How to maximise the 2025 bank holidays

This year, your out-of-office will be working overtime. If you’re smart with your holiday diarising and take your annual leave strategically around 2025’s bank holidays, you can enjoy a very satisfactory 65 days away (assuming you are entitled to 28 days of annual leave). By booking extra days here and there, a long weekend becomes a full week, even two. While in April/May, you can maximise big-time, creating a three-week stretch using only 13 days of leave.

Here’s how to hack the forthcoming bank holiday weekends and the best places to go, from once-in-a-lifetime adventures in Georgia to sun-soaked beach days in Abu Dhabi. Just think of that water cooler chat when you’re back at work…  

2025 bank holiday dates at a glance

Friday 18 April – Good Friday
Monday 21 April – Easter Monday
Monday 5 May – Early May bank holiday
Monday 26 May – Spring bank holiday
Monday 25 August – Summer bank holiday
Thursday 25 December – Christmas Day
Friday 26 December – Boxing Day

Easter weekend: Friday 18 April & Monday 21 April
Book off: 14-17 April and 22-25 April
Days of holiday: 16

Put a spring in your step by booking off 14-17 April and 22-25 April as holiday, which will leave you with a whopping 16 consecutive days to play with. This can only mean one thing – the Maldives. Rainfall and humidity are relatively low at this time of year, allowing the islands’ natural beauty to shine beneath the Indian Ocean sun. After the long winter, it will lift your spirits no end. 

Find paradise in the Maldives

Book off: 22-25 April, 28 April-2 May, 6-9 May
Days of holiday: 24

Elsewhere, the thermometer is heading north and nature is waking up. So how about a proper adventure? Finish work on 17 April and return on 12 May and you’ve got more than three weeks using just 13 days of annual leave. Hire a car (collecting Avios along the way) and retrace the Silk Road through Georgia and Turkey – start in Tbilisi, before embarking on a magical journey of fairytale castles, alpine forests and exotic bazaars to Istanbul.

Start your trip of a lifetime in Tbilisi

Early May Bank Holiday: Monday 5 May
Book off: 2 May
Days of holiday: Four

The French have a word for strolling aimlessly with no destination in mind – flâner – and early May is the perfect time to do just that in Paris. The City of Light is charmant – the weather is mild, the parks are blossoming and cafés spill out onto pavements. Plus, of course, the crowds are thinner so there’s less queuing for all the big hitters (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Château de Versailles et al).

Plan a long weekend in Paris

Book off: 6-9 May
Days of holiday: Nine

Alternatively, ask your boss for 6-9 May as holiday to create a full nine days. May we suggest Cyprus? From April to June, you can expect clear skies and sunshine (that isn’t stifling) – the perfect scenario for experiencing its ancient ruins, golden beaches and easy-breezy Mediterranean charm. Little wonder it’s the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. This island will have your heart.

Book your flight to Larnaca

Spring bank holiday: Monday 26 May
Book off: 27-30 May
Days of holiday: Nine

Be savvy and book off four days from 27-30 May, which means a nine-day OOO stretch (if you do the same in early May, that’s 18 days of holiday this month, taking only eight days of annual leave – not bad at all). Chase the sun to the city of İzmir, a Turkish delight overlooking the Aegean Sea, where you can splash in the turquoise waters, browse the markets and feast on warm boyoz pastries to your heart’s content.

Chase the sun to İzmir

Book off: 23 May
Days of holiday: Four

Or why not keep it closer to home and head to the Scottish Highlands for a far-away-from-the-crowds mini-break? Rugged, romantic, remote… the mountainous region is one of the last great wildernesses in Europe, with early summer a great time for hiking amongst the heather-carpeted hills and glens. Just add an extra day’s holiday (let’s say 23 May) and jump on a flight – you’ll be there in a jiffy.

Head for the hills in Scotland

Summer bank holiday: Monday 25 August
Book off: 26-29 August
Days of holiday: Nine

It’s time to max out your summer hols by booking off four days to create a nine-day window. While August can be scorchio (and super busy) in many places, not so in Kuala Lumpur. Spend a few days in town at the exotic gardens of the KLCC Park or with your head in the clouds at the Petronas Twin Towers, then head to the cool of the emerald tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands.

Plan your trip to Kuala Lumpur

Book off: 22 August
Days of holiday: Four

Used up most of your annual leave? That’s OK. Just book off 22 August, which will give you a lovely long weekend in the Latvian capital of Riga, with its mediaeval spires and Art Nouveau flamboyance. Picture yourself sipping craft beer in cobbled squares or shopping the city’s indie boutiques before walking along the canal at dusk. It’s only a three-hour flight, but you’ll feel a world away.

Enjoy a long weekend in Riga

Christmas 2025
Book off: 22-24 December
Days of holiday: Nine

If you’re a traditionalist and like your festivities cold and white – or you don’t have quite enough leave left for long-haul – just three days off will allow ample time to follow in the footsteps of Father Christmas to Lapland. Fly to Finland’s most northerly airport Ivalo for skiing, snowmobile safaris and meeting Santa. If you’re lucky, you may even see the northern lights.

Book a snowy adventure in Lapland

Christmas and New Year 2025
Book off: 22-24 December, 29-31 December
Days of holiday: 13

It’s the festive season and what better gift than getting just shy of a fortnight’s holiday for only six days of annual leave? Book 22-24 and 29-31 December and (including Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and the weekends) you’ll have 13 days for a winter sun escape. Make it Abu Dhabi, where the average 26°C temperature and palm-fringed beaches are a far cry from back home.

Seek the heat in Abu Dhabi