Egypt public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Dates below are the 2026 estimates. Islamic holidays depend on the lunar calendar and are confirmed by sighting, so treat them as a window of one or two days. Public holidays that fall on a weekend are sometimes moved to the following Thursday; check locally before you rely on a closure.

Public holidays in Egypt are felt most in the administrative world. Banks, government offices, embassies, consulates and many private offices close, which matters if you need a visa extension, a police report or a document stamped. Pharmacies often run a rota so at least one stays open in each district; ask at your hotel which one is on duty.

The tourist side is more forgiving. The Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and most major sites stay open on public holidays, though they may close earlier or open later on the first day of Eid. Long-distance trains, domestic flights and Nile cruises generally run to schedule, but seats sell out fast around Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha because Egyptians travel home and to the coast at the same time.

Restaurants and cafés in tourist areas usually stay open, and in Cairo and Alexandria many shops in malls and Khan el-Khalili keep trading. Small neighbourhood shops may pull down the shutter for a day or two. If you are driving yourself, expect lighter traffic on holiday mornings and heavier traffic the evening before a holiday starts.

Sham el-Nessim is the one Egyptian holiday that visitors can join without any religious context. It falls on the Monday after Coptic Easter and is a national picnic day: families head to parks, the Nile corniche and the beaches with salted fish, coloured eggs and spring onions. In Cairo, Zamalek and the riverside gardens fill up; in Alexandria, the corniche is the place to be. Go early, bring your own food, and expect transport to be busy.

The Abu Simbel sun festival happens twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, when sunlight reaches the inner sanctuary of Ramesses II's temple. It draws crowds and needs a very early start from Aswan or a booked flight; if you are in the area anyway, it is worth timing your visit, but book accommodation and the convoy slot well ahead.

Ramadan is not a festival in the holiday sense but it reshapes the month. Offices and some shops work shorter hours, restaurants are quiet or closed by day, and the streets come alive after sunset for iftar. Non-Muslim visitors are not expected to fast, but eating, drinking and smoking in public during daylight is frowned upon outside tourist hotels. Eid al-Fitr, which ends Ramadan, is the biggest celebration of the year and the busiest travel period; expect higher prices and full hotels on the Red Sea and in Luxor and Aswan.

Coptic Christmas on 7 January and Coptic Easter are observed by Egypt's Coptic Christian community, with services in Cairo's Coptic quarter and in monasteries such as those in Wadi Natrun. Visitors can attend some services respectfully; dress modestly and ask before photographing.

If your dates are flexible, the calmest windows for the Nile Valley are mid-January to mid-February and the second half of September, after the summer heat and before the winter school breaks. October to April is the best weather overall, but that also overlaps with Coptic Christmas, the January holidays and spring breaks, so book Luxor and Aswan hotels early.

For the Red Sea, the Eid windows are the ones to avoid unless you want the party: Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh and El Gouna fill with Egyptian families and prices jump. If you are diving, book courses and boats a month or more ahead for those weeks. Outside Eid, the coast is easy to arrange at short notice.

Two practical habits help. First, check the exact Islamic holiday dates a few weeks before you travel, because they move and are confirmed by sighting. Second, keep one buffer day before any international flight, especially around Eid, when domestic transport is at its busiest. If you need embassy or visa services, do them on a normal working day, not a holiday week.

Egyptians are used to visitors and the holiday calendar rarely ruins a trip, but a few small adjustments make it smoother. Carry cash on holiday weekends, because some ATMs run out and smaller shops may not take cards. Confirm opening hours for any site you are travelling a long way to see, particularly on the first day of Eid, when some sites open late.

During Ramadan, plan meals around iftar and suhoor. Many restaurants serve a fixed iftar menu and need a reservation; hotel restaurants are the easy option. Avoid eating on the street in daylight in conservative areas, and dress a little more modestly than you would on the Red Sea coast.

For etiquette around religious festivals, see the culture page. If you are travelling with children, the spring and autumn school breaks in Europe and North America overlap with Egypt's best weather, so book family rooms early.