How to get up to 55 days off for just 20 days' annual leave

The annual leave gods clearly look kindly on 2020. Thanks to a miraculous twist of fate, it is possible to get up to 55 days of holidays across next year using just 20 days of annual leave. Dreaming of a long weekend in the Hunter Valley or Margaret River Region? Setting your sights further abroad, with an April trip to Paris or a flop-and-drop in Fiji?

Castaway Island, Fiji is a popular holiday spot for families. You could be next! Credit: Shutterstock

Finder have run the maths and found that Western Australia, Victoria and ACT can get the most time off. NSW and Queensland get the least. Luckily, everyone can score a whopping 16-day holiday over Easter and again over Christmas and New Year’s.

At Easter, head off on Saturday 4^th April. Take Monday 6^th to Thursday 9^th on annual leave. Enjoy the Good Friday and Easter Monday public holidays and then take off Tuesday 14^th April to Friday 17^th. Bam! More than two weeks off! That’s long enough for a tour of South-East Asia, a trip to Australia’s Red Centre, or a cruise in the South Pacific.

Everyone can also get 10 days off with 4 days’ leave in December. Pack up and leave home on Saturday 19^th December. Take off Monday 21^st December to Thursday 24^th on annual leave. Enjoy the Friday Christmas (25^th December) and Monday Boxing Day (28^th December) public holidays to round out your 10-day trip.

Feeling lucky? Tack on an extra 3 days of annual leave – take off Tuesday 29^th, Wednesday 30^th and Thursday 31^st December. Then enjoy Friday 1^st January 2021 New Year’s long weekend. All up, from Saturday 19^th December 2020 to Sunday 3^rd January 2021, you can get a 16-day break with only 7 days of annual leave.

Get planning! Credit: Shutterstock

Make the most of Australia-wide public holidays for a long weekend away camping with friends or visiting family inter-state. Click here for a list of public holidays in your home state.

Check out the Finder website to calculate how to maximise holidays with as few annual leave days as possible, state by state.

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Sophie Cullen

Sophie is a die-hard pasta lover, beach-goer and theatre fanatic hit hard with the travel bug. When exploring new places, Sophie loves straying from the beaten path and chatting with locals about the best places to grab a bite to eat.

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