With public holidays now confirmed and six long weekends in play, we’ve crunched the calendar for the best booking strategy to maximise time away from your desk!
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower has finally confirmed the public holiday dates for 2026. That means it’s time to start planning your leave days – whether you’re aiming to maximise long weekends for quick regional getaways or stretch your leave for more adventurous, longer trips.
The good news is there are six long weekends in 2026, two more than last year and one more than in 2023.
On these dates you’ll get three days off without having to take any leave whatsoever, but they are sure to prove popular next year, as always.
These long weekends can be easily extended to a 4-day break, for taking only a single leave day at either side, and the good news is that two public holidays fall on a Tuesday or Thursday in 2026, unlocking two additional options if that’s your strategy.
That gives you a total of seven 4-day or 5-day weekend opportunities, if you’re willing to part with a single leave day.
Here’s the full rundown of opportunities.
Full list of Public Holidays in 2026
First of all, here is the full list of the 11 official gazetted public holidays in Singapore for 2026.
2026 Public Holidays in Singapore
| Holiday | Date(s) | Observed Date(s) (if different) |
| New Year’s Day | 1 Jan 2026 (Thu) | |
| Chinese New Year | 17 Feb 2026 (Tue) 18 Feb 2026 (Wed) |
|
| Hari Raya Puasa |
21 Mar 2026 (Sat) | |
| Good Friday | 3 Apr 2026 (Fri) | |
| Labour Day | 1 May 2026 (Fri) | |
| Hari Raya Haji | 27 May 2026 (Wed) | |
| Vesak Day | 31 May 2026 (Sun) | 1 Jun 2026 (Mon) |
| National Day | 9 Aug 2026 (Sun) | 10 Aug 2026 (Mon) |
| Deepavali | 8 Nov 2026 (Sun) | 9 Nov 2026 (Mon) |
| Christmas Day | 25 Dec 2026 (Fri) |
Note that when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following day (Monday) is the observed holiday – your day off work.
This year that affects Vesak Day, National Day and Deepavali.
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, there is no benefit for those not normally working at the weekend, which currently affects Hari Raya Puasa in 2026.
Long weekends (no leave needed)
If you’re a fan of preserving your precious annual leave days for longer trips, and you’re happy with a three-day break for a regional jaunt, there are six opportunities to do just that in 2026.
2026
Zero-leave 3-day trip options
| Holiday | PH Date(s) 2026 |
Days for a trip (including weekend) |
| Good Friday | 3 Apr (Fri) | 3 days |
| Labour Day | 1 May (Fri) | 3 days |
| Vesak Day | 1 Jun (Mon) | 3 days |
| National Day | 10 Aug (Mon) | 3 days |
| Deepavali | 9 Nov (Mon) | 3 days |
| Christmas Day | 25 Dec (Fri) | 3 days |
Extending long weekends (single leave day)
Happy with 4 or 5 consecutive days off work for taking just a single annual leave day?
Here’s our rundown of eight opportunities to do that in 2026.
2026
Leave-efficient 4/5-day options
| Holiday | PH Date(s) 2026 |
Apply for leave on | Days for a trip |
| New Year’s Day | 1 Jan (Thu) | 2 Jan (Fri) | 4 days |
| Chinese New Year | 17 Feb (Tue) 18 Feb (Wed) |
16 Feb (Mon) |
5 days |
| Good Friday | 3 Apr (Fri) |
2 Apr (Thu) or 6 Apr (Mon) |
4 days |
| Labour Day | 1 May (Fri) | 30 Apr (Thu) or 4 May (Mon) |
4 days |
| Vesak Day | 1 Jun (Mon) | 29 May (Fri) or 2 Jun (Tue) |
4 days |
| National Day | 10 Aug (Mon) | 7 Aug (Fri) or 11 Aug (Tue) |
4 days |
| Deepavali | 9 Nov (Mon) | 6 Nov (Fri) or 10 Nov (Tue) |
4 days |
| Christmas Day | 25 Dec (Fri) | 24 Dec (Thu) or 28 Dec (Mon) |
4 days |
The additional ones here compared to the long weekend list are:
- New Year’s Day in January, which falls on a Thursday in 2026
- Chinese New Year in February, which falls on a Tuesday and Wednesday in 2026
Of course you can always extend these eight options slightly at either side with an extra leave day (2 leave days in total) to make them 5/6-day trips.
3 days of leave over CNY will score you 9 days off
Interested in a longer trip next year?
If you’re willing to get time off over Chinese New Year then you can earn 9 days out of the office, for taking just 3 days of leave.
Leave-efficient 9-day option
(14 Feb – 22 Feb)
| PH Date(s) 2026 |
Apply for leave on | Days for a trip | |
| Chinese New Year | 17 Feb (Tue) 18 Feb (Wed) |
16 Feb (Mon) 19 Feb (Thu) 20 Feb (Fri) |
9 days |
The downside is that flights to many destinations are very expensive during this period, and award space is therefore limited too.
Best dates for a long trip
Planning an even longer trip in 2026?
The most efficient time to do this is late May into early June, to take advantage of Hari Raya Haji at the beginning of your trip and Vesak Day on 1st June, which you can pin to the end.
Leave-efficient 10-day option
(23 May – 1 Jun)
| PH Date(s) 2026 |
Apply for leave on | Days for a trip | |
| 25 May (Mon) 26 May (Tue) |
10 days | ||
| Hari Raya Haji | 27 May (Wed) |
||
| 28 May (Thu) 29 May (Fri) |
|||
| Vesak Day | 1 Jun (Mon) |
You’ll then score 10 days off by taking just 4 days of annual leave.
Unfortunately, the way public holidays are spaced out in 2026 means there are fewer opportunities to maximise long breaks using minimal leave – unlike in 2025, when savvy planners could enjoy up to 17 days off by taking just 9 days of leave.
Still got 2025 leave days to use?
If you’re still holding on to an annual leave balance to use up this year, don’t worry.
We’ve got you covered with our guide to maximising Singapore’s 2025 Public Holidays.
Don’t waste your annual leave in 2026, with several options available for stretching out a number of overseas trips next year, including seven options for a 4-day trip with only one day of leave, plus one option for a 5-day trip with only one day wiped from your leave balance!
There are even six long weekends for 3-day trips with no leave days required, the highest total we’ve seen since 2022 after a couple of poor years on this front.
Obviously we’re assuming here that most of our readers are office-based ‘Monday to Friday’ types, so you’ll have to examine the full public holiday calendar yourself if you normally work on a different pattern of days, to identify where your personal ‘sweet spots’ lie in 2026.
Wherever you’re hoping to jet off to, it may be worth locking in your annual leave now to maximise your days off, then work out where to go later.
(Cover Photo: IHG)
