Start plotting your mini breaks
If you’re anything like us, then you’ll already be well on your way to planning what to do with your public holidays this year.
And in 2026, it looks like there will be plenty of long weekends to enjoy in the UAE – including a bumper six-day break in the summer.
An update to the UAE public holiday law at the start of 2025 includes a section that allows dates of holidays to be moved, allowing for more long weekends.
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The law states that holidays can be moved to the beginning or the end of the week instead.
In previous years, holidays that fell on weekends did not give us an extra day off, while those that fell during the week would break up the working week.
While the exact dates of several UAE public holidays are not confirmed until closer to the time, we can predict when Islamic Hijri calendar-related holidays are likely to fall in advance.
Your guide to the long weekends in 2026
First long weekend: Eid Al Fitr
Eid Al Fitr marks the end of Ramadan every year in the Islamic calendar. It’s an official public holiday in the UAE lasting from Ramadan 30 (if Ramadan is a 30-day month) until Shawwal 3 in the Hijri calendar. Months in the Muslim calendar are either 29 or 30 days long and the exact duration is not known until the evening of Ramadan 29.
In 2026, it is currently predicted that Eid Al Fitr will be a three-day long weekend with Shawwal starting on Friday March 20.
If the month of Shawwal starts on Friday March 20 then that would mean Saturday March 21 and Sunday March 22 are officially part of the Eid Al Fitr public holiday.
Eid Al Fitr is one of only two public holidays that cannot be moved under the UAE public holiday law.
Second long weekend: Eid Al Adha
Eid Al Adha is the second of two major festivals for Muslims, marking the conclusion of the pilgrimage to Mecca. In the UAE, it is marked with a public holiday which begins with Arafat Day on Dhu Al Hijjah 9 and rolls into Dhu Al Hijjah 10, 11 and 12.
According to current predictions, we can expect Dhu Al Hijjah to begin on Monday May 18, which could mean we’re in line for a bumper six-day long weekend.
If this prediction is correct, then Arafat Day would fall on Tuesday May 26 and the holiday would roll into Wednesday May 27, Thursday May 28 and Friday May 29.
When combined with the weekend, this would give us a six-day-long weekend for Eid Al Adha in 2026.
Third long weekend: Islamic New Year
Islamic New Year falls on Muharram 1, the first day of the Hijri year and immediately follows Dhu Al Hijjah.
The occasion of the Islamic New Year is one of the UAE public holidays that can shift to the start or end of a week. Current predictions state that the Islamic New Year will fall on Tuesday June 16. If this is the case, then it is highly likely that the public holiday would move back a day to give us Monday June 15 off work.
When combined with the weekend, this would give us a three-day-long weekend for the Islamic New Year in 2026.
Fourth long weekend: Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (PBUH)
The occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (PBUH) is another public holiday that can be shifted to the start or beginning of the week.
According to current predictions, the official day is set to fall on Tuesday August 25. If this is the case, then it is likely that the day off would fall on Monday August 24.
When combined with the weekend, this would give us a three-day long weekend for Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (PBUH) in 2026.
Other possible UAE long weekends in 2026
With 2025 being the first year where the UAE public holiday law is in place, allowing dates to shift in the calendar to provide a long weekend, we don’t fully know whether or not the UAE government is likely to shift a few holidays.
National Day
With 2025 being the first year of the new public holiday law in the UAE, we currently don’t know whether the UAE National Day celebrations are likely to shift or extend.
National Day is officially designated as a public holiday on December 2 and December 3 every year and celebrates the anniversary of the formation of the UAE.
In 2026, the holiday, also known as Eid Al Etihad, will officially fall on Wednesday December 2 and Thursday December 3.
Currently, we don’t know whether the UAE government will extend this holiday to include Friday December 4 to make it a five-day long weekend or make Monday November 30 and Tuesday December 1 part of the holiday, giving us a six-day long weekend.
With the official anniversary falling on December 2, it is unlikely that this day specifically would be shifted.
