Public Holidays and Long Weekends to Watch This Year

The Art of Strategic Leave

A well-placed day of annual leave adjacent to a public holiday can transform a weekend into a four-day break. In countries with generous calendars, careful planning yields two weeks of travel from just five days of leave.

United States

The three guaranteed Monday holidays — Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January), Memorial Day (May), and Labor Day (September) — create reliable three-day weekends. Thanksgiving Thursday plus Friday off makes four days. When July 4th falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, one leave day creates a four-day break.

United Kingdom

The May double is the best-known strategy: two bank holidays in May, with three leave days between them creating a nine-day break. Christmas to New Year typically yields ten days off from three to four leave days, depending on how the dates fall.

Europe Highlights

France

France's eleven public holidays include several in May. When Ascension Thursday falls near a weekend, the French practice of "faire le pont" (making the bridge) is practically a national institution.

Germany

Public holidays vary by state. Bavaria enjoys up to 13 days. Reunification Day (October 3) and regional holidays create varied opportunities by location.

Spain

National and regional holidays can total 14 days. The December bridge between Constitution Day (December 6) and Immaculate Conception (December 8) often enables a long pre-Christmas break.

Asia

Japan: Golden Week

The undisputed champion: four national holidays from April 29 to May 5 that strategic leave extends to ten days. Domestic prices spike and popular destinations become extremely crowded.

South Korea

Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (harvest festival) each provide three-day breaks. The government designates substitute holidays when these fall adjacent to weekends.

China

Two Golden Weeks — Lunar New Year and National Day (October 1-7) — involve mandatory weekend work swaps to create extended holidays, generating the world's largest human migrations.

India

India's calendar is among the most complex, with national, state, and restricted holidays varying by religion and region. The Diwali period typically creates the longest break.

Planning Principles

Book transport early for predictable long weekends — airlines and train operators increase prices as availability drops. Consider contra-flow travel: when everyone heads to beaches, empty cities drop prices and offer a crowd-free experience. Always check that attractions will be open on your chosen holidays, since some countries shut down almost entirely for certain occasions. Keep a digital calendar synced with multiple national holiday calendars to spot opportunities year-round and make the most of every day off.