{"id":38918,"date":"2026-01-21T15:42:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/?p=38918"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:10:44","slug":"smartest-way-to-book-annual-leave-maximise-time-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/tips-tricks\/smartest-way-to-book-annual-leave-maximise-time-off\/","title":{"rendered":"The smartest way to book annual leave to maximise time off"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Are you tired of feeling like you need a vacation just to recover from planning your time off? Fear not, because you&#8217;ve stumbled upon the holy grail of holiday hacks!<\/h2>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Want more holiday for less leave? Sorted. We&#8217;ve found the best ways to stretch your time off, because you deserve a break that&#8217;s actually brilliant.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Whether you&#8217;re daydreaming about sandy shores, country escapes, or urban adventures, we&#8217;ve got the insider scoop on how to outsmart the work calendar and maximise your time off without breaking a sweat. Say goodbye to the days of frantically counting your remaining leave hours and hello to a world where every holiday request is a piece of cake.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Assuming you&#8217;re blessed with 27 glorious days of leave, bank holidays are the cherry on top, and weekends are your sacred work-free zones, we&#8217;ve mapped out a plan for you to relish a whopping 62 days away from the grind. Grab that trusty diary, and let&#8217;s make some magic happen. Unlock the secret to scoring maximum time off with this genius annual leave booking strategy!<\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DTPy3zRgne0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\"><div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div><p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DTPy3zRgne0\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" class=\"wpel-icon-right\">A post shared by Travelodge UK (@travelodgeuk)<span class=\"wpel-icon wpel-image wpel-icon-6\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>England and Wales<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">30th, 31st of March, 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th of April<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">8 days annual leave<\/h5>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">This year, Easter falls between the 3rd and 6th April. The two bank holidays mean we&#8217;re all guaranteed a four-day weekend. But if you&#8217;re a clever cookie and book off the 30th-2nd and 7th-10th, you&#8217;ll <strong>secure yourself a whopping sixteen consecutive days off work<\/strong> in exchange for only eight days of annual leave. That&#8217;s more than two weeks away from the office!<\/h4>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">5th, 6th, 7th, 8th of May<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">26th, 27th, 28th, 29th of May<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">8 days annual leave<\/h5>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">May is the prime month to book time off since there are two bank holidays and it&#8217;s on the cusp of summer before the price of everything has skyrocketed. <strong>Take four days&#8217; holiday alongside both of the public bank holidays to fit in a total of nine days off<\/strong> &#8211; twice over! You&#8217;ll have a lengthy break at the start of May, then again at the end, with only 2 weeks of work between &#8211; doesn&#8217;t sound too bad, does it?<\/h4>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th of September<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">4 days annual leave<\/h5><h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Looking to squeeze in a bit more time off whilst the sun&#8217;s still got his hat on? The summer bank holiday on the 31st of August is the time to do it. By taking annual leave from 1st-4th September, you&#8217;ll have nine days off in total. And you&#8217;re going to need it as, after August, there isn&#8217;t another bank holiday until Christmas!<\/h4>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 29th, 30th, 31st of December<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">7 days annual leave<\/h5>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">In 2026, Christmas Day falls on a Friday and Boxing Day on a Saturday. Strategically booking your time off around the bank holidays will get you a whopping sixteen days off for only seven days of annual leave, if you include New Year&#8217;s Day weekend 2027.<\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Need the holiday hacks to fit with the Scottish public holidays? Don&#8217;t worry, we&#8217;ve got you covered. Check out the dates for Scotland below.<\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Scotland<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">30th, 31st of March, 1st, 2nd of April<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">4 days annual leave = 10 total days off<\/h5><h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a05th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th of May<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">8 days annual leave = 16 total days off<\/h5><h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">5th, 6th, 7th, 8th of August<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">4 days annual leave = 9 total days off<\/h5>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 29th, 30th, 31st of December<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">11 days annual leave = 20 total days off<\/h5><hr \/>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">So you&#8217;ve hacked your annual leave &#8211; now what?<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/hotel-deals\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" rel=\"external noopener noreferrer\" class=\"wpel-icon-right\">Better get a Travelodge<span class=\"wpel-icon wpel-image wpel-icon-6\"><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you tired of feeling like you need a vacation just to recover from planning your time off? Fear not, because you&#8217;ve stumbled upon the holy grail of holiday hacks! Want more holiday for less leave? Sorted. We&#8217;ve found the best ways to stretch your time off, because you deserve a break that&#8217;s actually brilliant. [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":38925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1361,1675],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do","category-tips-tricks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}