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Photo: Alexey Komarov, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia CommonsPublic holidays in Turkey and what they mean for your trip
Turkey has seven fixed public holidays and two religious festivals that move about eleven days earlier every year. For a holiday on the Antalya coast only a few of them really matter — but those few fill the hotels and push the prices up, so it is worth knowing where they fall before you book.
The calendar
The seven fixed days fall on the same date every year. The two religious festivals follow the lunar calendar, so they shift; the dates below come from the official religious calendar published by Turkey's Diyanet.
Fixed public holidays
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day |
| 23 April | National Sovereignty and Children's Day |
| 1 May | Labour and Solidarity Day |
| 19 May | Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day |
| 15 July | Democracy and National Unity Day |
| 30 August | Victory Day |
| 29 October | Republic Day |
Religious festivals
| Holiday | Dates | Half-day before |
|---|---|---|
| Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) 2027 | 9 March 2027 – 11 March 2027 | 8 March 2027 |
| Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) 2027 | 16 May 2027 – 19 May 2027 19 May 2027 is also Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day | 15 May 2027 |
| Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) 2028 | 26 February 2028 – 28 February 2028 | 25 February 2028 |
| Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) 2028 | 5 May 2028 – 8 May 2028 | 4 May 2028 |
| Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) 2029 | 14 February 2029 – 16 February 2029 | 13 February 2029 |
| Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) 2029 | 24 April 2029 – 27 April 2029 23 April 2029 is also National Sovereignty and Children's Day | 23 April 2029 |
| Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) 2030 | 4 February 2030 – 6 February 2030 | 3 February 2030 |
| Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) 2030 | 13 April 2030 – 16 April 2030 | 12 April 2030 |
The half-day before a festival (the arefe) is a half working day, and in practice most places wind down by lunchtime. Religious dates can move by a day in other countries, because the calendar is read locally.
What actually changes on a public holiday
Less than most visitors expect. Banks, public offices and post offices close. Shops, restaurants and hotels in the resort areas stay open — a holiday is their busiest trading day of the year, not a day off.
What does change is the road. The coast road and the intercity buses get very busy, especially the day before a festival starts and the day it ends. If your transfer or a day trip falls on one of those days, allow more time than the usual figure; our transfer times are measured on normal traffic.
One detail that surprises people in December: 31 December is an ordinary working day in Turkey and 1 January is the public holiday. Christmas is not a holiday at all — 25 December is a normal working day. More on that in New Year in Antalya.
The weeks that matter for a beach holiday
The two religious festivals
Ramazan Bayramı is three official days, Kurban Bayramı four, each with a half-day before. These are the weeks Turkish families travel, and because the demand is domestic it lands on the places reachable by road — Alanya, Antalya and the coast in between, which is where foreign visitors stay too.
The official length is misleading, though. In most years the government also declares the working days in between to be holiday, stretching the break to around nine days — and that decision is usually announced only a few weeks ahead. So the busy period is wider than the dates in the table, and you cannot know exactly how wide when you book a year out.
Kurban Bayramı has a twist worth knowing about. The festival centres on an animal sacrifice, and a great many people travel to their home towns for it — which pulls the crowd inland rather than to the coast for the first couple of days. The resorts can therefore be quieter than you would expect at the start of the week, with the busier days coming afterwards.
School summer, and one week in winter
Turkish schools break for the summer across June, July and August, which is the same window as the European peak — that is why these months are the most expensive on the coast. There is also a semester break of about two weeks around the end of January; small in absolute terms, but in winter so little is open that it shows.
The school calendar shifts by a few days each year, so check the year you are travelling rather than assuming last year's dates.
Two years when the break is longer
Watch for a religious festival landing on a fixed holiday — it makes an unusually long break. In 2027 the last day of Kurban Bayramı is 19 May, which is also a public holiday; in 2029 the eve of Kurban Bayramı falls on 23 April, likewise a public holiday. The table marks both.
If you want the coast quiet, the weeks either side of a festival are the ones to pick — same weather, noticeably fewer people. Which month suits you otherwise is in when to go.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Turkey have?
Seven fixed days — 1 January, 23 April, 1 May, 19 May, 15 July, 30 August and 29 October — plus two religious festivals, Ramazan Bayramı (three days) and Kurban Bayramı (four days), each preceded by a half-day.
Is anything closed on a Turkish public holiday?
Banks, public offices and post offices close. In the resort areas shops, restaurants and hotels stay open; a holiday is one of their busiest days. The main practical effect is heavy traffic on the coast road and full intercity buses.
Why do the festival dates change every year?
Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı follow the lunar calendar, which is about eleven days shorter than the solar year, so both move earlier each year. That is why they are listed year by year above rather than as a fixed date.
Should I avoid travelling during a Turkish festival?
Not necessarily — the coast works normally and the atmosphere is good. But hotels fill and rates rise, and the break is often longer than the official three or four days. If you have a choice, the week before or after gives you the same weather with fewer people.
Is Christmas a holiday in Turkey?
No. 25 December is an ordinary working day. The lights and decorated trees you see in late December belong to New Year; 1 January is the public holiday.
