Dreaming of another holiday already? Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
As Illawarra locals settle back into work after the festive haze, many are already eyeing off their next escape — and 2026 is shaping up to be a golden year for strategic leave-takers.
With public holidays falling neatly throughout the calendar, a little planning could turn a handful of annual leave days into a cheeky extra long weekend exploring your own backyard or the South Coast, through to a long-overdue overseas escape that still leaves days in the leave bank.
If you’re willing to have a break in peak holiday times, that is.
While we appreciate not every industry allows for public holidays to be taken off and that it can create pressure for small to medium business owners needing to have enough staff on and around busy holiday periods, there’s an opportunity for those willing and able to take it up.
According to Europ Assistance’s 2025 Holiday Barometer, the Australian average trip length for summer holiday is 2.1 weeks, signalling more people are moving away from quick getaways and giving way to more ambitious itineraries with extended time for relaxation and exploration.
Now, we’re not promoting we all become bludgers.
Simply put, a well rested person after having a quality holiday can go a long way to greater mental health, a better home life, and a more productive employee – or boss.
According to Insure&Go commercial and marketing director David Mayo, the 2026 public holiday placement could influence how Australians approach their holidays to help achieve this.
“We may see more people mixing short getaways with a major overseas trip in the same year, taking advantage of how the public holidays fall to travel for longer, or further afield, without blowing their entire leave balance in one go,” he said.
Here’s how to find time for that quick travel fix interstate, a longer escape abroad or just sit at home and actually finish reading that book.
Australia Day
With Australia Day landing on Monday 26 January in 2026, you’ve already scored a three-day weekend at the height of summer. Take four extra days of annual leave and it becomes a nine-day stretch of sunshine, swims and proper downtime.
Easter
As is the case each year, Good Friday and Easter Monday allow for a four-day weekend, with Easter Friday falling on 3 April and Easter Monday on 6 April. Either week then allows you to add in another four days of annual leave to turn Easter into a 10-day getaway – or staycation – to make the most of the last warm weather before winter hits. Considering Anzac Day falls on a Saturday this year and won’t have a substituted week day off, this really is your last pre-winter break outside using full leave.
King’s Birthday
Maybe you’re looking for that winter adventure without having to travel overseas. The King’s Birthday always falls on a Monday, with it this year being marked on 8 June. You can either choose to enjoy a three-day getaway or add four annual leave days and head to the snow for a nine-day skiing holiday. If you don’t love the cold, then there’s ample time to travel overseas.
Labour Day
Falling on Monday 5 October, by Labour Day the weather has started to warm up and more people are getting out and about. It makes this long weekend a prime opportunity to recharge the batteries to avoid burnout or thaw yourself out if it’s been a particularly cold or wet winter. If you’ve still got some annual leave left, add in four days and have yourself a nine-day spring break.
Christmas and New Year
If Christmas is a busy time for you and you’re looking forward to some end of year rest and relaxation or you want to head interstate or overseas to see family or friends, then Christmas 2026 is ideal. Christmas Day is on a Friday, which means Boxing Day falls on the Saturday, with the bonus of a day in lieu coming in on the Monday. That gives you a four-day Christmas break. If you use just three days of annual leave to extend the holiday through until the New Year’s Day public holiday on the Friday, you can unlock a 10-day holiday.
Whether you’re planning an overseas trip, want to catch up with family interstate or know you’ll need some extended R&R to recharge throughout the year, there’s plenty of opportunities for it in 2026.
