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UK Bank Holidays 2020 - Make the most of it at these interesting destinations you can do with points and miles
The driving force of To See The World is a simple idea: More Adventure, More Often.
Strategic use of your annual leave allowance by booking days next to bank holidays can help with the “more often” part. That’s easy.
The “more adventure” part can come from choosing destinations that are a little more unusual than the favourite long weekend spots of the masses.
A lot of regular travellers choose to stay at home on bank holiday weekends, for two reasons. A lot of people are off on their holiday at the same time, so it’s busier, and it’s more expensive.
Picking slightly off-the-radar destinations can mitigate the over-crowding. You’ve picked your holiday dates to maximise your time out of the office, so why go to Margate with everyone else? Why not go somewhere that most of the people in the office wouldn’t even know where to find on a map.
Points and miles can help with the cost. At peak travel periods cash rates go up but points costs generally don’t. If you’re going to travel at peak times then the value you get from your points and miles goes up.
Normally the rule of thumb is that short haul flight redemptions are not good value. For most of these destinations the best bet will be booking the flights with cash.
On the other hand, if cash prices are through the roof or you’re sitting on a large stash of points from business travel, then it’s worth checking the options with miles.
Hotels on the other hand are the real win at busy times like bank holidays. Cash rates peak, points costs remain much the same.
The flip-side is the reduced availability for award nights, so you have to plan further ahead. That gives us another reason to use points and miles. Unlike cheap advance bookings, points and miles award bookings are generally refundable.
You can plan and book far in advance knowing that as long as you keep an eye on the cancellation deadline you’ll be able to change your plans.
UK Bank Holidays 2020
| 10 April | Friday | Good Friday |
| 13 April | Monday | Easter Monday |
| 8 May | Friday | Early May bank holiday (VE day) |
| 25 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
| 31 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 28 December | Monday | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
| 10 April | Friday | Good Friday |
| 8 May | Friday | Early May bank holiday (VE day) |
| 25 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
| 3 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
| 30 November | Monday | St Andrew’s Day |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 28 December | Monday | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
| 17 March | Tuesday | St Patrick’s Day |
| 10 April | Friday | Good Friday |
| 13 April | Monday | Easter Monday |
| 8 May | Friday | Early May bank holiday (VE day) |
| 25 May | Monday | Spring bank holiday |
| 13 July | Monday | Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day) (substitute day) |
| 31 August | Monday | Summer bank holiday |
| 25 December | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 28 December | Monday | Boxing Day (substitute day) |
There are 7 bank holidays to come in England and Wales, 7 in Scotland, and 9 in Northern Ireland.
Watch out for the change to the early May bank holiday, which moves from the usual first Monday to Friday the 8th for VE day.
In England there are two important opportunities to get a longer holiday with a smaller amount of your annual leave allowance.
Easter – Book 4 days before Good Friday, or 4 days after Easter Monday, to get 10 days away from work. Book both weeks, and those 8 days of leave gets you 16 days off (Saturday 4th April to Sunday 19th April).
Christmas – Christmas 2020 is on a Friday so the following Monday is a bank holiday as a substitute for Boxing day. 7 days leave will get you a 16 day holiday.
On the other bank holidays where you can take a 3 day weekend, or add a an extra day or two to turn it into 4 or 5 days, where can you go to get away from the crowds and where can you use points and miles?
Short breaks with a difference
Chernobyl
Chernobyl is a stunning and thought-provoking place. Is Chernobyl Safe? Yes. It’s also a very affordable day-trip from Kiev with some really well-managed tours. Here’s our guide to visiting Chernobyl.
There are no oneworld options direct from London to Kiev.
You can fly Star Alliance (Lufthansa, LOT, Austrian) from London, for 35,000 miles return. These flights connect via via Frankfurt, Vienna, Munich or Warsaw with stops as short at 30 minutes. Cash prices are likely to be a better option than miles if you book in advance.
It’s a more attractive option if you aren’t based in London. Fly from Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle or Edinburgh for the same miles.
Sky Team options are Air France or KLM. From London on Air France via Paris or KLM via Amsterdam can be as little as 18,000 miles round trip.
The same applies for flights from the regional airports.
You can stay at the superb Intercontinental Kyiv for just 30,000 IHG points, which is very good value.
Hilton Kyiv is 60,000 points.
Aloft Kiev is just 15,000 Bonvoy points.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Kyiv Podil City Centre is 44,000 Radisson points.
Kotor
The bay of Kotor, Monte Negro, is stunning. You could take a cruise there, but trust me, by far the best way to visit Monte Negro is by motorcycle.
The journey from Prishtina in Kosovo, through the mountains to Kotor, and on to the old bridge at Mostar in Bosnia is one of the best rides I’ve ever done.
For a long weekend, if you want to go by air then fly into Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Rent a car and it’s a 90 minute drive through sensational landscapes around the bay to Kotor.
Dubrovnik and Split are much busier at peak holiday times. Kotor is busy too, being a very popular cruise stop, but not many people take the option to drive to Kotor from Dubrovnik.
Explore the beautiful old tow. Then, with your own wheels, unlike the tourist masses you will be able to get up into the mountain roads around Kotor to enjoy scenery that is some of the finest in Europe.
EasyJet and BA fly direct from Gatwick to Dubrovnik. It’s dirt cheap on Easy Jet of course.
BA economy comes in at 20,000 Avios return, plus £1, or various combinations of points and cash. 25500 Avios and £51.00 for business.
From Manchester, Leeds, and other regional starting points, Lufthansa becomes the best option, with flights connecting through Frankfurt. The stops are around 2 hours which isn’t ideal but is still a lot quicker and cheaper than travelling down to London first.
It’s 35,000 miles in economy, so cash will usually be a better deal.
Most of the hotels in Kotor itself are smaller, independent hotels.
IHG has one option, the Regent Porto Monte Negro at 30,000 points.
Otherwise, it’s Hotels.com or Rocketmiles for points earning opportunities.
Minsk
Minsk is Europe’s hidden gem and massively underrated. Best of all, you can now get in without a visa. There is so much to see and do, it’s cheap, and it’s very tourist friendly.
Minsk International Airport (MSQ) is a 1 hour flight from Kiev’s Boryspil International (KBP). Belavia offer a couple of flights every day for around £90 return in economy on quite decent 737s.
You can also fly direct to Minsk from LGW on Belavia in around 3 hours for as little as £200 return, with flights on Monday,Wednesday and Friday.
The flights are quite conveniently timed for a weekend break. A Friday departure at 2:20pm will put you in Minsk at around 7pm, and a return flight at noon on the Monday gives you time to enjoy a hotel breakfast and a stroll by the river before making it home by early afternoon.
There are plenty of routes from the UK with one stop, including Lufthansa via Frankfurt or KLM via Amsterdam in around 5 hours, if you want to pick up some Miles & More or Flying Blue miles. These flights are typically between £200 and £300.
A much better option if you have a week is to fly to Kiev, visit the Chernobyl, and then add on a trip to Minsk.
A return from Stansted non-stop to Kiev will set you back just £97 if you can stomach Ryanair. Double that for non-stop from Gatwick with Ukraine Airlines, or pay around £150 to fly with Lufthansa or Swiss for a much better quality of service (and a chance to earn miles) but with stops in Frankfurt or Zurich.
The best option of all is routing from London to Kiev to Minsk and back to London from Minsk instead of back-tracking to Kiev. This can be done for as little as £200 for the entire trip, which is a steal. It will require separate tickets but Google Flights will help you out.
Star Alliance – Lufthansa, Brussels, LOT, Austrian is 35,000 miles with one stop at Frankfurt, Warsaw, Vienna etc.,
Sky Team – KLM and Air France have plenty of cash tickets for flights with one stop at Paris or Amsterdam, but nothing sensible on points because the flights connect onto Aeroflot.
Hilton Doubletree Minsk is right by the riverside and a short walk from the town hall and cathedral. It’s 30,000 points.
Hampton by Hilton Minsk City Centre is 20,000 points.
Crowne Plaza Minsk is 20,000 points.
Minsk Marriott is 10,000 Bonvoy points.
Faroe Islands
A scale model of a cross between Iceland and New Zealand.
Great fun for a drive, a hike, and one of the best places in Europe to do some drone photography. Wild, remote, and rugged, with delicious fresh seafood, an incredible landscape, a welcoming people, and some unique buildings. It’s closer than you think.
It’s small, so accommodation fills up fast, but it’s surprisingly low on visitor numbers from the UK.
From the UK, the only sensible route to the Faroe Islands is with Atlantic Airways from Edinburgh. The views as you come in to land at Vagar airport are spectacular.
The Atlantic Airways schedule is pretty good for a long weekend, with flights on Thursdays and Mondays.
London to Edinburgh with BA will set you back 7500 Avios and 50p.
The best bet for accommodation is AirBnB. If you’ve never booked with AirBnB before then follow this link to get £25 off your first booking of £55 or more.
You can also earn 3 Avios per £ and a first-timer bonus of 500 Avios on this page of the BA website.
Alternatively, earn rewards with Hotels.com or Rocketmiles.
Hertz have an office at the airport, and the Faroe Islands s are a brilliant place for a road trip.
Liechtenstein and Luxembourg
Both countries are off the radar for most people, except those who go for business. Both really deserve a visit.
The perfect way to see Liechtenstein is to fly in and rent a car for a drive through the mountains, and combine it with a visit to Zurich.
Luxembourg is an easily walkable and charming place with a unique character.
For Liechtenstein, fly to Zurich. Luxembourg has its own airport.
Both are reachable with BA for 15,000 Avios return.
From outside London, the best option is once again Lufthansa, for 20,000 miles.
Gibraltar
The airport is a spectacle, the climb up the rock when the cable car is closed due to wind is a good workout, the monkeys will nick your camera if you let them, and there’s fish and chips and red phone boxes. It’s brilliant.
BA fly to Gibraltar from Heathrow for 20,000 Avios return, or 13000 Avios + £ 34.00 which would be a better deal as you are effectively buying 7000 Avios for £34, or less than 0.5p each.
BA cash prices can rise quite high, over £400 for economy, which would make using 13,000 Avios more attractive.
EasyJet is another option from London, and after the collapse of Monarch is the only option from regional airports.
Be sure to use the great Priority Pass Calpe Lounge.
Holiday Inn Express Gibraltar is 20,000 IHG points.
Alternatively, earn rewards with Hotels.com or Rocketmiles.
Kiev
See the Chernobyl and Minsk advice above.
Tel Aviv
Old Jaffa is worth the trip by itself.
There are no great deals for flights with miles, but using points for hotels can be a big saving.
The Intercontinental David is brilliant and you walk along the beach from there to Jaffa, where you can explore the alleyways through some brilliant architecture and have some fantastic food down by the docks.
BA’s direct flight from LHR to TLV is 10,000 Avios each way, but the taxes are close to £200.
Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels all available for 40,000 miles from London and from Manchester, Leeds etc.
29,000 Flying Blue miles for one-stop flights with Air France, KLM, or Alitalia.
Virgin Atlantic is 18,000 miles + £200 in economy, or 25,000 miles and £300 in premium.
Moldova
A real oddball.
Moldova is a curious place with some fantastic wine tours, a chequered history, and an authentically traditional culture. It’s small, which makes it ideal for a short break.
Take a tour into the mountains to taste some way and see the traditional way of life.
In Chisinau, enjoy the communist culture and architecture.
35,000 miles with Lufthansa, Austrian, or LOT, via Frankfurt, Vienna, or Warsaw, to Chisinau airport (KIV).
You might have to hunt or book two one-ways to find the flights with short connection times.
Tarom from Heathrow via Bucharest can be booked with Flying Blue for 29,000 miles return.
The Radisson Blu Leogrand Hotel in Chisinau is very good and can be had for 38,000 points.
Cuba
The perfect spot for a cycling trip, and also the home of a very special Christmas Eve tradition – The Remedios Fireworks Festival.
Iberia from Madrid is 46,000 Avios, if you can get anywhere with the shockingly bad Iberia website.
Lufthansa 70,000 miles via Frankfurt with Condor.
Air France or KLM is around 100,000 miles return.
Vilnius
Vilnius, Lithuania, is way less popular than it deserves. It’s the perfect weekend getaway.
The best option is Lufthansa via Frankfurt for 35,000 miles, but honestly you’re better off paying cash. Lufthansa is a great option for those of us outside London.
From the end of March, airBaltic will begin flying from Manchester to Riga in Latvia, 4 times a week. From Riga airBaltic will also get you to Vilnius. Beginning this summer they’ll be adding Yerevan.
For Vilnius, it’s the hotels that offer some real points bargains.
Hilton Garden Inn Vilnius City Centre is just 19,000 Hilton points.
Crowne Plaza Vilnius and Holiday Inn Vilnius are just 20,000 IHG points.
The stunning Radisson Blu Royal Astorija Hotel is 44,000 Radisson points.
Courtyard Vilnius City Centre is 25,000 Bonvoy points.
Yerevan
Chances are most people you know have never been to Yerevan, have no intention of ever going, and don’t even know where it is.
The capital of Armenia is another fascinating post-Soviet relic.
Take a tour out into the mountainous countryside to visit to spectacular monasteries and churches.
Return to the capital and visit the old soviet funfair on the hill, next to the motherland monument surrounded by old Soviet jets, tanks, and anti-aircraft missiles.
That’s also a great place to catch sunset views of Mount Ararat along with all the locals.
With Lufthansa it’s 40,000 miles, whether from London or the regions. Air France fly LHR to EVN via CDG but I couldn’t find any availability on points.
From the end of March, airBaltic will begin flying from Manchester to Riga in Latvia, 4 times a week. From Riga airBaltic will also get you to Vilnius. Beginning this summer they’ll be adding Yerevan.
