North Cyprus Public Holidays 2026 & 2027: What Closes
Quick answer
- 2026 total
- 17 holiday days plus two bayram eves.
- 2027 bayrams
- Ramazan Bayramı 9–11 March 2027 (eve 8 March); Kurban Bayramı 16–19 May 2027 (eve 15 May), overlapping 19 May Youth Day.
- The ones that bite a holiday plan
- The two moveable bayrams, when banks and government offices shut for days at a stretch.
- Are shops open during bayram?
- Partly. Banks and government offices close fully; private businesses often close only the first day; tourist-area shops and restaurants run reduced or near-normal hours.
- Before a bayram starts
- Stock up on cash and fuel.
- Sources
- Bayram dates from the Diyanet religious-days calendar; holiday days cross-checked against the TRNC Education Ministry’s official 2025–26 and 2026–27 school calendars, which mark each one as a public holiday.
North Cyprus runs on a public-holiday calendar most visitors have never seen: partly shared with Türkiye, partly its own — and in 2026 it adds up to 17 holiday days plus two bayram eves, with the 2027 calendar already fixed: Ramazan Bayramı 9–11 March and Kurban Bayramı 16–19 May 2027. The dates that actually bite a holiday plan are the two moveable bayrams, when banks and offices shut for days at a stretch. The bayram dates come from the Diyanet religious-days calendar, and every holiday below is cross-checked against the TRNC Education Ministry’s official school calendars, which mark each one as a public holiday.
What are the public holidays in North Cyprus in 2026?
The full 2026 calendar, from published TRNC holiday calendars:
| Date (2026) | Day | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Thursday | New Year’s Day | |
| 19 March | Thursday | Ramazan Bayramı eve | eve — see note below |
| 20–22 March | Friday–Sunday | Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) | moveable, 3 days |
| 23 April | Thursday | National Sovereignty and Children’s Day | |
| 1 May | Friday | Labour Day | |
| 19 May | Tuesday | Atatürk Commemoration, Youth and Sports Day | |
| 26 May | Tuesday | Kurban Bayramı eve | eve — see note below |
| 27–30 May | Wednesday–Saturday | Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) | moveable, 4 days |
| 20 July | Monday | Peace and Freedom Day | TRNC only |
| 1 August | Saturday | Communal Resistance Day | TRNC only |
| 25 August | Tuesday | Mevlid (Prophet’s birthday) | TRNC only, lunar |
| 30 August | Sunday | Victory Day | |
| 29 October | Thursday | Republic Day (Türkiye) | |
| 15 November | Sunday | TRNC Republic Day | TRNC only |
Two reading notes. The bayram dates are lunar-calendar dates fixed per year — in 2026, Ramazan Bayramı falls 20–22 March and Kurban Bayramı 27–30 May, each preceded by an eve. Local calendars list the eve as a half day; the TRNC Education Ministry’s school calendar counts it as a full holiday day (“Arife ve Ramazan Bayramı, 4 gün resmî tatil”), so treat the eve as a day when offices may well be closed. The Mevlid holiday (25 August 2026) is the day after the Diyanet kandil evening (24 August), the pattern the TRNC follows every year.
What are the public holidays in North Cyprus in 2027?
The 2027 calendar, with bayram dates from Diyanet and holiday days from the TRNC Education Ministry’s 2026–27 calendar (29 October and 15 November are fixed national dates beyond that calendar’s end):
| Date (2027) | Day | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Friday | New Year’s Day | |
| 8 March | Monday | Ramazan Bayramı eve | eve |
| 9–11 March | Tuesday–Thursday | Ramazan Bayramı (Eid al-Fitr) | moveable, 3 days |
| 23 April | Friday | National Sovereignty and Children’s Day | |
| 1 May | Saturday | Labour Day | |
| 15 May | Saturday | Kurban Bayramı eve | eve |
| 16–19 May | Sunday–Wednesday | Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) | moveable, 4 days; 19 May overlaps |
| 19 May | Wednesday | Atatürk Commemoration, Youth and Sports Day | same day as the last Kurban day |
| 20 July | Tuesday | Peace and Freedom Day | TRNC only |
| 1 August | Sunday | Communal Resistance Day | TRNC only |
| 14 August | Saturday | Mevlid (Prophet’s birthday) | TRNC only, lunar |
| 30 August | Monday | Victory Day | |
| 29 October | Friday | Republic Day (Türkiye) | |
| 15 November | Monday | TRNC Republic Day | TRNC only |
The 2027 shape matters for trip planning: Ramazan Bayramı runs midweek in early March, and Kurban Bayramı starts on a Saturday eve and runs into Wednesday — with the weekend attached, banks will be closed from Saturday 15 May to Wednesday 19 May 2027.
Which holidays are TRNC-only?
Four dates on the list exist in the TRNC but not in Türkiye — 20 July, 1 August, 15 November and Mevlid — and one Turkish holiday goes the other way. What they mark, in neutral one-liners:
- 20 July — Peace and Freedom Day: the anniversary of Türkiye’s 1974 military intervention, a date the island’s two sides read very differently; in the north it is a full public holiday.
- 1 August — Communal Resistance Day: commemorates the Turkish Cypriot resistance organisations of the late 1950s.
- 15 November — TRNC Republic Day: the anniversary of the 1983 declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
- Mevlid: the Prophet’s birthday — observed as a public holiday in the TRNC, no longer in Türkiye’s official calendar.
The reverse case trips up visitors who know Türkiye’s calendar: Türkiye’s 15 July holiday (Democracy and National Unity Day) is not a TRNC public holiday — offices in the north work normally that day, as of 2026.
What actually closes on a public holiday?
Banks and government offices close fully — and stay closed through both multi-day bayrams — while the tourist economy mostly keeps moving. The pattern reported by published local calendars and guides, as of 2026:
- Banks and government: fully closed on every listed day, suspended for the entire run of each bayram. With a weekend attached, Kurban Bayramı 2026 (Wednesday 27 – Saturday 30 May, plus Sunday) means up to five days without an open bank branch.
- Private businesses: often close only the first bayram day, reopening partially after that — but practice varies shop by shop.
- Tourist areas: restaurants, supermarkets and beach businesses in Famagusta, İskele and Long Beach typically run reduced or near-normal hours; holidays are their busy days, not their days off.
- Borders and airports: stay open. The Deryneia Crosspoint keeps operating on holidays — the border crossing guide covers the mechanics — and flights keep flying; if your trip starts at Ercan mid-bayram, the Ercan airport car rental page covers the airport handover.
How do you plan a trip around the bayram holidays?
Front-load anything that needs a bank or an office, and the holidays become atmosphere rather than obstacle. The practical checklist for a stay that overlaps a bayram, as of 2026:
- Cash before, not during. Banks suspend through the whole bayram — make the withdrawals and currency arrangements before the eve rather than counting on a specific machine mid-holiday. The money and cards guide covers which currencies work where.
- Fuel up before the eve. The eve and the first bayram day are the most closure-prone window — a full tank before the holiday starts removes the question.
- Pharmacies run on the duty rota. Every district has a rotating on-duty pharmacy on holidays, published daily — the emergency numbers and hospitals guide explains the nöbetçi system.
- Book restaurants on bayram evenings. Locals eat out in force during bayram — in tourist areas the constraint is tables, not closures.
A car is the quiet advantage on holiday dates: with banks shut and schedules thinned, self-contained mobility is what keeps a bayram day flexible. Kipra Rent A Car is a Famagusta-based local rental company with VAT and third-party insurance included in every displayed price — what you see is what you pay, holiday or not.
Does this calendar change every year?
Yes — the religious dates move with the lunar calendar, so this page carries the 2026 and 2027 calendars and is refreshed every autumn once the next year’s dates are published. The fixed national dates (1 January, 23 April, 1 May, 19 May, 20 July, 1 August, 30 August, 29 October, 15 November) hold steady year to year; the two bayrams and Mevlid shift roughly 11 days earlier each year — which is why both 2027 bayrams land earlier in the spring than the 2026 dates.
The holiday calendar is one of the 15 things that catch first-time visitors to North Cyprus — the other fourteen are on that one page.
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Who wrote this guide
If you want the car waiting the moment you clear the airport or the crossing, our free meet-and-deliver points are listed on the North Cyprus car rental page; transfers from the South Cyprus border are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are shops open during bayram in North Cyprus?
Partly. The reported pattern as of 2026: banks and government offices close for the full bayram, private businesses often close only the first day, and shops and restaurants in tourist areas run reduced or near-normal hours. Stock up on cash and fuel before the holiday starts.
Do North Cyprus holidays match Türkiye's?
Mostly but not entirely. The shared core — New Year, the two bayrams, 23 April, 1 May, 19 May, 30 August, 29 October — matches. The TRNC adds its own days (20 July, 1 August, 15 November and Mevlid), and Türkiye's 15 July holiday is not observed in the TRNC.
How long are banks closed at bayram?
For the full bayram run — published calendars report banks and government offices suspended through both multi-day bayrams in 2026: 20–22 March for Ramazan Bayramı and 27–30 May for Kurban Bayramı, plus the eves. In 2027 the Kurban run — eve on Saturday 15 May to Wednesday 19 May — means five days without an open bank.
When are the bayram holidays in North Cyprus in 2027?
Ramazan Bayramı falls on 9–11 March 2027 with its eve on 8 March, and Kurban Bayramı on 16–19 May 2027 with its eve on 15 May — the last Kurban day coincides with the 19 May Youth and Sports Day. Both are about 11 days earlier than in 2026.