by Dan Cartwright
Do you spend 40 nights a year on holiday? Heres how you can… even if you work full time!
We were recently sent a press release from the Caravan and Motorhome Club saying that 30% of their members spend between 40 and 70 nights holiday a year in there leisure vehicles. This figure came from their inspiring adventures report.
This got passed around our office at CaravanTimes and everyone agreed that they would love to be able to spend 40 nights away but many believed this was impractical if you’re not a teacher or retired. But what about the average worker? Can we holiday-strapped workers really expect to spend 40 nights on holiday? Yes. To inspire you and show you how easy it is we got out the calculator and calendar and worked out how easy it would be for the average worker to spend over 40 nights in their leisure vehicle… So here’s how.
According to the gov.uk website “almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid leave per year. A employer can include bank holidays as part of this statutory leave”. So this gives us something to work with. If you work full time the minimum holiday you can expect including bank holidays (but not including weekends) is 28 days.
Now we are going to show three potential break plans, with breaks of different length throughout the year. We have split breaks in to 4 types
The Two week holiday – assuming you leave on a Friday after work and return two weeks on sunday. This is a total of 16 nights away and 10 days leave
The one week holiday – assuming you leave on a Friday after work and return one week on Sunday. This is a total of 9 nights away and 5 days leave
The Long weekend – assuming you leave on a Thursday after work and return on the following Monday. This is a total of 4 nights away and 2 days leave
The weekend – assuming you leave on a Friday after work and return on the Sunday. This is a total of 4 nights away and 2 days leave
So using these terms here’s three sample plans of how you can use your leisure vehicle for more than 40 nights.
The big breakers
Take 2, two week holidays, using a total of 20 days leave but giving you 32 nights on holiday.
Take 2 long weekends, using a total 4 days leave but giving you 8 nights on holiday
Take 2 weekends this uses no leave and gives you another 4 nights on Holiday.
This plan gives the big breakers 2, two week holidays, 2 long weekends and 2 weekends away visiting potentially 6 destinations and a total of 44 nights on holiday and importantly 4 days leave left over for those house repairs or doctors visits.
The frequent breakers
Take 4, one week holidays, using a total of 20 days leave but giving you 36 nights on holiday.
Take 2 long weekends, using a total 4 days leave but giving you 8 nights on holiday
Take 2 weekends this uses no leave and gives you another 4 nights on holiday.
This plan gives the Frequent breakers 4 one week holidays, two long weekends and two weekends away visiting potentially 8 destinations and a total of 48 nights on holiday and importantly 4 days leave left over for the those house repairs or doctor visits.
The mini breakers
Take 12 long weekends – thats one every month using a total of 24 days leave but giving you 48 nights on holiday.
Take 12 weekends away – giving you another 24 nights on holiday
This plan gives the Frequent breakers a long weekend away and a normal weekend holiday Every month, and a total of 72 nights on holiday and importantly 4 days leave left over for the those house repairs or doctor visits.
There are an almost infinite amount of combinations that achieve you more than 40 nights holiday on a regular holiday allowance with 4 days leave left for what ever you want or need to do but our point is this – go more, do more and holiday more.
