How to turn your 20 days of annual leave into 55 days of holidays in Victoria

20 days of annual leave is the legal minimum for full-time employees in Australia, so this hack is doable for any full-time employee. Just book your days off early, before your colleagues discover this super simple idea too.

With some savvy trip planning around weekends and public holidays and a little bit of clever maths, you can actually get 55 days of holiday time from your standard 20 days of annual leave. Here's how to do it.

When to plan your holidays:

Book in annual leave for the days in italics. The other days are either weekends or public holidays.

December/January:

Wednesday 1 January (Public holiday: New Year's Day)

Thursday 2 January

Friday 3 January

Saturday 4 January

Sunday 5 January

• Holiday length: 5 days
• Annual leave used: 2 days
• Holiday suggestion: Use those days to unwind and drive the Great Ocean Road.

Saturday 25 January

Sunday 26 January

Monday 27 January (Public holiday: Australia Day)

• Holiday length: 3 days
• Annual leave used: 0 days
• Holiday suggestion: Drive up to Canberra for a weekend of celebrations in the capital

March:

Saturday 7 March

Sunday 8 March

Monday 9 March (Public holiday: Labour Day)

• Holiday length: 3 days
• Annual leave used: 0 days
• Holiday suggestion: Go on a mystery holiday from Melbourne to New Zealand

April:

Saturday 4 April

Sunday 5 April

Monday 6 April

Tuesday 7 April

Wednesday 8 April

Thursday 9 April

Friday 10 April (Public holiday: Good Friday)

Saturday 11 April

Sunday 12 April

Monday 13 April (Public holiday: Easter Monday)

• Holiday length: 10 days
• Annual leave used: 4 days
• Holiday suggestion: Get to The States early before the summer rush and bliss out in sunny California on a G Adventures tour.

June:

Saturday 6 June

Sunday 7 June

Monday 8 June (Public holiday: Queen's Birthday)

Tuesday 9 June

Wednesday 10 June

Thurday 11 June

• Holiday length: 6 day
• Annual leave used: 3 days
• Holiday suggestion: Escape the winter and head north to Palm Cove

October:

Friday 2 October (Public holiday: AFL Grand Final Friday - specific date TBC)

Saturday 3 October

Sunday 4 October

• Holiday length: 3 days
• Annual leave used: 0 days
• Holiday suggestion: Spend your Friday off at your mate's house or the local pub

November:

Saturday 31 October

Sunday 1 November

Monday 2 November

Tuesday 3 November (Public holiday: Melbourne Cup Day)

Wednesday 4 November

Thursday 5 November

Friday 6 November

Saturday 7 November

Sunday 8 November

• Holiday length: 9 days
• Annual leave used: 4 days
• Holiday suggestion: Fly up to Japan and experience the country in late autumn

December:

Saturday 19 December

Sunday 20 December

Monday 21 December

Tuesday 22 December

Wednesday 23 December

Thursday 24 December

Friday 27 December (Public holiday: Christmas Day)

Saturday 26 December

Sunday 27 December

Monday 28 December (Public holiday: Boxing Day)

Tuesday 29 December

Wednesday 30 December

Thursday 31 December

• Holiday length: 16 days (including New Year's public holiday on 1 January and the weekend of 2-3 January 2020)
• Annual leave used: 7 days
• Holiday suggestion: Pick one of these New Year's Eve destinations and raise a glass to 2021

Totals:

• Total holiday days: 55 days
• Annual leave used: 20 days

That's a lot of time off to plan.

Keep an eye on our Boxing Day flight sales to get these holidays booked.

Looking for a travel bargain to fill your annual leave days? Check out our latest deals: