By taking just 11 bridge days, you can get 44 total days off this year.
Advertisement
Take 1 day off → Get 5 days free
5.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Take off:Jan 5Free from Jan 1 to Jan 5
Take 1 day off → Get 5 days free
5.0x return
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Apr 13Free from Apr 13 to Apr 17
Take 1 day off → Get 5 days free
5.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Apr 18Free from Apr 14 to Apr 18
Advertisement
Take 1 day off → Get 5 days free
5.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Dec 22Free from Dec 22 to Dec 26
Take 1 day off → Get 5 days free
5.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Take off:Dec 27Free from Dec 23 to Dec 27
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Take off:Mar 16Free from Mar 16 to Mar 19
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Mar 20Free from Mar 17 to Mar 20
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Apr 28Free from Apr 28 to May 1
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:May 2Free from Apr 29 to May 2
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:May 26Free from May 26 to May 29
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:May 30Free from May 27 to May 30
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Aug 4Free from Aug 4 to Aug 7
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Aug 8Free from Aug 5 to Aug 8
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Take off:Aug 25Free from Aug 25 to Aug 28
Take 1 day off → Get 4 days free
4.0x return
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Take off:Aug 29Free from Aug 26 to Aug 29

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.