HOLIDAY HACKS: HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR TIME OFF IN 2027

HOLIDAY HACKS: HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR TIME OFF IN 2027

New year. Fresh annual leave balance. Time to start plotting your great escape.

If getting away more often is on your 2027 list, the calendar is ready to do some of the heavy lifting.

A few public holidays land in exactly the right spots this year to turn one or four days of annual leave into something much bigger. Long weekends become proper breaks, school holidays line up nicely with one particularly important weekend in October, and Christmas delivers perhaps the best leave hack of the lot.

Ready? Grab a calendar and pull out your magic marker. 

Australia Day: Four Days for the Price of One

Australia Day falls on Tuesday, 26 January in 2027.

Take Monday, 25 January off and suddenly the weekend stretches all the way from Saturday through to Tuesday.

That’s four days to squeeze in one last proper summer escape, for the cost of just one day of annual leave.

Beach. River. Caravan. Cabin. Watch cricket on the couch. Whatever your version of extending summer looks like.

Days to take off: 
Monday, 25 January. 

Labour Day: Nine Days With Four Days of Leave

Labour Day falls on Monday, 8 March, which gives us one of the classics.

Take Tuesday, 9 March to Friday, 12 March off and your four days of annual leave magically turn into nine straight days away from work emails and Teams calls.

Oh, and early autumn on the Great Ocean Road is hardly the worst place to spend them either.

Warm days can still be hanging around, the summer rush has started to ease, and nine days gives you enough time to settle in rather than immediately start thinking about packing up again.

Days to take off: 
Tuesday, 9 March to Friday, 12 March. 

Easter: Four Days Ready-Made, or Make It Ten

Easter arrives early in 2027.

Good Friday falls on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March, which gives you the traditional four-day break straight out of the box.

But this is Holiday Hacks, so we won’t be stopping there.

Take Tuesday, 30 March to Friday, 2 April as annual leave and you can stretch Easter into a 10-day break, running from Friday 26 March right through to Sunday 4 April.

And for families, the timing is particularly handy: Easter falls right at the beginning of the Victorian Term 1 school holidays.

Ten days. Four days of leave. Plenty of time to pack the eggs and point the car towards the coast.

Days to take off: 
Tuesday, 30 March to Friday, 2 April.

King’s Birthday: Nine Days of Winter Escape

The King’s Birthday public holiday lands on Monday, 14 June.

You know the drill by now.

Take Tuesday, 15 June to Friday, 18 June off and you’ve turned four days of annual leave into a nine-day break, from Saturday 12 June to Sunday 20 June.

And before you write off a winter trip down the Great Ocean Road, hear us out.

Rug up. Find a cosy cabin. Walk the beach. Watch the weather roll in. Grab a coffee somewhere warm. You’ll love it, we promise.

Days to take off: 
Tuesday, 15 June to Friday, 18 June. 

AFL Grand Final: Nine-Day Spring Break

Now this one has worked out nicely.

The 2027 AFL Grand Final will be played on Saturday, 2 October, putting Victoria’s Friday-before-the-Grand-Final public holiday on Friday, 1 October.

Take annual leave from Monday, 27 September to Thursday, 30 September and you can turn four days of leave into a nine-day spring break, from Saturday 25 September through to Sunday 3 October.

Watch the footy. Don’t watch the footy. Pretend your team’s season didn’t finish weeks ago.

We’re not here to judge.

Days to take off: 
Monday, 27 September to Thursday, 30 September.

Melbourne Cup: The One-Day Wonder

Melbourne Cup Day falls on Tuesday, 2 November.

Which makes this perhaps the easiest decision on the entire list.

Take Monday, 1 November off and the weekend suddenly becomes a neat four-day break, from Saturday 30 October through to Tuesday 2 November.

One day of annual leave. Four days away.

Days to take off: 
Monday, 1 November.

Note: some regional Victorian councils may nominate an alternative local public holiday in place of Melbourne Cup Day, so it’s worth checking your local arrangements.

Christmas & New Year: Three Days of Leave = Ten Days Off

We’ve saved the best for last.

Christmas Day falls on Saturday, 25 December in 2027 and Boxing Day on Sunday, 26 December. Because both fall on the weekend, additional Victorian public holidays fall on Monday, 27 December and Tuesday, 28 December.

Then things get even better.

New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, meaning Monday, 3 January is an additional public holiday.

So, take just Wednesday, 29 December to Friday, 31 December as annual leave and you can unlock 10 consecutive days off, from Christmas Day through to Monday 3 January.

Three days of annual leave.

Ten days away.

Thank you very much, calendar.

Days to take off: 
Wednesday, 29 December to Friday, 31 December.

…Or Go All In: The Big Kahuna – 16 Days of Summer

Got a few more days sitting in the leave balance?

Add Tuesday, 4 January to Friday, 7 January 2028 and your Christmas escape suddenly stretches all the way through to Sunday 9 January.

That’s 16 straight days off using seven days of annual leave.

At that point you’re not squeezing in a getaway.

You live at the beach now.

Days to take off: 
29–31 December 2027 and 4–7 January 2028.

Your 2027 Coast Escape Awaits

There, feel better?

A little calendar hustle now can turn 2027 into four-day weekends, nine-day escapes and one particularly satisfying Christmas break without completely emptying the annual leave account.

And with 10 beachside caravan parks along the Great Ocean Road, there are plenty of places to spend those hard-earned days away. From beachfront camping to cosy cabins and riverside glamping, there's a stay to suit your kind of escape.

The only catch?

You probably won’t be the only person who has spotted the opportunity.

So maybe don’t leave the booking until Friday afternoon before the long weekend.

Start planning your 2027 Great Ocean Road escape now.