By taking just 11 bridge days, you can get 38 total days off this year.
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Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Jan 4Free from Jan 1 to Jan 4
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Mar 26Free from Mar 26 to Mar 29
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Mar 30Free from Mar 27 to Mar 30
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Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:May 7Free from May 6 to May 9
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:May 14Free from May 14 to May 17
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:May 18Free from May 15 to May 18
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Oct 29Free from Oct 29 to Nov 1
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Nov 2Free from Oct 30 to Nov 2
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:Nov 12Free from Nov 11 to Nov 14
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:Apr 30Free from Apr 30 to May 2
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:May 3Free from May 1 to May 3
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:May 10Free from May 8 to May 10
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:Aug 13Free from Aug 13 to Aug 15
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Aug 16Free from Aug 14 to Aug 16
Take 1 day off → Get 3 days free
3.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:Dec 24Free from Dec 24 to Dec 26

What are bridge days?

Bridge days ("Brückentage" in German) are regular working days that fall between a public holiday and a weekend. By taking just one or two vacation days on these "bridge" days, you can turn a scattered holiday into a long stretch of consecutive days off.

For example, if a public holiday falls on a Thursday, the Friday between it and the weekend is a bridge day. Take that single Friday off and you get a four-day weekend — from Thursday through Sunday — using only one vacation day. That's a 4x return on your time off.

The concept is especially popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, where strategic use of Brückentage is practically a national sport. Our calculator finds all bridge day opportunities for your country and ranks them by efficiency — the ratio of total days off to vacation days spent.