Guides
Expert tips on holidays, long weekends, and planning your time off.
🗓️ Maximise your days off in 2026
Country-specific strategies to turn bank holidays into the longest possible breaks.
How to Maximize Your Days Off Using Bridge Days
The smart strategy for turning public holidays into extended vacations
5 min
🇬🇧How to Maximise UK Bank Holidays in 2026
8 bank holidays in England & Wales. A further 2 in Scotland. Here's exactly which leave days to book to turn them into the longest possible breaks — including an 11-day Christmas run that costs just 3 days of annual leave.
8 min read
All guides
Best Long Weekends in Europe 2026
Maximize your time off with the smartest bridge days across the continent
5 min
🐣Easter 2026: Dates, Traditions & Holidays Worldwide
When is Easter 2026 and how is it celebrated across different countries
5 min
🎄Christmas Holidays Around the World 2026
How Christmas is celebrated, how many days off you get, and what to expect as a traveler
5 min
🇮🇹Public Holidays in Italy: The Complete 2026 Guide
All 11 national holidays, regional feast days, and everything you need to know
5 min
🇩🇪German Public Holidays Explained
Navigate Germany's complex holiday system: federal vs. state holidays, Brückentage strategy, and what closes on Sundays.
9 min read
🇫🇷French Public Holidays Guide
Everything you need to know about France's 11 jours fériés: the art of the pont, May's holiday marathon, and what stays open.
8 min read
🎭Carnival 2026 Dates Worldwide
When is Carnival in 2026? Complete guide to Mardi Gras and Carnival dates, traditions, and which countries get an official day off.
7 min read
☀️Summer Holidays in Europe: The August Shutdown
Why August is Europe's quiet month: Ferragosto, summer closures, and what to expect when half a continent goes on holiday.
8 min read
🏖️Best Countries for Work-Life Balance: Holidays + Annual Leave
Which countries give workers the most time off? A data-driven ranking of public holidays plus statutory annual leave worldwide.
10 min read
🐣When Is Easter 2026?
Easter Sunday falls on 5 April 2026. Good Friday is 3 April, Easter Monday is 6 April — here's everything you need to plan your break.
7 min read
🐣When Is Easter 2027?
Easter Sunday falls on 28 March 2027 — the earliest since 2016, and the same weekend as the clocks change. Everything you need to know.
7 min read
🐣When Is Easter 2028?
Easter Sunday falls on 16 April 2028. Western and Orthodox Easter coincide for the first time since 2017 — and 2028 is a leap year.
7 min read
Holiday Planning Guides – Tips, Strategies and Country Guides
How to make the most of public holidays
Planning your annual leave around public holidays is one of the most effective ways to extend your time off without using extra days. By taking a single day of leave adjacent to a bank holiday and a weekend, you can turn a 1-day bank holiday into a 4 or 5-day break — what's known in many languages as a bridge day (Brückentag in German, ponte in Italian, pont in French, puente in Spanish). These guides show you exactly how to do it, country by country, with specific dates and calculations for each year.
Bridge days and long weekends: country-specific strategies
Each country's holiday calendar creates different opportunities depending on which day of the week the holidays fall. In 2026, for example, some of Italy's bank holidays fall mid-week, creating multiple ponte opportunities for savvy planners. The UK's bank holidays cluster in spring around Easter and May, while Germany's are spread more evenly across the year with significant regional variations between Bundesländer. Our country guides analyse each situation in detail, calculating exactly how many leave days you need to unlock each long break.
Travel, HR and remote work planning
Beyond personal leave planning, these guides are useful for travellers checking whether shops, restaurants, and services will be closed during their visit — a surprise bank holiday in a foreign country can completely change your plans. HR teams managing international teams across different holiday calendars use these guides to anticipate absences and plan project timelines. Remote workers coordinating across time zones will find the country-by-country breakdowns invaluable for scheduling meetings and deadlines around public holidays.