Maximise your 2023 public holidays for early travel planning

Fresh off of two long weekends with Christmas and New Year’s behind us, it feels like a crime to go back to a normal five-day work week. Not to worry with Lunar New Year holiday just around the corner, when we’ll get not just one, but two weekdays off on 23 and 24 January. Why stop there? Take the rest of the week off, and you’ve got yourself a nine-day holiday stretching from 21 to 29 January while only taking three days of your annual leave.

We won’t see another long weekend until April, so use your time off wisely. Good Friday falls on 7 April, while Hari Raya Puasa follows shortly after on 22 April. While 22 April falls on a Saturday this year, you should either get a day off or salary in lieu in exchange. Consider using that day off on 24 April – if you take off an additional four days of your annual leave from 25-28 April, you’ve got yourself a potential ten-day holiday stretching until 1 May.

If the above option doesn’t strike your fancy, consider keeping to another long weekend trip over Labour Day, or plan on using your annual leave the following week instead (2-5 May).

Another long weekend awaits in June – perfect for summer travel. Vesak Day falls on a Saturday, 3 June, and the Singaporean government has gazetted the Friday before, 2 June, as the official public holiday. Just a few weeks later, Hari Raya Haji will fall on Thursday, 29 June this year, which means you can strategically reserve just one day of annual leave on 30 June for a four-day weekend. Or take just an additional three days from 26-28 June, and you’re already looking at a nine-day trip.

National Day falls in the middle of the week this year, on Wednesday, 9 August. It sure would be a shame to go back to work the day after, so we recommend taking the rest of the week off. One public holiday plus two days of annual leave equals a five-day vacation, right at your fingertips.

September and October are notorious for being a dry period for public holidays, which means taking some time off in November is an absolute must. Deepavali falls on Sunday, 12 November this year, meaning the next day, 13 November, will be a public holiday. Celebrate with a long weekend away or just take the rest of the week off for a nine-day vacation from 11 to 19 November while using only four days of your annual leave.

Pretty much everyone goes out of office during the holidays, so why shouldn’t you? Since Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year, don’t even bother going back to work the rest of the week, so you can party into the New Year for nine days straight. And if you’re a lucky one who doesn’t have to show up to work the last week of the year anyways, just plan on taking five days of leave from 18 to 22 December and you can have a 17-day vacation – almost three weeks long!

This article was originally published in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.

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