How to Maximize Vacation Days in 2026: My PTO Hack

The only way to stretch vacation days is to book around U.S. holidays you already have off.

As a recap, here are the major U.S. holidays for 2026:

• January 1: New Year’s Day
• January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• February 16: Presidents’ Day
• May 25: Memorial Day
• June 19: Juneteenth
• July 4: Independence Day
• September 7: Labor Day
• October 12: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• November 11: Veteran’s Day
• November 26: Thanksgiving
• December 25: Christmas Day

While you could plan a bunch of long weekends around major holidays, that doesn’t quite work if you’re aiming for farther bucket list travel experiences like snorkeling in the Maldives, riding a scooter on a foodie tour in Vietnam, or going on a thrilling safari in South Africa.

Those kinds of trips need more time and a long weekend just won’t cut it.

So, how do we make it happen?

We strategically plan our vacations using 20 PTO days around these key U.S. holidays:

→ February (Presidents’ Day)
→ May (Memorial Day)
→ July (Independence Day)
→ September (Labor Day)
→ November (Thanksgiving)
→ December (Christmas)

By timing our PTO this way, those 20 days magically stretch into 49 vacation days!

Curious how it all comes together? Here’s a sample travel schedule, including some of our own trips, to show you how to make the most of 2026.

President’s Day falls on Monday, February 16th, and Valentine’s Day is on that Saturday, the 14th. Enjoy the long weekend and plan a local romantic trip. 

Best Places to Go:

✔️   Your Hometown

Because it’s only a long weekend, you’ve got to keep it close. A local weekend getaway is an excellent choice.

We live in the city, so we love to do mountain getaways in Virginia. If you are from the DMV area, here are my 6 favorite Virginia getaway properties to hike and sip wine!

Now, the next 3 months without time off will be brutal, but it will be worth it because your next vacation in May will be epic!

Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 25th. Take off the week before Memorial Day and the week of Memorial Day, and you have a super long relaxing vacation.

Best Places to Go:

✔️  Tanzania + Seychelles

✔️  Europe

✔️  French Polynesia

Anytime you go to Africa, you’re going to need 2 weeks!

Tanzania is known for the Great Migration, the magnificent Serengeti, and lots of big cats (including cheetahs!).

We stayed at Namiri Plains (so many cute lion and cheetah babies!) and Dunia Camp (a lovely lodge run by amazing women!).

Early June is the start of the dry season in Tanzania, but the best-kept secret is to go at the very end of May when rates are significantly cheaper at the luxurious safari lodges. You may have to contend with a little rain, but you should still have great weather.

Pair your safari with a little beach time in the Seychelles, known for its world-class beaches, granite rocks, and giant 100-year-old tortoises with cute grandpa faces.

Do Seychelles first (here’s our exact 6-day beach itinerary) followed by the safari at the end because you want to get as close to the end of May for the best weather during your safari.

Europe is another excellent destination in May, which is known as the shoulder season.

It’s not too hot. Rates are cheaper, and it’s less busy. We have traveled to Barcelona, Portugal, Florence, Venice, and Croatia + Slovenia (here’s our detailed itinerary) during the month of May.

French Polynesia is another fantastic May destination! We have been twice and loved snorkeling with sharks and rays, hiking in Moorea, boating out to the Blue Lagoon in Rangiroa, and snorkeling in the coral garden in Taha’a.

My husband and I are what I like to call meticulous experience seekers, always curating the most exceptional adventures and discovering the best ways to enjoy them.

Here’s our epic 2-week French Polynesia itinerary to get you inspired!

July 4th, 2026 falls on a Saturday, so you’ll have Friday off! Perfect for yet another long weekend.

Best Places to Go:

✔️   Your Hometown

✔️   Iceland (if you take 1 PTO day)

It’s humid and hot here in Virginia, so the hubby and I love to stay in a quaint B&B with a pool around the 4th.

We also love wine, so one of our favorite places to stay in Virginia is The Inn at Stinson Vineyards (love the Deluxe room!). It has a pool overlooking the vineyard, and you can walk two steps over to the winery.

Now if you want to get really crazy, you could fly to Iceland for a long weekend. July is an awesome time because it stays light out basically all day. This is known as the Midnight Sun.

You would need to take 1 day of PTO to make it a long weekend, but you can see the highlights in 4 days! And yes, we have done this exact Iceland itinerary!

Best Places to Go:

✔️   Europe, especially France

✔️   Zambia/Zimbabwe

✔️   South Africa

✔️   Bali

September is another fantastic shoulder season to enjoy Europe. Temps are still warm, kids are back in school, tourist sites are less busy, and accommodations have better rates.

We love France during this time of year.

Start your week off with a few days in Paris, take the train to do some Champagne tastings, drive down to Burgundy to cycle one of the best bike trails ever, and do a little hiking in Chamonix. This trip to France was one of our favorites!

Another great spot in September is Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

If you want to combine a swim in Devil’s Pool in Zambia, a day trip to Botswana, explore Cape Town, sip wine on a Cape Winelands wine tour, hang out with cute penguins, cage dive with great white sharks, and go on safari, do not miss this ultimate South Africa itinerary!

This was probably one of the most EPIC vacations we have ever done.

Another fantastic choice in early September is Bali.

We recently did this incredible Bali itinerary and spent a few days in Singapore to start before we headed to Indonesia.

Then we enjoyed seeing Komodo dragons, snorkeling with manta rays, bike riding through rice paddies, and learning how to cook delicious local Indonesian dishes.

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26th. If you already have Black Friday off, then taking off the week of Thanksgiving is a no-brainer.

Best Places to Go:

✔️   Mexico City

✔️   Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados)

✔️   Ambergris Caye, Belize

If you want to get away from the craziness of the holidays and eat street tacos over turkey, consider Mexico City!

Mexico City?!? Yep. Here’s our take on the safety situation.

November corresponds to the dry season in Mexico City. We recently did this trip and ate all the best street tacos, dined at the 2 Michelin-starred Pujol, and sipped on some amazing cocktails at the world’s best bars.

You could do a week in Mexico City or break it up and pair it with Oaxaca, which has these incredible 19 things to do.

Planning can sometimes be the hardest part. If you want to save hours of research, here is our exact 7-day Mexico City itinerary and 6-day Oaxaca itinerary!

Another place we have enjoyed in November is the Caribbean.

We’ve been to Bonaire and Aruba, which are always safe bets since they are outside the hurricane belt.

Here’s my ultimate Aruba itinerary (hint: it involves really cute turtles and flamingoes!).

I have also done Thanksgiving with my family in beautiful Barbados. Barbados is “mostly” outside the hurricane belt.

Hurricane season for all other Caribbean islands runs from June 1- November 30.

We have also enjoyed Ambergris Caye in Belize, where we snorkeled with lots of nurse sharks!

Thanksgiving week is right at the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season. There may be some showers, but they are brief.

Christmas falls on Friday, December 25th. We also have off Thursday, December 24th, which means taking a full week off with only using 3 PTO days. That means another vacation!

Best Places to Go:

✔️   Caribbean

✔️   Maldives

✔️   Vietnam/Cambodia

✔️   Australia

✔️   New Zealand

✔️   Chile

✔️   Argentina

It’s cold and dark in the U.S. in December, so why not travel somewhere warm and beachy?

One advantage of being in the U.S. is the close proximity to the Caribbean. Perfect for a 1-week vacation.

Our favorite Caribbean destinations in December are St. John, St. Croix, and St. Martin.

Throw a few bathing suits and your snorkeling gear in the suitcase, and bring on the rum punches!

Alternatively, if you do not do a big epic 2-week vacation in May, you could swap the order.

Meaning you could do a 1-week vacation in May and a 2-weeker in December. The advantage of going somewhere for 2 weeks in December is you can take advantage of an additional PTO day (January 1).

We have done several 2-week vacations around Christmas including the Maldives paired with Hong Kong, Vietnam/Cambodia, Chile/Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.

Remember it’s summer time in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina in December! Great destinations to escape the cold in the U.S.!

We like to map out our travel schedule the year before to make sure we are maximizing every second of vacation.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on how to structure those precious PTO days!

Happy travels!

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Questions about maximizing those travel days?

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