Long Weekends · New Zealand
Long Weekends in New Zealand 2026
New Zealand has 17 long weekends in 2026 of 3 days or more, built around its public holidays. Below is the full list with bridge-day opportunities.
About long weekends
A long weekend is any continuous run of three or more non-working days created when a public holiday lands next to the weekend. For a Mon-Fri working week, the recipe is simple: a public holiday on a Friday or Monday creates an automatic three-day break, while a holiday on a Tuesday or Thursday becomes a four-day weekend if employees take the intervening bridge day (Spanish puente, French pont) off. Every long weekend on the New Zealand 2026 table below is calculated from the official public-holiday list, accounting for weekends, observed-day substitutions, and any consecutive-holiday clusters (Christmas + Boxing Day, Easter Friday + Monday, multi-day Eid breaks). For each row we show the calendar span, the total day count, the holiday(s) that anchor the break, and any bridge day that would extend it. Use this to plan annual leave for travel, family time, or extended remote-work blocks.
| Dates | Days | Triggering holiday | Bridge day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Jan 4, 2026 | 4 | New Year's Day, Day after New Year's Day | — |
| Jan 17 – Jan 19, 2026 | 3 | Wellington Anniversary Day | — |
| Jan 24 – Jan 26, 2026 | 3 | Auckland Anniversary Day | — |
| Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2026 | 3 | Nelson Anniversary Day | — |
| Feb 6 – Feb 8, 2026 | 3 | Waitangi Day | — |
| Mar 7 – Mar 9, 2026 | 3 | Taranaki Anniversary Day | — |
| Mar 21 – Mar 23, 2026 | 3 | Otago Anniversary Day | — |
| Apr 3 – Apr 7, 2026 | 5 | Good Friday, Easter Monday, Southland Anniversary Day | — |
| Apr 25 – Apr 27, 2026 | 3 | ANZAC Day, Anzac Day | — |
| May 30 – Jun 1, 2026 | 3 | King's Birthday | — |
| Jul 10 – Jul 12, 2026 | 3 | Matariki | — |
| Sep 26 – Sep 28, 2026 | 3 | Canterbury (South) Anniversary Day | — |
| Oct 23 – Oct 26, 2026 | 4 | Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day, Labour Day | — |
| Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2026 | 3 | Marlborough Anniversary Day | — |
| Nov 13 – Nov 15, 2026 | 3 | Canterbury Anniversary Day | — |
| Nov 28 – Nov 30, 2026 | 3 | Westland Anniversary Day | — |
| Dec 25 – Dec 28, 2026 | 4 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day | — |
How we count long weekends
A long weekend is a contiguous run of weekend days plus public holidays of 3 days or more. A bridge day is a single weekday between two off-blocks — taking it as leave creates an even longer break.