Vacation Planning

PTO long weekend optimizer

Take a few days off, get a lot more time away. Pick your country, year and PTO budget to see the most efficient long weekends and bridge days.

Strategy
Work week

Monday–Friday by default. Tick days you also work.

PTO days used

4

Total days away

37

Breaks planned

11

Efficiency

1 : 9.3

PTO days : days off

Spend 4 PTO days → Get 37 days off

That's 9.3× leverage on your time off

Ranked PTO opportunities — United States 2026

  1. 1

    Wed, Nov 11 – Sun, Nov 15

    November · Veterans Day

    Wednesday bridge (2 PTO days)

    5

    days off

    In your plan

    Spend 2 PTO days → Get 5 days off

    1 PTO day = 2.5 days off

    PTO used
    2 days
    Efficiency
    1 PTO day = 2.5 days off
    PTO dates
    Thursday Nov 12, Friday Nov 13

    Plan: take Thu Nov 12, Fri Nov 13 after Veterans Day.

    Hol11Wed
    PTO12Thu
    PTO13Fri
    Wknd14Sat
    Wknd15Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  2. 2

    Thu, Jan 1 – Sun, Jan 4

    January · New Year's Day

    Thursday holiday bridge

    4

    days off

    In your plan

    Spend 1 PTO day → Get 4 days off

    1 PTO day = 4 days off

    PTO used
    1 day
    Efficiency
    1 PTO day = 4 days off
    PTO dates
    Friday Jan 2

    Plan: take Fri Jan 2 after New Year's Day.

    Hol1Thu
    PTO2Fri
    Wknd3Sat
    Wknd4Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  3. 3

    Thu, Nov 26 – Sun, Nov 29

    November · Thanksgiving Day

    Thursday holiday bridge

    4

    days off

    In your plan

    Spend 1 PTO day → Get 4 days off

    1 PTO day = 4 days off

    PTO used
    1 day
    Efficiency
    1 PTO day = 4 days off
    PTO dates
    Friday Nov 27

    Plan: take Fri Nov 27 after Thanksgiving Day.

    Hol26Thu
    PTO27Fri
    Wknd28Sat
    Wknd29Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  4. 4

    Sat, Jan 17 – Mon, Jan 19

    January · Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Wknd17Sat
    Wknd18Sun
    Hol19Mon
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  5. 5

    Sat, Feb 14 – Mon, Feb 16

    February · Washington's Birthday

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Washington's Birthday already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Wknd14Sat
    Wknd15Sun
    Hol16Mon
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  6. 6

    Sat, May 23 – Mon, May 25

    May · Memorial Day

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Memorial Day already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Wknd23Sat
    Wknd24Sun
    Hol25Mon
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  7. 7

    Fri, Jun 19 – Sun, Jun 21

    June · Juneteenth National Independence Day

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Juneteenth National Independence Day already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Hol19Fri
    Wknd20Sat
    Wknd21Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  8. 8

    Fri, Jul 3 – Sun, Jul 5

    July · Independence Day observed

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Independence Day observed already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Hol3Fri
    Wknd4Sat
    Wknd5Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  9. 9

    Sat, Sep 5 – Mon, Sep 7

    September · Labor Day

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Labor Day already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Wknd5Sat
    Wknd6Sun
    Hol7Mon
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  10. 10

    Sat, Oct 10 – Mon, Oct 12

    October · Columbus Day

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Columbus Day already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Wknd10Sat
    Wknd11Sun
    Hol12Mon
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day
  11. 11

    Fri, Dec 25 – Sun, Dec 27

    December · Christmas Day

    Free long weekend

    3

    days off

    In your plan

    3-day weekend — no PTO needed

    PTO used
    0 days
    Efficiency
    0 PTO days needed
    PTO dates
    None

    Christmas Day already creates a long weekend — no PTO needed.

    Hol25Fri
    Wknd26Sat
    Wknd27Sun
    Weekend Holiday PTO Work day

Your PTO planning stays in your browser and is not uploaded.

How to maximize your vacation days

The trick to maximizing time off is to spend PTO on the working days that sit between a public holiday and the weekend. A holiday on a Tuesday, for example, only needs one PTO day (Monday) to create a four-day break.

  • Pick your country and year so the planner uses the right holidays.
  • Enter your PTO budget — the planner spends it on the highest-leverage breaks first.
  • Choose a strategy to favour more trips, longer breaks, or pure efficiency.
  • Copy, print or export your plan — or copy a ready-made request for HR.

Frequently asked questions

How does the PTO long weekend optimizer work?
It scans the official public holiday calendar for your country and year, then looks for holidays that sit next to a weekend or can be bridged with one or two PTO days. Each opportunity is ranked by how many total days off you get per PTO day spent.
What does the efficiency ratio mean?
Efficiency shows how much leverage each PTO day gives you. For example, a Thursday holiday plus a Friday off creates a four-day weekend, so one PTO day equals four days off — an efficiency of 1:4.
Does it invent or guess holidays?
No. The optimizer only uses the public holiday data we already publish for each country. Substitute and observed days are respected, and no extra holidays are added.
Is my PTO data saved anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your PTO planning stays on your device and is never uploaded to our servers.