Long Weekends · United Arab Emirates
Long Weekends in United Arab Emirates 2026
United Arab Emirates has 5 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 United Arab Emirates 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 3, 2026 | 3 | New Year's Day | — |
| Mar 20 – Mar 22, 2026 | 3 | Eid Al-Fitr Day 1, Eid Al-Fitr Day 2, Eid Al-Fitr Day 3 | — |
| May 27 – May 30, 2026 | 4 | Eid Al-Adha Day 1, Eid Al-Adha Day 2, Eid Al-Adha Day 3 | — |
| Nov 18 – Nov 21, 2026 | 4 | Commemoration Day | Yes — Thursday, Nov 19 |
| Dec 2 – Dec 5, 2026 | 4 | UAE National Day, UAE National Day (2nd) | — |
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.