But if you choose your leave dates in advance with some calculation, you can get noticeably more days off over the year, since even a public holiday that falls on a weekday adds extra time to your break.
In 2027, several public holidays in Bavaria fall on convenient days of the week, giving Munich residents a number of opportunities to extend their leave. It is most advantageous to do so at the beginning of the year, at Easter and in May. This is the conclusion reached by the Munich editorial team of t-online: by its calculations, these are the periods in which leave offers the greatest scope for extension.
The principle is simple. Days off at the junction of a holiday and a weekend join into one uninterrupted stretch of time, while the missing working days are covered by leave. The more precisely the dates coincide, the fewer leave days are spent on a single break.
Winter: Four Days of Leave Give Ten Days at a Ski Resort
The year can begin in the mountains. In 2027, New Year’s Day falls on a Friday, while Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige), which is an official public holiday in Bavaria, falls on Wednesday, 6 January. A few working days remain between them, and they are easy to cover with leave.
It is enough to take Monday and Tuesday, 4 and 5 January, as well as Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 January. The days from 1 to 10 January inclusive will then be free. Four days of leave turn into ten consecutive days off, enough for a winter trip to the mountains or an unhurried start to the year.
Spring: Easter Can Give You 16 Days Off
The longest break of the spring is linked to Easter. The date of Easter changes every year: in 2027, Easter falls on 28 March. Good Friday falls on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March, and the weekend lies between the two holidays.
To stretch them into a single break, you need to take eight days of leave:
- 22-25 March;
- 30 March-2 April.
Together with the two Easter holidays and the adjoining weekends, this gives 16 consecutive days off.
May: Several Holidays in a Row
May remains one of the most convenient months for planning leave. Many of the May holidays are tied to Easter and move with it. In 2027, they fall in such a way that long breaks can be built around them:
- Ascension Day: Thursday, 6 May;
- Whit Monday: 17 May;
- Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam): Thursday, 27 May.
One day of leave is enough for a long weekend. If you take Friday, 7 May, after Ascension Day, you will have four days off in a row. The same option works after Corpus Christi: it is enough to take Friday, 28 May.
It is even more advantageous to combine Whit Monday and Corpus Christi. To do this, you need to take leave from 18 to 21 May, from 24 to 26 May and on 28 May, that is, eight days. Together with the two holidays and the weekends, this gives 16 days off, from 15 to 30 May.
These dates also suit families with children. The Whitsun school holidays (Pfingstferien) in Bavaria in 2027 will run from 18 to 28 May, so school holidays can be combined with the parents’ leave.
Summer: No Suitable Holidays
There are fewer opportunities in summer. During the summer months, there are no official public holidays on weekdays that could be used for long weekends. The Assumption of Mary (Mariä Himmelfahrt), 15 August, falls on a Sunday in 2027. In Germany, a holiday that coincides with a day off is not moved to a weekday.
However, school holidays make it possible to take time off in summer. In Bavaria, they will begin on 2 August and run until 13 September, which is more than six weeks. This is one of the latest schedules among the German states.
Autumn and the End of the Year: Nine Days for Four Days of Leave
All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen) in 2027 falls on Monday, 1 November. If you take leave from Tuesday, 2 November, to Friday, 5 November, you will have nine consecutive days off, from 30 October to 7 November.
The calendar also suits families: from 2 to 5 November, schoolchildren in Bavaria will have no classes because of All Saints’ Day.
Those who prefer to take time off at the end of the year will have to use more days of leave. In 2027, Christmas falls on a Saturday and Sunday, and no additional weekday holiday appears. If you take five days of leave from 20 to 24 December, you can get nine consecutive days off, from 18 to 26 December. There are no especially advantageous options around Christmas this year.
Why It Matters
The value of leave depends on the number of days and on how cohesive the rest turns out to be. Several days in a row allow you to go away and change your surroundings. Four days of leave in January give ten days off, and eight in March and May give sixteen each.
The calculations show that in 2027 there are three good periods for this: the beginning of January, Easter together with May, and the beginning of November. Summer stands out for its school holidays, while Christmas will require more days of leave. A schedule drawn up in advance allows you to agree the dates with your employer and your family.
