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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN PORTUGAL 2024 - 2025

A list of public holidays in Portugal. From various sources!

Holidays are always observed on the day they fall and are not moved to a convenient Monday as in the UK.
Buses and trains run to Sunday/Holiday timetables on public holidays. They do run on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

On Christmas Eve December 24th and New Year's Eve December 31st Businesses and shops close early, around 6 or 7pm. On Christmas Eve virtually everything closes early including bars and restaurants. Some late-evening buses and trains (especially long-distance services) will not run. This information is announced in detail only about two weeks beforehand.

Major malls and supermarkets are usually open all day on public and religious holidays, except on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, when they remain closed. Some may also close on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and May 1st. You will need to check locally and/or nearer the time.

In tourist areas, smaller shops usually stay open all day except some will close on Good Friday and / or Easter Sunday. On Christmas Day and New Year's Day shops are closed. Many small shops in the villages and of course all post offices and banks observe the holidays strictly.

Algarve school terms 2023 - 2024

Buses marked in the timetables as 'SCH' (Schooldays) only operate during those periods, except on public holidays as below.

The 2023 - 2024 school year began week commencing Monday 11th September. Second term runs until 25th March when there will be a two week break over Easter. Third term begins on 8th April and ends between 4th and 28th June according to age groups. In addition there is a three day break from Monday 12th to Wednesday 14th February (inclusive) for the Carnaval holiday. Summer bus times will apply from 1st July 2024. Similar dates will apply for the academic year 2024 - 2025, except that the break for Carnaval will be from 3rd to 5th March.

There may be small local variations for local festivals etc. This is the general pattern every year. Exact dates in other regions may vary.

Official National Holidays 2024

Monday 1st January - New Year's Day
Tuesday 13th February - Carnaval /Shrove Tuesday. Not an official holiday but observed on most railway and bus routes, which run to Sunday times.
Friday 29th March - Good Friday
Sunday 31st March - Easter Sunday ('Easter Monday' is not a holiday in mainland Portugal)
Thursday 25th April - Liberation Day
Wednesday 1st May - Labour Day
Thursday 30th May - Corpus Christi
Monday 10th June - National or Portugal Day
Tuesday 15th August - Assumption
Saturday 5th October - Republic Day
Friday 1st November - All Saints
Sunday 1st December - Restoration of Independence Day
Sunday 8th December - Immaculate Conception
Wednesday 25th December - Christmas Day
(26th December is not a holiday in mainland Portugal.)

Official National Holidays 2025

Wednesday 1st January - New Year's Day
Tuesday 4th March - Carnaval /Shrove Tuesday. Not an official holiday but observed on most railway and bus routes, which run to Sunday times. Schools are closed.
Friday 18th April - Good Friday
Sunday 20th April - Easter Sunday ('Easter Monday' is not a holiday in mainland Portugal)
Friday 25th April - Liberation Day
Thursday 1st May - Labour Day
Tuesday 10th June - National or Portugal Day
Thursday 19th June - Corpus Christi
Friday 15th August - Assumption
Sunday 5th October - Republic Day
Saturday 1st November - All Saints
Monday 1st December - Restoration of Independence Day
Monday 8th December - Immaculate Conception
Thursday 25th December - Christmas Day
(26th December is not a holiday in mainland Portugal.)
Thursday 1st January 2026 - New Year's Day

Local holidays

In addition to the national holidays, many cities and towns have a local or municipal holiday. Local buses may run to Sunday times or not at all. The 'Festa São João' is a big event in Lisbon and Porto, around the 23rd June each year. These events can affect local transport.

SPANISH PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Cross border travel may be affected as may local travel in Spain. Do check before making firm plans. In particular, some of the cross border buses (coaches) between Seville, the Algarve region and Lisbon do NOT operate on December 25th and January 1st. They do operate on most other major holidays.

Spanish Public Holidays 2024 and 2025

For a list of all the timetables on the site, click here
For an alphabetical list of places in the Algarve, click here
For some important general notes about buses in the Algarve, click here
Back to the site home page here

www.algarvebus.info