Tips & Advice · 4 min read · January 21, 2025

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

Want to turn 28 days of annual leave into up to 61 days off in 2025? By booking time off around UK bank holidays, you can stretch your holiday time with minimal leave. Key dates include:

• Easter: Book 14–17 & 22–25 April for a 16-day break using 8 days' leave
• May: Book 6–9 & 27–30 May for two 9-day holidays
• August: Book 26–29 August for a 9-day summer break
• Christmas: Book 22–24 & 29–31 December for 13 days off

Scroll down for the full breakdown and start planning your best year of time off yet!

How to turn 28 days' leave into 61 days.

Don't tell your boss but were here to maximise your annual leave in 2025.

Even if you love your job, holiday time is precious.

Every year we work out how to maximise your annual leave to get the most days off. By combining weekends and bank holidays, you can plan even longer breaks from just a few days booked off. Don't tell your boss!

This year, you can secure 61 days off from 28 days of leave. If you're lucky and have leave to carry over from last year, or a generous holiday entitlement, you'll be able to take all of this off. But if not, pick and choose your favourite dates before your workmates catch on.

January | 5-day holiday from 2 days' leave

No one wants to go back to work with a festive hangover from Christmas and New Year's. Instead, book the first Thursday and Friday of the year off and you'll have a lovely 5-day break from 1st to 5th January. The perfect way to start 2025.

April | 16-day holiday from 8 days' leave

Take advantage of two bank holidays in April and bag a 16-day holiday from 12th to 27th April. And best of all, you'll only have to use 8 days of annual leave.

Make Good Friday a great Friday by booking 14th to 17th April off. Then, book the rest of the week after Easter Monday off and you can forget all about work for over two weeks.

May | Two 9-day holidays from 8 days' leave

May sees two bank holidays, one at the start and one at the end. So turn them both into a week off and you can see in the start of the good weather with two 9-day trips.

First, book off 6th to 9th May. That'll give you a 9-day holiday from 3rd to 11th May, including two weekends and the early bank holiday Monday.

Then, book off 27th to 30th May. Now you have a second 9-day holiday – 24th May to 1st June – from only four days booked off. Lovely.

August | 9-day holiday from 4 days' leave

Summer is coming to an end, but it's not too late to get away for some sun. It's also a great time to explore all the UK has to offer.

Book 26th to 30th August and you'll be off exploring from the 23rd all the way to the 31st.

December | 13-day holiday for 6 days' leave

It might feel a bit early to be talking about Christmas. But plan ahead by booking off 22nd to 24th December, plus 29th to 31st, and you can enjoy 13 days' holiday using just 6 days of annual leave. What a way to sail into 2026.

So there you have it, 61 days off spun out of your 28 days' annual leave. Enjoy your holidays but do us a favour – don't tell your boss what we told you.