[darrenmc]

In my experience I have found it more difficult to work less days and take holidays as a contractor. The company that is paying for your services expects complete short term dedication on delivering the project, and that is what you should provide. You can take longer breaks between contracts but again I have found that not to be the case as you always want to have more work lined up for a steady income stream.

[osullivj]

I can understand that. You do need leverage to negotiate such a deal - a niche skill, or familiarity with an existing codebase.