Bridge days in the Netherlands 2026
29 vacation days → 61 days off.
🇳🇱 Every public holiday in the Netherlands 2026, every bridge day worth taking, and exactly what each one buys you — computed, not guessed.
The Dutch calendar hides one of Europe’s best bridge tricks: when King’s Day (April 27), Liberation Day (May 5) and Ascension land close together, a few vacation days can chain them into one long spring break. In 2026, 29 vacation days return 61 days off, best play ×4.
King’s Day even has its own quirk — when April 27 falls on a Sunday, the celebration (and the day off) moves to Saturday the 26th. The engine behind this guide handles that automatically.
Assumption: Officially recognized national holidays. Good Friday and Liberation Day are days off for many employers but not all — check your CAO. December 24 and 31 are counted as normal workdays.
If you take every bridge below
10 bridge plays, best exchange rate first
| Book these days | Days | You are off | Total | Rate | Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 2 Jan | 1 | Thu 1 Jan – Sun 4 Jan | 4 | ×4.0 | New Year's Day |
| Mon 4 May | 1 | Sat 2 May – Tue 5 May | 4 | ×4.0 | Liberation Day |
| Fri 15 May | 1 | Thu 14 May – Sun 17 May | 4 | ×4.0 | Ascension Day |
| Mon 30 Mar – Thu 2 Apr | 4 | Sat 28 Mar – Mon 6 Apr | 10 | ×2.5 | Good Friday |
| Tue 7 Apr – Fri 10 Apr | 4 | Fri 3 Apr – Sun 12 Apr | 10 | ×2.5 | Good Friday |
| Tue 28 Apr – Fri 1 May | 4 | Sat 25 Apr – Sun 3 May | 9 | ×2.3 | King's Day |
| Tue 26 May – Fri 29 May | 4 | Sat 23 May – Sun 31 May | 9 | ×2.3 | Whit Monday |
| Mon 21 Dec – Thu 24 Dec | 4 | Sat 19 Dec – Sun 27 Dec | 9 | ×2.3 | Christmas Day |
| Wed 6 May – Fri 8 May | 3 | Tue 5 May – Sun 10 May | 6 | ×2.0 | Liberation Day |
| Mon 11 May – Wed 13 May | 3 | Sat 9 May – Thu 14 May | 6 | ×2.0 | Ascension Day |
the Netherlands-specific fine print
Liberation Day fine print
May 5 is an official national holiday every year, but a guaranteed paid day off only every fifth year (2030, 2035 …) under many collective agreements. Public sector: yes every year. Check your CAO before booking around it.
King’s Day shifts off Sundays
April 27 on a Sunday moves Koningsdag to Saturday April 26 — which, for bridge purposes, means it is absorbed by the weekend that year.
Every public holiday in the Netherlands 2026
| Date | Holiday | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | day off |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | day off |
| Sun 5 Apr | Easter Sunday | on a weekend |
| Mon 6 Apr | Easter Monday | day off |
| Mon 27 Apr | King's Day | day off |
| Tue 5 May | Liberation Day | day off |
| Thu 14 May | Ascension Day | day off |
| Sun 24 May | Whit Sunday | on a weekend |
| Mon 25 May | Whit Monday | day off |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | day off |
| Sat 26 Dec | Boxing Day | on a weekend |
The app does this for any year
These numbers come straight from Vacationmaxxing's optimizer — the app computes public holidays for any year (no hardcoded tables), finds every bridge, and lets you tap them into a plan. the Netherlands and six more countries. No ads, no accounts, no data collection.