Turkey public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Use this table to see which dates fall inside your trip and how much they change your plan. Fixed dates are the same every year. The two Bayram holidays move about 11 days earlier each year on the Gregorian calendar, so check the exact dates for your travel year before booking.

The practical impact is not the same for every holiday. National days such as 29 October close offices and banks but leave tourist sites and restaurants working. Bayram holidays are different: millions of Turks travel to family and to the coast, so intercity buses, domestic flights and seaside hotels fill up and prices rise.

On a normal public holiday, government offices, banks, post offices and schools close. Many small independent shops, especially in residential neighbourhoods, also shut, and some family-run restaurants take the day off. In tourist areas the picture is different: hotels, cafés, restaurants, bazaars and the big museums and archaeological sites generally stay open, sometimes with shorter hours or a changed ticket desk schedule.

During the two Bayram holidays the pattern is stronger. Expect banks and offices closed for the full period plus the half-day eve, and expect some local businesses to close for the whole week. Tourist sites in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and the Aegean coast usually remain open because that is their busiest season, but queues are longer and guided tours sell out. If a site is central to your trip, check its own website for holiday hours the week before you go.

Pharmacies operate a rotating duty system (nöbetçi eczane) so at least one is open in each area on holidays; ask at your hotel or look for the sign in a pharmacy window.

Turkey's festival calendar runs from spring to early autumn, and a few events are strong enough reasons to set your dates. The Istanbul Film Festival in April brings premieres and screenings across the city. The Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival, held in the Roman theatre near Antalya in June and July, is one of the few chances to watch opera in a 2nd-century auditorium. İzmir and Antalya host film and beach events through spring and summer, and Cappadocia's balloon season runs year-round but is most reliable from April to June and September to October.

Religious and cultural dates also shape travel. Ramazan, the fasting month, ends with Ramazan Bayramı; during Ramazan many restaurants still serve visitors, but some local places close by day and reopen for iftar, the evening meal. Kurban Bayramı follows about ten weeks later and is the single busiest domestic travel period. If your trip overlaps either, book long-distance transport and coastal hotels weeks ahead.

For a first trip, the safest plan is to avoid the two Bayram weeks unless you specifically want the holiday atmosphere, and to build your dates around spring or autumn weather. See the best time to visit guide for month-by-month conditions.

If your dates are fixed and they land on a Bayram week, plan around the crowds rather than against them. Book intercity coaches, domestic flights and coastal hotels as early as you can; prices climb and the best seats go first. Travel on the day before and the day after the holiday is the heaviest, so shifting your move by one day often helps. Museums and sites are busiest on the first and last days of the break.

If your dates are flexible, spring (April to June) and autumn (September to November) give the best weather and avoid the Bayram crush in most years, though the moving dates mean some years push a Bayram into spring or autumn. Check the exact dates for your travel year before you lock in flights.

Public holidays are also a good time to be in a city rather than on the road: Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir run parades, fireworks and free events on 29 October and 19 May, and these are worth seeing if you are already there. For transport practicalities, see driving in Turkey and the visa requirements guide.

Public holidays do not change visa rules or entry requirements, but they can slow anything that needs an office: residence permit appointments, bank business and some government services pause. If you are applying for a long-stay permit or a digital nomad visa, avoid scheduling appointments in a Bayram week.

Weather is the other variable. Bayram dates move through the year, so a Kurban Bayramı trip can fall in hot coastal summer or in cooler spring depending on the year. Check the forecast for your region and pack for the season you actually get, not the one the holiday name suggests.

Finally, holiday traffic affects airports and bus stations as much as roads. Allow extra time to reach Istanbul's airports and the big otogars on the days around a holiday, and keep a spare half-day in your plan if you are connecting to an international flight.