If you’re savvy, you can turn 28 days of annual leave in 2026 into 63 by planning ahead and booking the right days off.
Take full advantage of the bank holidays in 2026 and you can stretch what feels like a few days dotted here and there into a longer and more satisfying break.
But get those annual leave requests in quick, as they’re likely to go fast.
4 days off at New Year
With 1 January 2026 falling on a Thursday, booking off Friday 2 January gives you a four-day block of holiday to recover from the revelry of New Year celebrations and begin the year well-rested.
16 days off at Easter
Spring is the perfect time to do a long-haul trip and get a chunk of time off altogether. Lots of destinations get a huge uptick in tourists over the summer so avoid the extortionate costs while getting more days off too.
With Good Friday falling on 3 April and Easter Monday on 6 April, booking off the four days between 30 March and 2 April and the four days between 7 April and 10 April means you use only eight days of your precious allowance and get 16 consecutive days off.
9 days off in early May
By booking off the dates between 5 to 8 May, you could get nine days off and use only four days of annual leave because Early May bank holiday falls on 4 May this year.
9 days off in late May
You can double your time again by booking off four days between 26 May and 29 May, taking advantage of the Spring bank holiday falling on Monday 25 May. That will leave you with another nine days off in a row. You’ll barely feel like you’ve been in the office.
9 days off at the end of the summer holidays
Another trick is to take full advantage of the Summer bank holiday, falling on 31 August in 2026. Request four days of leave for 1 September to 4 September and you can get nine days off in a row, doubling the chunk of time.
16 days for the price of 7 at Christmas
Last but not least: Christmas. This one might need more forward-planning because even though it’s more than a year away, it’s often the most competitive time for getting the days you want.
With 2 days off on Friday 25 December for Christmas Day and Monday 28 December for Boxing Day, next year’s festive season falls at almost the perfect time for maximising annual leave.
Book 21 December to 24 December and 29 December to 31 December and you’ll get a lovely 16 days off while using only 7 days of annual leave.
