How to Maximize Your Paid Time Off Using Public Holidays in 2025

Don’t just take the day off — maximize your PTO (paid time off) in 2025 to accommodate an incredible trip, whether that’s across the world or across your city. Tacking on a single PTO day to most public holidays in 2025 will create four day weekends – perfect for mini getaways. 

The biggest opportunities for long-haul travel are wrapped up in the major holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. Check out the charts below to see when there are opportunities to book in a Premium Tour with Insight Vacations, and double your time off using half the PTO days.

United States

The United States has no federal laws guaranteeing paid time off for employees, so maximizing paid time off is essential. New Year’s 2025 has the biggest opportunity. Mid-week holidays are difficult to plan for. Instead of taking off December 26 and 27, consider moving those two 2024 PTO days to December 30 and 31, then use two 2025 PTO days in the New Year to create a nine-day vacation. 

Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas 2025 have opportunities for five-day weekends with two PTO days used. Add extra PTO days to the July 4th holiday for an eight-day July trip to Canada with Spectacular Rockies and Glaciers of Alberta.

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Spectacular Rockies and Glaciers of Alberta TOUR

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United Kingdom

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the best time to maximize PTO in the UK, grabbing nearly two weeks off work by taking five PTO days or fewer. Scotland has an opportunity to bank an extra PTO day thanks to the 2nd January holiday.

Easter brings an opportunity to take two PTO days and savor a six-day Spring holiday, too. If you’re not planning on maximizing the three-day weekends throughout the year, save some of those PTO days for the week-long Focus on Ireland tour, with departures scheduled during the Easter holiday.

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Focus on Ireland TOUR

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Australia & New Zealand

Not unlike the UK, Australia and New Zealand’s workforce should look to Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter to maximize time off. The Aussies and Kiwis sweeten the deal with not only the Friday and Monday bookending Easter as public holidays, but also have a bank holiday the following week: Anzac Day.

Maximizing PTO in 2025 is effortless in Oceania. Taking only three PTO days — April 22, 23, and 24 — around Easter creates an amazing 10-day vacation. An astounding adventure in only 10 days? Look to immersive tours such as Italian Intermezzo, Highlights of Spain, or Country Roads of Scotland.

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Italian Intermezzo TOUR

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South Africa

South African staff have similar opportunities for maximizing PTO in 2025 around Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter. Taking a trio of days at the end of 2024 creates an eight-day escape from the office while Easter’s duo of days off can structure a six-day weekend.

Women in the workforce can take advantage of Women-Only tours through Insight Vacations. You can complete many of these exciting excursions in a single-digit stint, such as exploring Scenic Scotland, peeping New England’s Fall Foliage, or gazing at the beauty of Boston, Cape Cod and The Islands, each in only eight days.