Make the most of the leave you actually have
Family travel is not just about choosing a destination.
For most Australian families, the real planning starts with a much less glamorous question:
How much annual leave do we actually have and can we make this trip work around school holidays, public holidays, work calendars and budget?
That is what this section is about.
Annual Leave Adventures is for families who want memorable trips, but do not have unlimited time, unlimited money or unlimited flexibility. These posts focus on the planning decisions behind the trip, not just the pretty parts once you get there.
What annual leave planning means here
When I talk about annual leave planning, I mean the practical choices that determine whether a trip is realistic.
Things like:
- how many days of leave a trip actually uses
- whether school holidays make a destination too expensive
- how public holidays can stretch a trip further
- whether 8 nights is enough, or whether it needs 10 or 12
- when a shorter trip is better than a rushed longer one
- whether flights are worth the awkward stopovers
- how much moving around is too much with kids
- when cabin luggage makes more sense than checked bags
- whether the cost, effort and leave balance still feel worth it
This is the part of travel planning that often gets skipped, but it is usually where the whole trip succeeds or fails.
Our approach
We do not plan trips around perfect Instagram itineraries.
We usually start with constraints:
- school holiday dates
- public holidays
- annual leave balance
- flight prices
- work commitments
- weather
- kids’ energy levels
- total cost
- how much moving around we can realistically handle
Then we build the trip around what is actually possible.
Sometimes that means choosing a shorter itinerary. Sometimes it means flying on an awkward date. Sometimes it means cutting a destination that looks amazing but would make the whole trip too rushed.
That is not failure. That is realistic family travel.
Start with these planning posts
How we chose Northern Vietnam for the school holidays
Our Vietnam trip started with a familiar problem: we wanted something to look forward to, but school holiday prices were painful and our annual leave was limited.
This post explains how we landed on Northern Vietnam, why we chose 8 nights, and how the dates worked around work, school holidays and public holidays.
Read: The School Holiday Trap: And How We Ended Up Booking Vietnam
How we planned 6 nights in Tasmania
Tasmania looks small on a map, but it is very easy to over-plan. This post explains the route we chose, how we split the nights, what the trip cost and why we avoided trying to cover too much.
Read: 6 Nights in Tasmania With Kids: A Realistic Family Road Trip Itinerary
Planning questions we keep coming back to
Before we book a trip, these are the questions I usually ask:
1. How many annual leave days will this really use?
A trip might look like 10 days on paper, but the real question is how many work days need to be taken off. Public holidays, weekends and school holiday timing can change the whole equation.
2. Are the flights worth it?
Cheap flights are not always good flights. With kids, I also think about stopovers, arrival times, luggage rules, airport transfers and how tired everyone will be on day one.
3. Is the itinerary realistic?
A packed itinerary can look great in a blog post but feel exhausting in real life. We try to balance memorable places with enough breathing room so the trip does not become a family endurance test.
4. Are we paying school holiday prices for a trip that could be better at another time?
Sometimes school holidays are unavoidable. But if a destination is much cheaper or better in another season, it is worth questioning whether it is the right trip for that window.
5. What are we willing to trade off?
Every trip involves trade-offs. We might choose cabin luggage to save money and fit into a smaller hire car. We might stay in fewer places to reduce packing and unpacking. We might skip a destination if it makes the trip too rushed.
The aim is not to do everything. The aim is to come home feeling like the trip was worth the time, money and effort.
What you will find in this section
This section will include posts about:
- school holiday trip planning
- public holiday travel ideas
- leave-efficient itineraries
- short overseas trips from Australia
- realistic road trips
- cost-versus-time decisions
- how we choose destinations
- what we would do differently after each trip
Over time, this will become the planning hub for families who want to travel more, without pretending life is more flexible than it is.
Keep planning
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