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2025 is coming in hot, and between Euro Summer and all the destinations closer to home to explore, it can be hard prioritising when and where to take your annual leave. But, if you follow our Hack the Leave calendar, you don’t have to! You can soak up the sun in Rome, hit up the waves in Melbourne, gorge yourself on Japanese treats, and so much more without missing a day of work.
All you have to do to make your annual leave work for you is input the total amount of days you have in the calendar tool below and VOILÀ! You have your very own customised Hack the Leave calendar (which you can download straight to your phone for ease), letting you know exactly when to book time off in accordance with those blessed public holidays. Watch your annual leave double, or even triple, and get ready for a year of total bliss.
Too excited and can’t think straight? Fair enough – this is a pretty amazing development after all. We’ve taken the liberty of curating a 2025 itinerary for you, packing your 20-cum-53-days of annual leave (for example) with only the best and most beautiful destinations around the world.
Image source:Contiki
January – New Year’s Day
Lucky, lucky New Zealand starting the year off with not one but two public holidays! You get the 1st and 2nd of January off, so to make that a glorious 5 day weekend (or longer if you’re coming off that Christmas high), you just have to book annual leave on the 3rd!
To celebrate the coming of the new year, why not take advantage of the scorching sun and pop on over to your neighbour’s house (and by that, we mean Australia) for some Great Barrier Reef exploration? Spend a few blissful days away from home by enjoying the sun and the sea, diving below the waves to witness one of the world’s greatest natural beauties. It’ll probably make returning to the office a lot less fun, but what’s life without a little hardship?
Image source:Contiki
February – Waitangi Day
In February comes Waitangi Day, and in 2025 it falls on a Thursday, so all you have to do is take the Friday 7th off for a lovely four day weekend!
If you’re in the North Island, why not jump onboard our Sun and Steam trip. This one takes you up to stunning Bay of Islands, home to some of the most iconic beaches in NZ and includes a visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, an important place over this weekend. Venture south to Rotorua to rest and recoup with some geothermal activity and connect with Aotearoa’s history and culture.
Or you venture south and explore the rugged coast of Kaikoura, or cruise some lakes in Milford Sound. Our incredible country has plenty of hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.
April – Easter + ANZAC Day
April is the big, massive jackpot of Hack the Leave for 2025, and here’s why. Good Friday (the 18th) and Easter Monday (the 21st) come together to create a truly spectacular long weekend. Add four days on annual leave before the 18th, and three days after the 21st, and you can bridge Easter and ANZAC Day all in one, with the three weekends on either side. This brings your total holiday time in April to 16 days, and you only have to spend 7 days of annual leave! Talk about a bargain.
So, how to celebrate? Well, we think this calls for a big getaway. This is the perfect time to visit some Asian heavyweights by hopping on the South Korean Soul trip, or exploring Vietnam Highlights! Delicious food, vibrant cities, wildly different and amazing cultures, and of course plenty of unique experiences in each destination – you can’t go wrong here.
Maybe you want to get active over Easter and catch some views atop mountains and across sprawling plains. In that case, the hefty Nepal Treks and Temples trip might be the one for you.
Image source:Contiki
June – King’s Birthday & Matariki
Welcome to the beginning of winter and cooler days. But that doesn’t mean holidays are off the table! You’ve got a day off on the 2nd of June for the King’s Birthday, which you can turn into a nifty 4 day weekend by taking the 3rd off, and then later in the month you get starry Matariki.
This falls on the 20th of June, and if you take the 16th to the 19th off before that, you can bag yourself a wonderful 9 days off by using only 4 days of annual leave. The natural conclusion here is to head somewhere where you can do some fantastic stargazing. Check out South Africa’s Garden Route, where you’ll be treated to one of the prettiest road trips of your life. With a mix of land and ocean safaris, sea views, cityscapes, and of course black out nights where the stars are bright like pale fire, we guarantee you’ll have the most epic time.
October – Labour Day
Before the big end of year bash (Christmas, that is), there’s Labour Day on October 27th, which will give you a neat 3 day weekend to use at your leisure. It’s springtime, so might we suggest getting outdoors and exploring all the natural beauty New Zealand has to offer? Maybe this is the time to pick up a new hobby like hiking or camping? Or you can simply spend it at the beach, surfing and enjoying creamy fruit ice creams. The choice is yours!
Image source:George Strang
December – Christmas
For Christmas the universe has decided to be really generous. You get the 25th and 26th off automatically, of course, but if you really want to prolong the festive cheer, we recommend using 6 days of annual leave to book off the 22nd-24th, and the 29th-31st so you can get the whole rest of 2025 off and all to yourself! That’s 12 days off!
You can check out some classic Christmas destinations across Europe like France or Germany to really get that winter wonderland vibe. Or you can see how it’s done in other parts of the world, like on our Northern Thai Highlights trip! You’ll be surrounded by good weather, good vibes, and good people – and isn’t that what it’s all about?
