At Jack's Flight Club, we've been crunching the numbers and realised there's a secret to maximising your 2024 annual leave. Take your standard 25 days, and with a little calendar magic, you can actually take 55 days away from your desk, exploring 30 cities across seven countries.
First, here's the breakdown of what to book off, and when:
- Take these days off work: March 25th - 28th & April 2nd-5th (8 days of holiday allowance)
- You'll have a total of 16 days off (March 23rd-April 7th)
- Take these days off work: May 7th-10th (4 days of holiday allowance)
- You'll have a total of 9 days off (May 4th - May 12th)
- Take these days off work: May 28th - June 2nd (4 days of holiday allowance)
- You'll have a total of 9 days off (May 25th - June 2nd)
- Take these days off work: Aug 27th - 30th (4 days of holiday allowance)
- You'll have a total of 9 days off (Aug 24th - Sept 1st)
- Take these days off work: Dec 23rd-24th, 27th & 30th-31st (5 days of holiday allowance)
- You'll have a total of 12 days off* (Dec 21st - Jan 1st)
*13 days off for people in Scotland - you won't have to take any additional annual leave, as Jan 2nd is also a bank holiday.
Now we know when to book off your annual leave this year, let’s dive into where you’ll be heading! We've come up with a few itineraries that cover Western Europe and the USA to get you started.
The prices mentioned below are accurate as of January 2024.
Easter holidays: exploring the best of Europe
Tip: This isn’t a trip for the faint of heart, as it will be pretty non-stop. However, catching early trains and planning strategically ensures you can make the most of your time in each city.
March 23rd - April 7th
Trip Highlights:
- Total annual leave required: 9 days for a 16-day break
- Annual leave dates to book: March 25th-28th and April 2nd-5th
- Cities you'll visit: 11 cities across 4 countries
- Overall travel cost: £201+ pp
- Flight details: starting from £30s rtn for a 1 hr 15 min flight with Ryanair
| Date | Location | Travel Details |
| Mar 23rd | Land in Cologne | Land at Cologne from London (STN) |
| Mar 24th | Cologne, travel to Düsseldorf |
Early Train from Cologne to Düsseldorf |
| Mar 25th | Düsseldorf, travel to Dortmund |
Early Train from Düsseldorf to Dortmund |
| Mar 26th | Dortmund, travel to Amsterdam |
Midday Train from Dortmund to Amsterdam |
| Mar 27th | Amsterdam | |
| Mar 28th | Amsterdam, travel to Utrecht |
Early Train from Amsterdam to Utrecht |
| Mar 29th | Utrecht, travel to Rotterdam | Early Train from Utrecht to Rotterdam Tickets from: £12 Duration: 37 min |
| Mar 30th | Rotterdam, travel to Antwerp |
Early Train from Rotterdam to Antwerp |
| Mar 31st | Antwerp, travel to Brussels |
Early Train from Antwerp to Brussels |
| Apr 1st | Brussels | |
| Apr 2nd | Brussels, travel to Luxembourg |
Midday Train from Brussels to Luxembourg |
| Apr 3rd | Luxembourg | |
| Apr 4th | Luxembourg, travel to Frankfurt |
Mid-morning Train from Luxembourg to Frankfurt |
| Apr 5th | Frankfurt | |
| Apr 6th | Frankfurt, travel to Bonn |
Early Train from Frankfurt to Bonn |
| Apr 7th | Bonn, travel to Cologne |
Early Train from Bonn to Cologne |
Ticket info found on Trainline
May bank holiday: Manhattan and North-Eastern USA
May 4th - May 12th
Trip highlights:
- Total annual leave required: 4 days for a 9-day break
- Annual leave dates to book: May 7th-10th
- Cities you'll visit: 4
- Overall travel cost: £442+ pp
- Flight details: starting in £400s rtn for an 8-hour flight with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways
| Date | Location | Travel Details |
| May 4th | Land in New York | Land at JFK from LGW/LHR |
| May 5th | New York | |
| May 6th | New York, travel to Philadelphia |
Early direct train from NY to Philadelphia Tickets from: £8 Duration: 1 hour 25 mins |
| May 7th | Philadelphia | |
| May 8th | Philadelphia, travel to Baltimore |
Early direct train from Philadelphia to Baltimore Tickets from £4 Duration: 1 hour 17 min |
| May 9th | Baltimore | |
| May 10th | Baltimore, travel to Washington, D.C. |
Early direct train from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. Tickets from £4 Duration: 40 mins |
| May 11th | Washington, D.C., travel to New York |
Early direct train to New York Tickets from: £26 Duration: 3 hours 20 mins |
| May 12th | New York | Return to LGW/LHR |
Ticket info found on Amtrak
Spring bank holiday: Florence, Lombardy, Veneto and northern Italy
May 25th - June 2nd
- Total annual leave required: 4 days for a 9-day break
- Annual leave dates to book: May 28th-31st
- Cities you'll visit: 5
- Overall travel cost: £300+ pp
- Flight details: starting in £100s rtn for a 2 hr flight with Ryanair
| Date | Location | Travel details |
| May 25th | Land in Milan | Land at MXP from MAN |
| May 26th | Milan | |
| May 27th | Milan, travel to Venice |
Midday direct train from Milan to Venice Tickets from: £40 Duration: 3 hours 5 mins |
| May 28th | Venice | |
| May 29th | Venice, travel to Bologna |
Early train from Venice to Bologna Tickets from: £27 Duration: 2 hours 5 mins |
| May 30th | Bologna, travel to Florence |
Explore Bologna, then catch the train to Florence Tickets from £10 Duration: 37 mins |
| May 31st | Florence, travel to Pisa |
Early train from Florence to Pisa Tickets from £9 Duration: 54 mins |
| June 1st | Pisa, travel back to Milan |
Train back to Milan Tickets from £17 Duration: 4 hours 25 mins |
| June 2nd | Milan | Fly back to MAN |
Ticket info found on Trainline
August bank holiday: South of France
August 24 - September 1
- Total annual leave required: 4 days for a 9-day break
- Annual leave dates to book: Aug 27th-30th
- Cities you'll visit: 5
- Overall travel cost: £417+ pp
- Flight details: starting in £130s rtn for a 1 hr 55 mins flight with Ryanair or easyJet
| Dates | Location | Travel Details |
| Aug 24th | Land in Marseilles | Land in Marseilles from LGW/STN |
| Aug 25th | Marseilles, travel to Toulon |
Early train from Marseilles to Toulon Tickets from £13 Duration: 43 mins |
| Aug 26th | Toulon, travel to Cannes |
Early train from Toulon to Cannes Tickets from £23 Duration: 1 hour 13 mins |
| Aug 27th | Cannes, travel to Nice |
Early train from Cannes to Nice Tickets from £8 Duration: 36 mins |
| Aug 28th | Nice, travel to Monaco |
Midday train from Nice to Monaco Tickets from £5 Duration: 21 mins |
| Aug 29th | Monaco | |
| Aug 30th | Monaco, travel to Marseilles |
Early train from Monaco to Marseilles Tickets from £38 Duration: 3 hours 15 mins |
| Sept 1st | Marseilles | Return to LGW/STN |
Ticket info found on Trainline
Christmas holidays: Switzerland
Christmas 2024 may seem far off now, but this trick allows you to take only five days of annual leave for a 12-day break over the festive period.
Travellers in Scotland get an even better deal, as they can enjoy a 13-day break with the same amount of annual leave, thanks to an extra day off on January 2nd for Hogmanay.
December 21st - January 1st
- Total annual leave required: 5 days for a 12-day break
- Annual leave dates to book: December 23rd-24th, 27th, 30th-31st
- Cities you'll visit: 5
- Overall travel cost: £195+ pp
- Flight details: starting from £140s-£200s for a 2-4 hr flight with British Airways, KLM or Jet2
| Dates | Location | Travel Details |
| Dec 21st | Land in Geneva, travel to Lausanne |
Arrive in Geneva and catch the train to Lausanne Tickets from £7 Duration: 35 mins |
| Dec 22nd | Lausanne | |
| Dec 23rd | Lausanne, travel to Fribourg |
Midday train from Lausanne to Fribourg Tickets from £14 Duration: 44 mins |
| Dec 24th-25th | Fribourg | |
| Dec 26th | Fribourg, travel to Bern |
Train from Fribourg to Bern Tickets from £8 Duration: 22 mins |
| Dec 27th | Bern | |
| Dec 28th | Bern, travel to Neuchatel |
Trains from Bern to Neauchatel Tickets from £13 Duration: 34 mins |
| Dec 29th | Neauchatel | |
| Dec 30th | Neauchatel, travel to Geneva |
Early train from Neuchatel to Geneva Tickets from £13 Duration: 1 hr 13 min |
| Dec 31st-Jan (or Jan 2nd)* | Geneva | Fly back to LGW/STN/GLA/EDI |
Ticket info found on Trainline
*those who live in Scotland can enjoy an additional night in Geneva without using any additional leave.
To do all these trips (including return flights and train travel), it'll come to £1,355 pp. This is pricey, but you can pick and choose which trips you'd like to go on, or DIY your own itinerary around these bank holiday dates.
To take some of the legwork out of planning your flights this year, sign up for a free JFC membership, and we'll send cheap tips straight to your inbox.
