Colombian Holidays and Clinic Schedules: How Puentes Festivos Affect Your Medical Trip

Colombia has 18 public holidays per year, more than most countries medical tourists travel from. Twelve of those follow the "puente festivo" rule, moving to the nearest Monday to create a guaranteed three-day weekend. If your surgery falls near one of these dates, your pre-op appointments, surgery, post-op follow-ups, and even pharmacy availability may be affected. This guide lists every holiday, explains the puente system, and tells you how to plan around it.

The Puente Festivo System

Colombia's Ley 51 de 1983 (known as the "Ley Emiliani") established the puente festivo system. It takes 12 of the country's 18 public holidays and moves them to the following Monday whenever they fall on a different weekday. The result: Colombia guarantees its workers a minimum of 12 three-day weekends per year, plus six fixed-date holidays.

For medical tourists, this system has a concrete consequence: many clinics reduce staff or close entirely on puente weekends. Some surgeons take the long weekend off. Pharmacies may operate on reduced hours. Recovery house staff may be limited.

2026 Colombian Public Holiday Calendar

The Danger Zones

Two periods create the biggest scheduling disruptions for medical tourists:

How Holidays Affect Your Medical Trip

Planning Around Holidays

1. Check the calendar before booking flights. Cross-reference your planned surgery date against the holiday table above. If a puente or fixed holiday falls within your recovery window, adjust dates or confirm clinic availability in writing.
2. Avoid surgery within 3 days of Semana Santa or the December closure. The risk is not just clinic closures, it is reduced support infrastructure: fewer taxis, limited pharmacy hours, and difficulty reaching support services.
3. Confirm every appointment individually. When booking through a clinic coordinator, ask them to confirm that each pre-op and post-op appointment falls on a working day. Do not rely on "the clinic is normally open Tuesday through Saturday."
4. Stock up on supplies before a puente weekend. Compression garments, medications, wound care supplies, and food. Rappi and other delivery apps work on holidays but with reduced selection and longer wait times.

The June Triple Puente

June is uniquely challenging for medical tourists. In most years, three puente festivos fall within a single month: Ascension, Corpus Christi, and Sagrado Corazon. In 2026, these fall on May 18, June 8, and June 15, meaning June has two back-to-back long weekends. Some clinics effectively operate on a reduced schedule for the entire first half of June. If your surgery falls in this window, confirm that your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and support staff will all be available on the specific dates you need.

How to Verify Clinic Availability

Do not rely on assumptions about business days. Before finalizing your travel dates, take these concrete steps:

1. Ask for the clinic's holiday calendar. Reputable clinics that serve international patients maintain an annual calendar showing closures, reduced-staff days, and blackout dates for elective surgery. Request this in writing.
2. Confirm each appointment individually. Pre-op consultation, lab work, surgery date, and every post-op follow-up should each be confirmed as occurring on a working day. Ask specifically: will the lab be open? Will imaging be available? Will the pharmacy near the clinic be open for post-op prescriptions?
3. Get your surgeon's personal availability. Some surgeons take extended breaks around puente weekends, combining the long weekend with personal days for a full week off. The clinic may be open, but your specific surgeon may not be present.
4. Identify backup contacts. If your surgeon is unavailable during a holiday, know who covers their patients. Get the covering surgeon's name and WhatsApp number before the holiday begins.