It is a truth universally acknowledged that nothing disappears faster than annual leave.
At the start of the year, 25 glorious work-free days stretch out in front of you and yet, somehow, by May, half of them are already gone – usually taken up by your second-cousin’s wedding, kid’s sick days, or a day when all you truly wanted was to rot in bed (that definitely wasn’t a waste).
Yet, if you’re looking ahead to 2026, then you might want to start thinking about how to make these days count – and how to make them go twice as far.
Luckily, loveholidays has done the hard work for us and crunched the numbers to find out how Brits can turn a smattering of annual leave days into entire weeks off throughout the year – all while keeping prices down.
Their analysis has revealed the cheapest destinations to go, plus the best time to book around Bank Holidays to maximise your leave. Just be sure to get these booked in soon before your colleagues cotton on.
Pens at the ready? Here we go:
Start the year with a bang by taking January 2 off – this will give you four days to go on a New Year’s break. Loveholidays recommends Estonia’s capital Tallinn for a bit of winter charm, and from as little as £116 per person.
As the weather warms into spring, use up eight days of your leave to get a whopping 16 days off, which calls for a break full of sunshine and relaxation. How about a package holiday to Albania – where mountains meet turquoise Adriatic beaches? Loveholidays says this will set you back just £998 per person which, across 16 days, works out to just £62 per day. More money for piña coladas by the beach, we think.
Want to continue the Eastern European trail? Book four days around the Early May Bank Holiday to get nine days off in total – and spend these in Latvia exploring Riga’s Old Town and the Baltic coast for just £340 per person.
The Late May bank holiday calls for even more sunshine, where another four days of leave can get you nine days off for you to spend where you choose (our vote is the Med). Then, come August, just when things are a little too sticky in our part of the world, take another four days to bank nine days off across the August bank holiday.
As the year comes to a close, end it on a festive note by taking another four days to get a 10-day holiday – which loveholidays recommends spending in French alpine villages for just £774 per person.
So, all in all that’s taking all of your 25 days holiday, but getting a cool 57 days holiday in return – that’s nearly two months of the year spent on holiday. We’ll cheers to that.
For more holiday inspiration, check out loveholidays now.
Loveholidays
Plan smarter, travel longer. Loveholidays has revealed the best destinations to visit in 2026 if you want to stretch your annual leave further – think 16-day Easter escapes to Albania or £116 New Year getaways to Estonia. From the sun-soaked Med to festive France, these are the trips that make your 25 days extend to 57 days out of office.
Buy now, Loveholidays
