Get the most days off for the fewest vacation days. Enter how many PTO days you have and which paid holidays your employer gives, and the optimizer finds the workdays that link weekends and holidays into the longest breaks — with 15 PTO days and the federal holidays, 14 well-placed days become 50 days off in 2026.
Paid holidays your employer gives (untick the ones you work)
PTO days used
14
of 15
Days off in total
50
across 11 breaks
Multiplier
3.6×
days off per PTO day
Take PTO on
PTO
You are off
Days
Around
Fri, Jan 2
1
Thu, Jan 1 – Sun, Jan 4
4
New Year's Day
Fri, Jan 16
1
Fri, Jan 16 – Mon, Jan 19
4
MLK Day
Fri, Feb 13
1
Fri, Feb 13 – Mon, Feb 16
4
Presidents' Day
Fri, May 22
1
Fri, May 22 – Mon, May 25
4
Memorial Day
Thu, Jun 18
1
Thu, Jun 18 – Sun, Jun 21
4
Juneteenth
Thu, Jul 2
1
Thu, Jul 2 – Sun, Jul 5
4
Independence Day
Fri, Sep 4
1
Fri, Sep 4 – Mon, Sep 7
4
Labor Day
Fri, Oct 9
1
Fri, Oct 9 – Mon, Oct 12
4
Columbus Day
Mon, Nov 9 – Tue, Nov 10
2
Sat, Nov 7 – Wed, Nov 11
5
Veterans Day
Mon, Nov 23 – Wed, Nov 25
3
Sat, Nov 21 – Sun, Nov 29
9
Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving
Thu, Dec 24
1
Thu, Dec 24 – Sun, Dec 27
4
Christmas Day
Weekends and the ticked holidays are treated as days off; PTO is only spent on Monday–Friday workdays. Breaks are chosen greedily by days-off-per-PTO-day, without overlapping, until the budget is used.
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The 2026 plan with 15 PTO days and federal holidays
Take PTO on
PTO days
Days off
Total
Fri, Jan 2
1
Thu, Jan 1 – Sun, Jan 4
4
Fri, Jan 16
1
Fri, Jan 16 – Mon, Jan 19
4
Fri, Feb 13
1
Fri, Feb 13 – Mon, Feb 16
4
Fri, May 22
1
Fri, May 22 – Mon, May 25
4
Thu, Jun 18
1
Thu, Jun 18 – Sun, Jun 21
4
Thu, Jul 2
1
Thu, Jul 2 – Sun, Jul 5
4
Fri, Sep 4
1
Fri, Sep 4 – Mon, Sep 7
4
Fri, Oct 9
1
Fri, Oct 9 – Mon, Oct 12
4
Mon, Nov 9 – Tue, Nov 10
2
Sat, Nov 7 – Wed, Nov 11
5
Mon, Nov 23 – Wed, Nov 25
3
Sat, Nov 21 – Sun, Nov 29
9
Thu, Dec 24
1
Thu, Dec 24 – Sun, Dec 27
4
Total
14
11 breaks
50
Every row is a block of PTO plus the weekends and holidays it touches. The interactive optimizer above lets you change the budget and the holiday list; the plan recalculates for your employer’s calendar.
2026 holidays used by the optimizer
New Year's Day · Thu, Jan 1MLK Day · Mon, Jan 19Presidents' Day · Mon, Feb 16Memorial Day · Mon, May 25Juneteenth · Fri, Jun 19Independence Day · Fri, Jul 3Labor Day · Mon, Sep 7Columbus Day · Mon, Oct 12Veterans Day · Wed, Nov 11Thanksgiving Day · Thu, Nov 26Day after Thanksgiving · Fri, Nov 27Christmas Eve · Thu, Dec 24 (optional)Christmas Day · Fri, Dec 25New Year's Eve · Thu, Dec 31 (optional)
Book PTO on the workdays that connect weekends to federal holidays. With 15 days and the standard holidays, the plan above turns them into 50 days off in 11 breaks — about 3.6 days off per PTO day. The most efficient single break in 2026: PTO Fri, Jan 2 (1 day) for 4 days off.
New Year's Day: Thu, Jan 1; MLK Day: Mon, Jan 19; Presidents' Day: Mon, Feb 16; Memorial Day: Mon, May 25; Juneteenth: Fri, Jun 19; Independence Day: Fri, Jul 3; Labor Day: Mon, Sep 7; Columbus Day: Mon, Oct 12; Veterans Day: Wed, Nov 11; Thanksgiving Day: Thu, Nov 26; Christmas Day: Fri, Dec 25. Federal holidays that land on a weekend are observed on the nearest weekday, and the observed date is what the optimizer uses.
It scores every possible block of workdays by the consecutive days off it produces (the block plus the weekends and holidays touching it) divided by the PTO days it costs, then picks the best-scoring non-overlapping blocks until your budget is used. A one-day bridge between a Monday holiday and a weekend scores 4 or 5; a full week between two long weekends scores 2–3.
Untick the ones you work — many private employers skip Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Presidents’ Day — and tick the extras you do get, such as the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. The plan recalculates instantly. Private employers give about 8 paid holidays on average; federal employees get 11.
In the 15-day plan the longest stretch is 9 days off (Sat, Nov 21 – Sun, Nov 29) for 3 PTO days. Spending more PTO on one block always yields fewer total days off than spreading it over several bridges, so decide whether you want one long trip or many long weekends.