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Holiday optimizer
Chooses the highest-value dates to request across a year.
The
Holiday
Optimizer
Turn a handful of leave days into
a whole year of extraordinary escapes
Make every leave day count
Find the smartest bridges between weekends and public holidays.
Leave days15
Travel rhythm
Official national, federal and UK regional rules checked 15 July 2026. Future one-off holidays can still be proclaimed, so confirm employer and local dates before booking.
Maximise your
annual leave.
A holiday optimizer finds the working days between weekends and public holidays that unlock the longest breaks. Use it as an annual leave calculator, PTO planner or vacation-day optimizer for any year from 2026 through 2035.
Public holidays
Official national, federal and UK regional dates
Best combinations
High-value leave-day bridges
Your travel style
Weekends, balance or long trips
Join thousands of travellers
TripMemo is a visual travel journal for your routes,photos and daily memories.Every trip becomes a story worth returning to.
How the holiday
optimizer works.
The planner maps weekends and the official holidays within your selected calendar, tests useful date windows, scores days away per leave day, removes overlaps, and fits the strongest breaks inside your allowance.
- 01Map the days already yours
- 02Test every useful bridge
- 03Score leave-day value
- 04Build one coherent year
Turn leave dates
into real trips.
Once you know the best days to take off work, choose a destination that fits the season and length of each break. A four-day weekend can become a city escape; nine days can carry you across a country.
Find a destination
Check holidays
before you book.
Nationwide holidays are a reliable starting point, but regional observance, employer closure dates and leave approval rules can differ. Confirm your calendar before booking flights or accommodation.
Your inputs and calculations stay in this browser. TripMemo does not submit a leave request or share your allowance with an employer.
Annual leave and PTO planning guide
What a holiday optimizer actually calculates.
The short answerA holiday optimizer combines your normal weekends with official public holidays, then finds the working days that create the most consecutive time off for the fewest annual-leave or PTO days. TripMemo ranks those date bridges and builds a non-overlapping plan inside your allowance.
Annual leave calculator
Here, this means planning how to spend leave—not calculating legal entitlement.
Leave efficiency
Total days away divided by leave days used. A 9-day break using 4 days has 2.25× value.
Worked example: England and Wales, 2026
These examples assume a Monday-to-Friday working week and use the official England and Wales bank-holiday calendar. They illustrate individual bridges; your generated plan may choose a different combination to fit your allowance and travel rhythm.
Request offBreak createdResult
Request off2 January
Break created1–4 January
1 leave day → 4 days offNew Year's Day + weekend
Request off30 March–2 April
Break created28 March–5 April
4 leave days → 9 days offGood Friday + two weekends
Request off7–10 April
Break created4–12 April
4 leave days → 9 days offEaster Monday + two weekends
Request off5–8 May
Break created2–10 May
4 leave days → 9 days offEarly May bank holiday + weekends
How the calculation is made
- 01 Mark Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in the selected official calendar as days already off.
- 02 Test useful break windows from 3 to 16 days and count the working days each one requires.
- 03 Score each window by days-away-per-leave-day, holiday value and your chosen trip length.
- 04 Remove overlapping breaks and keep the strongest set that fits your allowance.
Important limits
The current planner assumes Saturday and Sunday weekends. It does not calculate statutory leave entitlement, shift patterns, school holidays, company shutdowns or employer approval. Australia includes national dates only; New Zealand excludes regional anniversary days.
Official calendar sources
Holiday rules were checked against the government and employment-authority sources below on 16 July 2026.
UK bank holidaysEngland and Wales, Scotland and Northern IrelandUS federal holidaysFederal schedule and observed-day rulesCanada statutory holidaysFederal public-service calendarAustralian public holidaysNational dates; state dates varyIreland public holidaysTen national public holidaysNew Zealand public holidaysNational dates and Mondayisation
Created and reviewed by the TripMemo team. The optimizer runs locally in your browser and is designed to help travellers turn approved time off into better-planned trips.
Holiday optimizer questions.
Annual leave, PTO and vacation-day planning explained.
What is a holiday optimizer?
A holiday optimizer finds combinations of weekends, public holidays and leave days that create the longest useful breaks. It shows the exact working days to request rather than giving generic annual-leave advice.
How does the annual leave calculator work?
The calculator checks public holidays and weekends across the selected year, scores possible breaks by length and leave efficiency, then selects a set that fits the allowance and preferred travel style.
Are public holidays accurate for every region?
The planner uses official national or federal rules and separate calendars for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Australia is limited to national dates, Canada to federal public-service dates, and New Zealand excludes regional anniversary days. Future one-off holidays and employer-specific days can still change, so confirm before booking.
Does the planner submit leave to my employer?
No. It creates a personal planning suggestion only. You still need to check staffing, company shutdowns and approval rules before booking travel.
Which years can I use in the holiday optimizer?
You can plan any year from 2026 through 2035. Public holidays and weekends are recalculated automatically for the selected year.
Which countries are supported?
The planner supports the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The UK is split into England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; US and Canadian options state their federal scope explicitly.
Is my plan stored or uploaded?
No account is required. The calculation runs in your browser and the page does not upload your leave allowance or selected strategy.
What are the best days to take off work in 2026?
The highest-value dates are usually working days immediately before, after or between a public holiday and a weekend. The exact dates depend on your country, leave allowance and preferred break length, so the optimizer calculates them from your selected 2026 calendar rather than giving one generic list.
What does PTO maxxing mean?
PTO maxxing, PTO maximizing and annual-leave optimization all describe the same strategy: placing paid days off beside weekends and public holidays to create more consecutive time away from work.
Does this calculate my legal holiday entitlement?
No. This tool plans how to use a leave allowance you already know. It does not calculate statutory entitlement, accrued hours, rollover, part-time entitlement or holiday pay.
What is leave value?
Leave value is the number of total days away divided by the annual-leave or PTO days used. For example, a nine-day break that uses four leave days has a leave value of 2.25 times.
Can I use the optimizer for shift work or non-standard weekends?
Not yet. The current version assumes a Monday-to-Friday working week with Saturday and Sunday off. Check the suggested dates manually if you work shifts, compressed hours or a different weekend.
Does the planner include school holidays or company closure days?
No. It uses the stated official public-holiday calendar only. School holidays, employer closure days, local observances and already-booked leave are not included.
