Public Holidays

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, Easter, Ferragosto, Golden Week — the fixed windows families actually plan a charter around, with the destinations whose season suits each one and the point to start looking.

Whose holidays?

21-30 November 2026 Thanksgiving A long weekend that stretches into a week for anyone willing to travel, and it lands exactly as the Caribbean season opens. 7 days typical
5-10 December 2026 Puente de Diciembre Constitución and Inmaculada back to back, the long weekend Spain travels on. The Mediterranean is shut, so this one points at the Red Sea, the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. 5 days typical
20 Dec - 4 Jan 2026 Christmas and New Year The longest window most families take all year, and the one booked earliest. The Caribbean and the Indian Ocean are in full season; the Mediterranean is not. 10 days typical
27 Dec - 4 Jan 2026 Réveillon New Year on the water, the single most requested night of the Brazilian year. 8 days typical
29 Dec - 5 Jan 2026 Shōgatsu The Japanese New Year, when Thailand and the Andaman coast are in their best month. 7 days typical
2-8 January 2027 Reyes Epiphany closes the Spanish Christmas, and it lands in the steadiest fortnight of the Caribbean and Indian Ocean year. 6 days typical
6-11 February 2027 Carnaval Brazil stops for five days in February, at the height of the southern summer and the Caribbean season. 5 days typical
12-17 February 2027 Presidents' Day The February long weekend, and the only one that falls in the middle of the Caribbean high season. Boats are tight and booked early. 4 days typical
21-29 March 2027 Semana Santa Holy Week empties Spanish cities for the coast. The Balearics are open but early; the Canaries are reliably warm. 7 days typical
23 Mar - 2 Apr 2027 Easter The first warm window of the year in the Mediterranean and the last reliable one in the Caribbean, which is why Easter is the only holiday that reads well on both sides of the Atlantic. 7 days typical
23-28 April 2027 25 Aprile Liberation Day, usually bridged into a long weekend and the earliest the Tyrrhenian is worth the trip. 4 days typical
29 Apr - 4 May 2027 Puente de Mayo The May bridge weekend, the first of the Spanish season and a short hop to Ibiza or the Costa Brava. 4 days typical
29 Apr - 5 May 2027 Golden Week Four public holidays inside seven days, the longest window in the Japanese year and the one that reaches Southeast Asia comfortably. 7 days typical
30 Apr - 5 May 2027 May Bank Holiday A long weekend early enough to reach the Western Mediterranean before the season crowds it. 4 days typical
5-9 May 2027 Ascension A Thursday holiday that most of France turns into a four-day weekend, right as the Riviera season opens. 4 days typical
13-19 May 2027 Pfingsten Whitsun gives German families a full week in late spring, when the Adriatic and the Balearics are warm and still quiet. 6 days typical
28 May - 2 Jun 2027 Memorial Day The opening weekend of the American summer, and the point at which the Mediterranean becomes reliably warm without yet being full. 4 days typical
31 May - 5 Jun 2027 Festa della Repubblica The Italian national day, and the ponte that opens the summer. Early June is the month the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic are warm without being full. 4 days typical
1-7 July 2027 Independence Day High summer on both American coasts. New England and the Pacific Northwest come into their short season; the Mediterranean is at its busiest. 5 days typical
11-17 July 2027 Bastille Day The French national day, in the middle of the Riviera season. Every port along the coast puts on fireworks, and a yacht is the seat everyone else is looking at. 5 days typical
1-29 August 2027 Ferragosto Italy closes for the middle of August. Sardinia, the Amalfi Coast and the Aeolians are at their peak, and so is demand. 10 days typical
11-16 August 2027 Obon The August return home, and the second long window of the Japanese year. 6 days typical
27 Aug - 1 Sep 2027 August Bank Holiday The last long weekend of the British summer, at the point the Mediterranean starts to empty. 4 days typical
3-8 September 2027 Labor Day The closing weekend of the American summer. September is the month experienced charterers pick in the Mediterranean: same water, fewer boats. 4 days typical
5-10 September 2027 Sete de Setembro Brazilian independence day, and a long weekend that reaches the Mediterranean just as the season turns quiet and the water is at its warmest. 5 days typical
18-23 September 2027 Silver Week The September run of holidays that lines up into a second Golden Week. Japan is past the typhoon peak and the Mediterranean is in its quietest good month. 5 days typical
30 Sep - 6 Oct 2027 German Unity Day The German national day, at the point the Mediterranean empties but the water is still summer-warm. The best value week of the European season. 5 days typical

Windows are the travel dates people actually charter, not the public holiday itself. Season data is our own, authored per country.