The promise of May bank holiday seems like years away, but it will sneak up on you before you know it. Many people begin their year by booking in an array of exciting holidays that they can look forward to, but that can leave you with little annual leave left at work. Luckily, we've found a fabulous trick if you're looking to be savvy with your holiday allowance, and it means you can spend most of the month of May off work. So grab your calendar and prepare to take notes...
It's time to pack your suitcases for May bank holiday
May is one of the best times of the year to embark on a little getaway without using up all of your holiday days. Instead of merely booking off a Friday or Monday to give yourself a slightly longer weekend - which, realistically, isn't enough time to really make the most of a holiday abroad - the month of May offers not one but two bank holidays. Wohoo!
READ: 2020 May bank holiday changed – find out why
If you weren't already excited enough by the prospect of being given an extra two whole days to play with, then we've done the research and found you can actually stretch your break to a whopping 18 days off by using just 8 days of annual leave.
WATCH: 5 ways to travel like a celebrity to get you in the mood for May bank holiday
The first bank holiday normally falls on a Monday, but 2020 will be slightly different after the UK government announced May Day will be changed from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May in England Wales and Northern Ireland. If you book 4-7 May off work, that will leave you with a holiday spanning nine days between 2-10 May. Three weeks later, you can pull the same trick by taking 26-29 as leave work to give you 23-31 May off. We'd recommend booking these days off soon before the whole office hears of the trick. So the only question left to ask is: where are the best holiday destinations in May? If we have some of the beautiful sunny weather we've seen in the UK in previous years, then perhaps even a break closer to home could do the trick. Roll on May!
MORE: 80 things you need to pack for a holiday: the ultimate guide
