Do you dream of globetrotting but feel limited by your annual leave – and budget?
You may be surprised to learn that it’s possible to visit 30 destinations across seven countries in 55 days – using just 25 days of annual leave. And the total cost for travel? Under £1,400.
The itinerary has been dreamt up by flight-deal subscription service Jack’s Flight Club, which divides it into five separate 2024 holidays, spanning key dates that take advantage of UK bank holidays, from Easter to May Bank Holiday and Christmas.
It also combines flight deals and Trainline prices to create a trip with a starting price for travel of £1,358. This includes return flights to various European locations and New York, as well as all internal train fares to each destination.
Here is how it works…
EASTER – 16 DAYS OF EUROPEAN ADVENTURING
This 16-day break uses just eight days of annual leave and covers 11 cities – including Amsterdam, pictured – across four countries
Date Location Travel details Train priceDuration March 23Cologne, GermanyFly from London Stansted to Cologne Bonn March 24 Dusseldorf, GermanyEarly train to DusseldorfFrom £925m March 25 Dortmund, GermanyEarly train to DortmundFrom £19 1h10m March 26 Amsterdam, NetherlandsMidday train to AmsterdamFrom £18 3h45m March 27Amsterdam March 28Utrecht, NetherlandsEarly train to Utrecht From £9 26m March 29Rotterdam, Netherlands Early train to RotterdamFrom £1237mMarch 30Antwerp, BelgiumEarly train to AntwerpFrom £141h5m March 31Brussels, BelgiumEarly train to BrusselsFrom £1052m April 1Brussels April 2Luxembourg, LuxembourgMidday train to LuxembourgFrom £233h17m April 3Luxembourg April 4Frankfurt, GermanyMid-morning train to FrankfurtFrom £284h15mApril 5Frankfurt April 6Bonn, GermanyEarly train to BonnFrom £201h24mApril 7Cologne / LondonEarly train to Cologne. Return flight to London StanstedFrom £91h7m
This 16-day break uses just eight days of annual leave and covers 11 cities across four countries from March 23 to April 7.
Fly from London Stansted to Cologne, Germany, and then take the train to Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Bonn, before ending back in Cologne for your return flight.
Airfares start from £30 return for a 1h15m flight with Ryanair, according to Jack’s Flight Club.
Annual leave dates to book: March 25, 26, 27, 28 and April 2, 3, 4, 5.
Overall travel cost: From £201 per person.
USA TRIP FOR EARLY MAY BANK HOLIDAY
Book a return flight from London Gatwick to JFK Airport and explore New York City (pictured). Then hop on a train to explore Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C
DateLocation in U.STravel detailsTrain price Duration May 4New York CityFly from London Gatwick to JFK International May 5New York City May 6PhiladelphiaEarly direct train to PhiladelphiaFrom £81h25mMay 7Philadelphia May 8BaltimoreEarly direct train to BaltimoreFrom £41h17mMay 9Baltimore May 10Washington D.CEarly direct train to Washington D.CFrom £440mMay 11New York CityEarly direct train to New YorkFrom £263h20m May 12New York City / LondonReturn flight to London Gatwick
Use just four days of annual leave for a nine-day trip in the U.S from May 4 to 12.
Book a return flight from London Gatwick to JFK Airport and explore New York City. Then hop on a train to explore Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C before returning to the Big Apple for your flight home.
Airfares start from £400 return for an eight-hour flight with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways, according to Jack’s Flight Club.
Annual leave dates to book: May 7, 8, 9, 10.
Overall travel cost: From £442 per person.
SPRING BANK HOLIDAY IN ITALY
Go on a mesmerising interrailing journey through the beautiful Italian countryside, stopping at the cities of Venice (pictured), Bologna, Florence, Pisa and Milan
Date Location in ItalyTravel details Train priceDuration May 25 MilanFly from Manchester to Milan Malpensa May 26Milan May 27VeniceMidday direct train to VeniceFrom £403h5mMay 28Venice May 29BolognaEarly train to BolognaFrom £272h5mMay 30FlorenceTrain to FlorenceFrom £1037mMay 31FlorenceEarly train to PisaFrom £954mJune 1PisaEarly train to Milan From £1754mJune 2Milan / LondonReturn flight to London Gatwick / Stansted
Enjoy a nine-day break using just four days of annual leave, exploring five cities across Italy from May 25 to June 2.
Fly from Manchester to Milan Malpensa and then embark on an interrailing odyssey through the beautiful Italian countryside, stopping at the cities of Venice, Bologna, Florence, Pisa and Milan.
Flights start from £200 return for a two-hour flight with Ryanair, according to Jack’s Flight Club.
Annual leave dates to book: May 28, 29, 30, 31.
Overall travel cost: From £303 per person.
AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA AND IN MONACO
This nine-day break uses four days of annual leave and covers four cities in the south of France, plus Monaco (pictured)
DateLocation in FranceTravel detailsTrain priceDuration Aug 24MarseillesFly from London Gatwick / Stansted to Marseilles Aug 25ToulonEarly train to ToulonFrom £1343mAug 26CannesEarly train to CannesFrom £231h13mAug 27NiceEarly train to NiceFrom £836mAug 28MonacoMidday train to MonacoFrom £521mAug 29Monaco Aug 30MarseillesEarly train to MarseilleFrom £383h15mSept 1Marseilles / LondonReturn flight to London Gatwick / Stansted
This nine-day break uses four days of annual leave and covers four cities in the south of France, plus Monaco, from August 24 to September 1.
Fly from London Gatwick or Stansted to Marseille, and then take the train to Toulon, Cannes, Nice and Monaco before ending back in Marseille for your return flight.
Flights start from £130 return for a one-hour 55-minute flight with Ryanair, according to Jack’s Flight Club.
Annual leave dates to book: August 27, 28, 29, 30.
Overall travel cost: From £217 per person.
CHRISTMAS – FESTIVE FUN IN SWITZERLAND
Jet off to Geneva and explore Switzerland by rail, stopping at Lausanne, Fribourg, Bern (pictured), and Neuchatel
Date Location in SwitzerlandTravel detailsTrain priceDuration Dec 21 Geneva / LausanneFly from the UK* to Geneva, then catch a train to LausanneFrom £735m Dec 22Lausanne Dec 23FribourgMidday train to FribourgFrom £1444mDec 24Fribourg Dec 25Fribourg Dec 26BernTrain to BernFrom £822m Dec 27Bern Dec 28NeuchatelTrain to NeuchatelFrom £1334mDec 29Neuchatel Dec 30GenevaEarly train to GenevaFrom £131h13mDec 31Geneva Jan 1 (**or Jan 2) Geneva / London Return flight to the UK* *London Gatwick / London Stansted / Glasgow / Edinburgh
**January 2 is a public holiday in Scotland
Use five days of annual leave for this 12-day festive break in Switzerland from December 21 to January 1 – or January 2 for Scots making it 13 days.
Book a return flight from the UK (London Gatwick, London Stansted, Glasgow or Edinburgh) to Geneva and then explore the country by rail, stopping at Lausanne, Fribourg, Bern, and Neuchatel before returning to Geneva.
Flights start from £140 return with British Airways, KLM or Jet2, and take two to four hours, depending on your airport and airline of choice.
Annual leave dates to book: December 23, 24, 27, 30, 31.
Overall travel cost: From £195 per person.
HOW TO VISIT 30 DESTINATIONS IN 55 DAYS USING 25 ANNUAL LEAVE DAYSDates No. of daysAnnual leave days Dates to take off work Number of cities Cities visited Mar 23 to Apr 7 168 Mar 25 to 28 and Apr 2 to 5 11Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Luxembourg, Frankfurt May 4 to 1294May 7 to 104New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, WashingtonMay 25 to June 294May 28 to 315Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, PisaAug 24 to Sept 19 4Aug 27 to 30 5 Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Nice, MonacoDec 21 to Jan 1 (or Jan 2*) 12 or 135 Dec 23, 24, 27, 30, 31 5 Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Bern, NeuchatelTOTAL 55 or 56* 25 days 30 cities*Those in Scotland get an additional day off with this hack as January 2 is a bank holiday
Katy Maclure, editor of The Detour weekly newsletter by Jack’s Flight Club, said: ‘Many people tend to feel restricted by the amount of time they are able to take off from work.
‘Choosing the right days to book off on annual leave can feel stressful to some, with people putting pressure on themselves to make the most of their time off.
‘We understand the value of a good holiday and believe everyone should have the opportunity to travel more during their precious annual leave.’
For more information, visit Jack’s Flight Club.
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