How to double your annual leave for 55 days off in 2024

Maximise your holiday days with these calendar-savvy hacks

To best facilitate your 2024 globetrotting wishlist, maximising annual leave to stretch your allocated days is a must.

Holiday days piggybacked onto eight built-in bank holidays – including the upcoming Easter break and Christmas – helps your allowance fo further for extended getaways with the whole family, lengthy solo staycations and relaxing winter sun breaks.

Assuming around 28 days of leave applies to most Brits who work five-day weeks, you’ll even have days to spare when you plan ahead and get in early with key diary dates for the most consecutive days off.

Here's how to be annual leave savvy and use 25 days of holiday for 55 days off in 2024.

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Easter: 23 March to 7 April

Say goodbye to the office for 16 days with these dates (Getty Images)

Book off 25 March to 5 April to enjoy a two-week Easter break using only eight days of leave. With the opportunity for 16 days off work starting Saturday 23 March, this is the best chance to soak up some shoulder season sun in holiday hotspots from Morocco to Sicily either side of the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.

Read: Where to travel in April: The best holiday destinations from Cyprus sunshine to skiing in France

May Bank Holidays: 7 to 10 May and 28 to 31 May

Bank holidays give the chance of 18 days away from work in May (Getty Images)

Two bank holidays bookend the month of May and taking advantage of annual leave within these weeks could mean 18 days off for the price of eight. Book off 7 to 10 May for a consecutive nine-day trip and 28 to 31 May for another week off in the build-up to summer.

Read: Where is hot in May? Best holiday destinations for spring sun outside of Europe

August Bank Holiday: 27 to 30 August

There’s no need to sacrifice a summer holiday this year (Getty Images)

Pencil 27 August to 30 August into your work diary now to use just four annual leave days on a nine-day summer holiday. The summer bank holiday on Monday 26 August makes this week the ideal time to fly off to Florida with the family, hit the beaches of Crete and laze by Italian lakes before the chaos of back-to-school starts.

Read: The 10 best holiday destinations in August for summer sun

Christmas and New Year: 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31 December

Take the 12 days of Christmas off this year with just five days of holiday (Getty Images)

Tis the season of staycations, Twixmas treats and sluggish sofa sessions when your festive “out of office” is on. For 12 days off next festive period take five days of leave on 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31 December and you could be basking in the winter sun, sliding down the slopes or ringing in the New Year in New York to round off 2024.

Read: Where is hot in December? Best holiday destinations for winter sun

Bank Holiday dates 2024

• Monday, 1 January – New Year’s Day
• Friday, 29 March – Good Friday
• Monday, 1 April – Easter Monday
• Monday, 6 May – Early May bank holiday
• Monday, 27 May – Spring bank holiday
• Monday, 26 August – Summer bank holiday
• Wednesday, 25 December – Christmas Day
• Thursday, 26 December – Boxing Day

Read more on affordable city breaks in Europe