Dates, holidays and deadlines
Vacation planner
The dates where your business days of vacation give the most days off in a row, and the day you are back.
The law gives 15 per year worked. You can search from 1 day.
If your working week includes Saturday, Saturday is taken off your vacation.
- Option 1×1.7 per vacation day
26 days off in a row
You ask for 15 business days: from Wednesday 3 March to Wednesday 24 March.
You rest from Wednesday 3 March to Sunday 28 March and are back on Monday 29 March.
Holidays that help: 22 Mar Saint Joseph’s Day · 25 Mar Maundy Thursday · 26 Mar Good Friday
- Option 2×1.7 per vacation day
26 days off in a row
You ask for 15 business days: from Friday 25 June to Monday 19 July.
You rest from Friday 25 June to Tuesday 20 July and are back on Wednesday 21 July.
Holidays that help: 5 Jul Saints Peter and Paul · 12 Jul Our Lady of Chiquinquirá · 20 Jul Independence Day
- Option 3×1.7 per vacation day
25 days off in a row
You ask for 15 business days: from Monday 4 January to Monday 25 January.
You rest from Friday 1 January to Monday 25 January and are back on Tuesday 26 January.
Holidays that help: 1 Jan New Year’s Day · 11 Jan Epiphany
- Option 4×1.7 per vacation day
25 days off in a row
You ask for 15 business days: from Friday 7 May to Friday 28 May.
You rest from Friday 7 May to Monday 31 May and are back on Tuesday 1 June.
Holidays that help: 10 May Ascension Day · 31 May Corpus Christi
- Option 5×1.7 per vacation day
25 days off in a row
You ask for 15 business days: from Friday 8 October to Friday 29 October.
You rest from Friday 8 October to Monday 1 November and are back on Tuesday 2 November.
Holidays that help: 18 Oct Columbus Day · 1 Nov All Saints’ Day
How it is worked out
Find the dates where your vacation days go furthest thanks to Colombia’s public holidays and long weekends, and work out the exact day you are back at work.
In Colombia vacation is 15 business days for each year worked: Sundays and public holidays are not taken off it, and Saturday only if your working week includes it. That is why the same days go further depending on where they fall: next to a long weekend or Holy Week they give many more days off in a row. The planner tries every possible date of the year and shows the ones that go furthest, without overlapping each other.
The rules it applies
- Vacation is counted in business days: Sundays and public holidays are not taken off it.
- Saturday is taken off only if your agreed working week includes it.
- Days off in a row include the weekend or holidays right before and after.
- If split by agreement, at least 6 business days in a row must be taken each year (Labour Code, article 190).
back = start + 15 business daysIs your calculation not here?
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Fifteen business days that become 26 days off
If you leave on Monday 21 December 2026 with your 15 days and work Monday to Friday, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Epiphany Monday, 11 January, are not taken off: your last day of vacation is Wednesday 13 January 2027 and you are back on Thursday 14. With the weekend of the 19th and 20th, that is 26 days in a row away from work.
If your working week includes Saturday, Saturdays are taken off: leaving on the same day, you are back on Saturday 9 January, after 20 days off.
The dates that go furthest in 2027
With just 2 business days, Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March, you rest 9 days in a row, from Saturday 20 to Sunday 28: Monday 22 is the Saint Joseph holiday, and Thursday and Friday are Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. With 5 days, from Wednesday 17 to Wednesday 24 March, it is 12.
With all 15, the best dates of 2027 give 26 days in a row: from Wednesday 3 to Sunday 28 March, with Holy Week at the end, or from Friday 25 June to Tuesday 20 July, with the holiday Mondays of Saints Peter and Paul and Our Lady of Chiquinquirá inside and 20 July at the end.
When you are back: the exact day
You are back on the first business day after your last day of vacation. If the next day is a holiday or a weekend, you are back later: a vacation ending on a Friday before a holiday Monday brings you back on Tuesday.
To find out when you are back, enter the day you leave and the business days you are taking. The result also says from which day you are resting, with the weekend or holidays before, and how many days in a row it makes.
What the law says about vacation
Fifteen business days are earned for each year of service (Labour Code, article 186). The employer sets when they are taken, within the following year, and must give 15 days’ notice of the date (article 187), so what the planner shows is what you can propose in good time.
By agreement they can be split, as long as at least 6 business days are taken in a row each year (article 190), and in writing, at the worker’s request, up to half can be paid in money (article 189). If the contract ends before the year is up, vacation is paid in proportion to the time worked, as the settlement calculator does.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Saturday count as a vacation day?
- It depends on your working week. If you work Monday to Saturday, Saturday is a business day and is taken off your 15; if you work Monday to Friday, it is not. That is what the Ministry of Labour has said, and why the planner asks.
- How many vacation days am I entitled to?
- 15 business days for each year of work. If the contract ends before the year, they are paid in proportion: 7.5 days for six months.
- Are public holidays taken off my vacation?
- No. A holiday within your vacation is not a business day, so it is not counted and your vacation ends a day later for each one. That is why it goes further when it spans holidays.
- Can I split my vacation into several periods?
- Yes, by agreement with the employer, as long as at least 6 business days are taken in a row each year. The planner takes from 1 day, to find where each part goes furthest.