this to maximise his time off! Always worked well for us!
Haha I love this, you had me at double your time off work! It is all about getting in early when booking holidays xx
I love this! It’s so helpful – I’ll definitely be messaging the other half in a moment to suggest they get on with booking these dates!
I always try to use the bank holidays for city breaks so that I can save on holiday time. They’re normally a little more expensive but worth it!
C x
I always love going away over Easter because of the extra bank holidays but I tend to choose long weekends x
This is great although I wish others didnt know the secret. Everyone at my husbands work cottoned on to this a while ago and book the dates up well in advance – grrr!
Yes, I think good news spreads quickly doesn’t it? Some people are still not aware so hopefully they’ll read this and get in quick!
This is a really informative post! Getting more time off is always a plus! It’s just the mad rush to beat others to get it!
Ha ha! Yes – that’s true…best of luck!
Ohb yes, we always used to book around bank holidays to increase our time off, nowadays we tend to book around inset days for school. Mich x
Yes! Inset days are a great idea as you can often find some deals if you leave a day earlier or come back a day later than most schools – thanks Mich!
These are some great ideas for those who work! I love the idea of getting more for your time off you need to get in there quickly though before others do!
Ha ha! Yes you do Sarah. When I was office-bound, I would have got in quick on this one!