Country Holidays

National public holidays for 236 countries: the next two months on screen, the full 12-month calendar by email. The page also explains what a holiday actually stops — customs, terminals, demurrage clocks and HGV driving bans. On a public holiday a country's authorities, banks and most back offices stop routine processing: customs typically runs only an on-call or paid out-of-hours service, ports and terminals usually work reduced shifts, and in some countries they close altogether. For a shipment that distinction matters: cargo can keep moving physically while the steps that release it — declarations, inspections, payments, delivery slots — stand still. A realistic transit time is therefore sailing or driving time plus the closed days in every country on the route, plus the backlog once offices reopen. The sections below turn a holiday calendar into an operational decision.

What actually stops on a public holiday — and what doesn't?

Holidays rarely stop the cargo; they stop the administrative steps that move it forward. Vessels keep sailing and trucks keep rolling, but clearance, inspection, banking and appointment booking sit on a closed day. Shipments planned without that distinction produce the familiar outcome: the truck arrived on time and then waited three days. Verify each item route by route rather than assuming a blanket shutdown.

• Usually stops: closing a customs declaration, physical inspection, agency approvals (veterinary, phytosanitary, chamber certification), bank transfers and letter-of-credit presentation.
• Usually slows down: terminal and warehouse shifts, gate appointment capacity, container handling speed, broker and agency office hours.
• Usually keeps running: vessel and flight schedules, sea transit time, and demurrage and detention clocks where the tariff counts calendar days (some storage tariffs are written in working days — see the cost section below).
• Depends on the crossing: a border post may be open around the clock, but if the authority on the other side is closed the truck still waits, and many countries offer paid out-of-hours service for urgent cargo.
• Depends on the governing law: in many legal systems a deadline whose last day falls on a public holiday automatically moves to the next working day — Turkish contract law, for example, states this expressly and lets the parties agree otherwise. Check the governing law and the contract rather than assuming either way.

Why is one national calendar never the whole picture?

A country's official holiday list does not tell you everything about when work actually stops there. Alongside national holidays sit lunar and lunisolar religious holidays, regional and state holidays, bridge days and companies' own collective shutdowns. Some of these move every year; others apply only in one province or city.

• National holidays: valid countrywide, mostly fixed dates such as New Year and national days.
• Hijri (purely lunar) holidays: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha fall roughly 10-11 days earlier each Gregorian year, and in some countries the exact day is confirmed by moon sighting only days in advance.
• Lunisolar holidays: Lunar New Year, Tết and the Jewish holidays move from year to year but stay within the same season, so do not apply the Hijri shift to them; Easter follows a rule of its own.
• Regional holidays: Germany varies by federal state, Switzerland by canton, Spain by autonomous community and municipality — a port city can be closed while the capital works normally.
• Bridge days and half-days: governments often attach the working days between a holiday and a weekend to the break, and some countries treat the afternoon before a major holiday as an official half-day (Türkiye does this before both religious holidays).
• Company shutdowns: collective factory and warehouse closures — summer breaks, the period between Christmas and New Year, extended Lunar New Year or Tết absences — never appear on an official calendar. Ask the counterparty directly.
• Weekend structure: the weekend is not Saturday-Sunday everywhere. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman run a Friday-Saturday weekend; Israel works Sunday to Thursday, with Friday a half day in many sectors. In the UAE the federal public sector moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend in 2022 with a half-day Friday, while Sharjah adopted a four-day week and a Friday-Sunday weekend — private-sector practice varies by employer, so confirm your counterparty's working days.

How do you build a holiday-adjusted transit time?

Realistic transit time equals travel time plus closed days plus the narrowed capacity that follows a long break. What matters is not whether arrival falls on a holiday, but which day each step lands on — export closure, border, import declaration, delivery. Working through the sequence below puts the carrier, the broker and the consignee on the same assumption.

• List every country on the route: origin, transit countries, the country of the transshipment port, and destination.
• Mark the public holidays and weekends that fall inside your shipping window, and place each individual step on the calendar rather than the shipment as a whole.
• Add the closed days to travel time, then add a separate buffer for post-holiday congestion after long breaks.
• Check document and guarantee validity across the closed period — a permit, guarantee or insurance policy that expires on a closed day may not be renewable that day, so complete the renewal before the break starts.
• Schedule critical steps for the day before the last working day, not the last working day itself, and confirm the counterparty's cut-off hour and time zone.
• Put the plan in writing so buyer, carrier and customs broker all work from the same holiday assumptions.
• For the first two steps, the list on this page covers the next two months for the country you select, and the email option returns the twelve-month calendar.

Do demurrage and storage clocks stop on a holiday?

Holidays stop the operation but rarely stop the clocks, and that is where the money goes. Free time, demurrage and detention are commonly counted in calendar days in container shipping, so weekends and holidays do not pause the counter. Some port and storage tariffs are written in working days instead, and some exclude the day of discharge or public holidays. Never assume which basis applies — confirm the free-time definition in the quotation or contract.

• A container landing just before a long break can burn most of its free time on closed days; where possible, schedule arrival either comfortably before the break or after it, not on its doorstep.
• For credits subject to UCP 600, if the last day for presentation falls on a day the bank is closed for an ordinary reason such as a public holiday, the deadline extends to the first following banking day (art. 29), while the latest shipment date does not extend with it. The extension does not apply where the closure is caused by force majeure (art. 36), so present before the break whenever that risk exists.
• Payments and FX transfers follow the clearing systems' own holiday calendars; when delivery depends on funds being received, a closed banking day is a direct waiting cost.
• Reefer, livestock and dangerous cargo raise the cost of a holiday through plug-in power, supervision and on-call inspection; out-of-hours service usually requires advance application and a fee.
• If the empty-return depot is closed, most tariffs keep the detention clock running — but days on which return is objectively impossible are disputable under some contracts and some jurisdictions' rules. Notify the carrier in writing the same day, and put depot opening days on the calendar alongside the terminal's.

Why does a holiday cost road freight two days, not one?

On the road, the first effect of a holiday is usually not customs but a driving ban. Many European countries prohibit heavy goods vehicles from driving on Sundays and public holidays, with hours and exemptions differing from country to country. When a ban overlaps with the driver's weekly rest, the loss is often two days rather than one.

• Ban hours and exemptions (perishables, livestock, combined transport, empty running) vary by country — check every transit country separately, not just origin and destination.
• Seasonal restrictions are common in summer, when peak holiday traffic triggers additional Saturday or return-day bans.
• Even with the crossing open, a closed customs office, veterinary post or weighbridge on the far side leaves the vehicle parked — verify both countries' calendars.
• Build the plan together with tachograph and driving-time rules, positioning the driver's rest inside the ban window so the truck can move the moment it lifts.
• Queues on the last working day before a break are normal; for critical cargo, departing a day early can save several days on the other side.

Which holiday-planning mistakes come up most often?

Most holiday delays come not from missing information but from two wrong assumptions: that free time is counted in working days, and that only the destination country's calendar matters. Both take minutes to check and cannot be undone afterwards — and the moment to run the check is before the booking is confirmed, because after that the arrival date is no longer yours to move.

• Checking only the destination country and ignoring transit countries, the transshipment port and the broker's or bank's country.
• Treating a national calendar as complete and missing regional or municipal holidays.
• Assuming a fixed date for lunar-calendar holidays and committing to a binding ETA before the official announcement.
• Leaving paperwork for the holiday period — steps that need a signature, an endorsement or an original document cannot advance on a closed day.
• Reading free time as working days when the tariff counts calendar days, and discovering demurrage only when the invoice arrives.
• Planning the first day back as a normal working day, when appointment and gate capacity is at its tightest.

Frequently asked questions

How do I view a country's public holidays?

Select a country from the list: the screen shows the public holidays falling in the next two months from today, each with its date and day of the week. Each row also carries the day of the week, and it is worth reading: a holiday landing on a Thursday pulls the Friday with it as a bridge day in many countries, so the loss is four days rather than one. If your shipping window runs beyond two months, request the 12-month calendar by email.

Which countries are supported?

National public holiday calendars for 236 countries and territories. The data is national: state, cantonal, regional and municipal holidays, and companies' own collective shutdowns, are not in this list. In countries where holidays vary by region — Germany by federal state, Switzerland by canton, Spain by autonomous community and municipality — check the calendar of the port or delivery city separately, because the capital can be working while the port is closed.

Why are weekends missing from the list, and how do I count closed days?

A weekend is not a public holiday, so it does not appear in the list — but it closes the same offices. Count holidays and weekends together when you total the closed days. And remember the weekend is not Saturday-Sunday everywhere: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman run Friday-Saturday, and Israel's working week is Sunday to Thursday. Do not count days before you have confirmed the counterparty's working week.

Can customs formalities be done at all during a public holiday?

Routine processing stops, but many administrations offer out-of-hours or on-call service for urgent cargo such as perishables, livestock and pharmaceuticals; it normally requires advance application and an extra fee, and is not available at every crossing or under every procedure. Filing the declaration electronically in advance is often possible — what waits is inspection, approval and physical release.

Do demurrage and detention keep running on holidays and weekends?

It depends on the contract, and guessing is expensive. You will meet two bases in practice: calendar days, where holidays and weekends do not pause the counter, and working days. Confirm in writing which one your quotation uses before you confirm the booking; a verbal "that's how it usually works" will not help you in a demurrage dispute later.

Why do religious holiday dates move every year, and how should I plan around them?

They do not all follow the same rule. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow the purely lunar Hijri calendar and fall roughly 10-11 days earlier each Gregorian year; in some countries the exact day depends on moon sighting and is announced only shortly beforehand, which is why neighbouring countries can observe the same holiday on different days. Lunar New Year, Tết and the Jewish holidays are lunisolar: the date moves between years but stays within the same season. In planning terms: build a one-day tolerance into shipments that touch these periods, and do not commit to a binding delivery date before the official announcement.

Which countries' holiday calendars do I need to check?

At least five: origin, every transit country, the country of the transshipment port, destination, and the country where your customs broker and bank operate. Add the buyer's or supplier's own collective shutdown — the official calendar can look like a normal working week while the factory or warehouse is closed.

What should I expect in the first days after a long holiday?

Expect congestion and plan for it: reserve gate slots and broker capacity before the holiday starts, promise delivery for the days after the reopening rather than the reopening day itself, and do not stack the empty return and the document handover on the same day. The longer the break, the longer capacity takes to normalise.

What should be done on the last working day before a holiday?

Close out declarations and guarantee formalities, hand over original documents physically, and check whether any permit, guarantee or insurance policy expires during the break. Confirm the counterparty's cut-off hour and the time difference, and settle driver rest, secure parking, reefer power and any supervision needs so nothing depends on an office that will be closed.

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