Hong Kong Long Weekends 2026: Strategic Leave Planning
Hong Kong's 2026 holiday calendar creates six natural long weekends without taking any leave, plus several opportunities to extend breaks with just one or two bridge days.
For deadline planning, these clusters matter because they reduce the number of working days in key weeks. A "5 working days" deadline that starts before a long weekend takes longer in calendar time than you might expect.
The long weekends at a glance
1. Lunar New Year: 14–22 February (up to 9 days)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 14–15 Feb | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
| 16 Feb | Mon | Bridge day (1 day leave; some businesses treat this as a de facto closure) |
| 17 Feb | Tue | General Holiday (LNY Day 1) |
| 18 Feb | Wed | General Holiday (LNY Day 2) |
| 19 Feb | Thu | General Holiday (LNY Day 3) |
| 20 Feb | Fri | Bridge day (1 day leave) |
| 21–22 Feb | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
Take 2 days leave → get 9 days off (Sat 14 Feb to Sun 22 Feb).
2. Easter + Ching Ming: 3–7 April (5 days, no leave needed)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Apr | Fri | General Holiday (Good Friday) |
| 4 Apr | Sat | General Holiday (Day following Good Friday) |
| 5 Apr | Sun | Weekend (also Ching Ming, substituted) |
| 6 Apr | Mon | General Holiday (Easter Monday) |
| 7 Apr | Tue | General Holiday (Ching Ming substitute) |
No leave required — 5 consecutive non-working days. This is 2026's best natural break. Take 3 days leave (Wed 8 – Fri 10 April) for a 10-day break through Sunday 12 April.
3. Labour Day: 1–3 May (3 days)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May | Fri | General Holiday (Labour Day) |
| 2–3 May | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
Natural 3-day weekend. No leave needed.
4. Buddha's Birthday (substitute): 23–25 May (3 days)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 23–24 May | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
| 25 May | Mon | General Holiday (substitute for 24 May) |
Natural 3-day weekend. No leave needed.
5. Tuen Ng Festival: 19–21 June (3 days)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun | Fri | General Holiday (Tuen Ng) |
| 20–21 Jun | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
Natural 3-day weekend. No leave needed.
6. Chung Yeung Festival: 17–19 October (3 days)
| Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 17–18 Oct | Sat–Sun | Weekend |
| 19 Oct | Mon | General Holiday (Chung Yeung) |
Natural 3-day weekend. No leave needed.
Other bridge-day opportunities
| Holiday | Date | Day | Bridge strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| HKSAR Establishment Day | 1 Jul | Wed | Take Thu–Fri (2 days) for 5-day break |
| National Day | 1 Oct | Thu | Take Fri (1 day) for 4-day weekend |
| Day after Mid-Autumn | 7 Oct | Wed | Take Thu–Fri (2 days) for 5-day break |
| Christmas | 25 Dec | Fri | Natural 3-day weekend; take 28–31 Dec (4 days) for 10-day break through New Year 2027 |
Impact on working-day counts
Long weekends reduce the working days available in a week. Here are the weeks most affected in 2026:
| Week of | Working days available | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Feb | 2 (Mon–Tue lost to LNY) | CNY holidays Tue–Thu |
| 30 Mar – 7 Apr | 3 in first week, 3 in second | Easter + Ching Ming cluster |
| 27 Apr – 1 May | 4 | Labour Day on Friday |
| 25 May | 4 | Buddha's Birthday substitute on Monday |
| 15 Jun – 19 Jun | 4 | Tuen Ng on Friday |
| 19 Oct | 4 | Chung Yeung on Monday |
For a "10 working days" deadline starting in one of these weeks, the calendar-time result will be 2–4 days longer than you might intuitively expect.
Why this matters for deadline planning
Long weekends are not just leave opportunities — they are deadline risks. If you set a 5-working-day deadline on Wednesday 1 April 2026, the result is not Monday 6 April (which is Easter Monday). It is Wednesday 8 April — a full week later in calendar time.
The HK calculator handles these clusters automatically, counting only actual working days and skipping all General Holidays and weekends.
For scenario-based examples, see the Use Cases.