4.0× leverage
1–Jan 4, 2026
Take1vacation day,get4days off
Anchored by
- New Year's DayThu, Jan 1
Vacation days to take
- Fri, Jan 2
Free tool
Bridge days planner 2026
Pick your country and year — we list every chance to bridge a public holiday with 1 to 4 vacation days and turn it into a long break. Each opportunity shows the days you have to take, the total days off you get and the leverage ratio. Works for all EU countries, current year and the next two.
Year overview
Bridge opportunities
8
Vacation days needed
25
Total days off
61
Best leverage
4.0×
Q1 · Jan – Mar
2.5× leverage
Mar 28 – Apr 6, 2026
Take4vacation days,get10days off
Anchored by
- Good FridayFri, Apr 3
- Easter MondayMon, Apr 6
Vacation days to take
- Mon, Mar 30
- Tue, Mar 31
- Wed, Apr 1
- Thu, Apr 2
Q2 · Apr – Jun
4.0× leverage
14–May 17, 2026
Take1vacation day,get4days off
Anchored by
- Ascension DayThu, May 14
Vacation days to take
- Fri, May 15
2.5× leverage
3–Apr 12, 2026
Take4vacation days,get10days off
Anchored by
- Good FridayFri, Apr 3
- Easter MondayMon, Apr 6
Vacation days to take
- Tue, Apr 7
- Wed, Apr 8
- Thu, Apr 9
- Fri, Apr 10
2.3× leverage
Apr 25 – May 3, 2026
Take4vacation days,get9days off
Anchored by
- Labour DayFri, May 1
Vacation days to take
- Mon, Apr 27
- Tue, Apr 28
- Wed, Apr 29
- Thu, Apr 30
2.3× leverage
23–May 31, 2026
Take4vacation days,get9days off
Anchored by
- Whit MondayMon, May 25
Vacation days to take
- Tue, May 26
- Wed, May 27
- Thu, May 28
- Fri, May 29
2.0× leverage
9–May 14, 2026
Take3vacation days,get6days off
Anchored by
- Ascension DayThu, May 14
Vacation days to take
- Mon, May 11
- Tue, May 12
- Wed, May 13
Q4 · Oct – Dec
2.3× leverage
19–Dec 27, 2026
Take4vacation days,get9days off
Anchored by
- Christmas DayFri, Dec 25
- Boxing Day / St. Stephen's DaySat, Dec 26
Vacation days to take
- Mon, Dec 21
- Tue, Dec 22
- Wed, Dec 23
- Thu, Dec 24
How to use the bridge-day planner
Pick your country and the year you're planning. The tool walks through every public holiday for that country and looks at the weekend that surrounds it. Whenever taking 1, 2, 3 or 4 vacation days bridges the holiday into a longer block of consecutive days off, that's an opportunity — and we list it.
Each opportunity shows you the leverage: the ratio of total days off you receive to vacation days you spend. A leverage of 4× means you take 1 vacation day and get 4 consecutive days off. Anything above 2× is worth considering; anything above 3× is exceptional and books up fast — we recommend submitting your request to your employer early.
The planner is fully privacy-friendly: every calculation runs in your browser, no data is sent to a server, no signup is needed. Bookmarks the page so you can come back to plan future quarters.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people most often ask before relying on the page.
- What is a bridge day?
- A bridge day is a working day that sits between a public holiday and a weekend (or between two public holidays). Taking it as vacation lets you join the holiday and the weekend into one continuous block of days off. A common example: a Tuesday holiday — bridge it by taking Monday off, and you've turned 1 vacation day into a 4-day weekend.
- How is leverage calculated?
- Leverage = total consecutive days off ÷ vacation days you have to spend. So if you take 1 day to bridge a Friday and get a 4-day weekend (Fri + Sat + Sun + Monday holiday), the leverage is 4×. We only show opportunities with leverage of 2× or higher — anything below isn't really a bridge, it's just taking time off.
- Can I trust the holiday data?
- We use the same nationally-recognised public holidays as our country pages — verified against each country's official labour-ministry calendar. Note that regional/state-specific holidays (e.g. German Länder, Spanish autonomous communities, Swiss cantons) are NOT included unless they apply nationally. Always confirm with your employer or local authority before booking flights.
- Why is leverage rounded?
- Internally we calculate leverage as a precise ratio (e.g. 4.0×, 3.5×, 2.67×) and we display the same number rounded to one decimal. The cards' colour-coding follows the precise value — emerald for 4× and above, teal for 3–4×, sky for 2.5–3×, slate for below 2.5×.
- Does my employer have to grant the bridge day?
- No. Bridge days are normal vacation days and are subject to the standard vacation-approval rules in your country and your employment contract. Operational needs can override your preferred dates. The earlier you submit the request the better — high-leverage bridges (4× and above) are popular and tend to fill up first.
- Why don't I see Easter Monday in some countries?
- Some countries (notably Portugal, Spain mainland, and several others) don't observe Easter Monday as a national holiday — only Good Friday. Other countries observe both. The planner reflects each country's actual holiday calendar, so the bridge opportunities differ.
- Are calculations stored?
- No. Everything runs in your browser — country, year and selected options never leave your device. We use no cookies, no analytics on this page, no signup. The pages are statically generated, so the same calendar is precomputed at build time.
- Which countries are supported?
- All 30 countries we cover on WorkDaten — every EU member state plus Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland and Serbia. Pick one in the country dropdown.