Planning · Fifteen dates a year, four of which move
Cyprus public holidays: the 2026 and 2027 dates, and what actually closes
Every Cyprus public holiday for 2026 and 2027, including the four moveable Orthodox dates, plus what closes, what keeps trading in resort areas and how to plan around it.
- Filed under
- Plan your trip
- Updated
- 26 August 2026
- By
- The editors
Cyprus has fifteen public holidays a year: eleven on fixed dates and four that move with the Greek Orthodox calendar. On those days the official expectation is that public services, banks, offices and shops close, while a lot of resort and coastal trade carries on as normal. For most visitors the practical consequence is small but specific: do not plan a bank errand, a car-hire office visit or a government appointment on one of these dates, and expect beaches, tavernas and coastal towns to be busier rather than quieter.
The list below comes from the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism’s official holiday guidance, cross-checked against the fifteen dates the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission publishes for its own 2026 calendar. Both sources agree, which matters here because online holiday aggregators frequently mix in Western Easter dates that carry no legal weight in Cyprus.
Every Cyprus public holiday, with 2026 and 2027 dates
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 1 Jan |
| Epiphany | Tue 6 Jan | Wed 6 Jan |
| Green Monday (moves) | Mon 23 Feb | Mon 15 Mar |
| Greek Independence Day | Wed 25 Mar | Thu 25 Mar |
| Cyprus National Day | Wed 1 Apr | Thu 1 Apr |
| Orthodox Good Friday (moves) | Fri 10 Apr | Fri 30 Apr |
| Orthodox Easter Monday (moves) | Mon 13 Apr | Mon 3 May |
| Labour Day | Fri 1 May | Sat 1 May |
| Kataklysmos, Whit Monday (moves) | Mon 1 Jun | Mon 21 Jun |
| Assumption of the Virgin Mary | Sat 15 Aug | Sun 15 Aug |
| Cyprus Independence Day | Thu 1 Oct | Fri 1 Oct |
| Ochi Day | Wed 28 Oct | Thu 28 Oct |
| Christmas Eve | Thu 24 Dec | Fri 24 Dec |
| Christmas Day | Fri 25 Dec | Sat 25 Dec |
| Boxing Day | Sat 26 Dec | Sun 26 Dec |
Two things stand out for anyone booking ahead. The remaining 2026 dates are 1 October, 28 October and the 24 to 26 December run, so an autumn or Christmas trip is the one most likely to bump into a closure this year. And 2027 has an unusually compressed spring: Orthodox Good Friday on 30 April, Labour Day on Saturday 1 May and Orthodox Easter Monday on Monday 3 May put three public holidays inside four days. If you are travelling then, treat that whole window as a single extended shutdown for anything administrative, and book restaurants, hire cars and transfers well in advance.
Why four of the dates move every year
Green Monday, Orthodox Good Friday, Orthodox Easter Monday and Kataklysmos are all anchored to Orthodox Easter Sunday, which fell on 12 April in 2026 and falls on 2 May in 2027. Green Monday sits seven weeks before it and opens Orthodox Lent. Kataklysmos, the Monday of the Holy Spirit, comes fifty days after it.
That anchor is why the same holiday can land almost six weeks apart in consecutive years, and why a date you noted from a previous trip is not reusable. It is also the reason the Western Easter dates you may see on general calendar sites are irrelevant in Cyprus. In 2027 the two calendars are more than a month apart, and only the Orthodox dates close anything.
If you are trying to place a trip around this, the month-by-month pages are the quickest way to see how a given date sits against weather and crowds: Cyprus in April covers the usual Orthodox Easter window, Cyprus in October covers the two autumn national days, and Cyprus in December covers the Christmas run.
What closes, and what carries on
The official line from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism is direct: public services, private enterprises, banks and shops close on public holidays, with the caveat that many businesses in resort and coastal areas remain open. That split is the whole of the practical advice, and it maps cleanly onto how a holiday actually feels.
| What you are trying to do | On a public holiday |
|---|---|
| Visit a bank, government office or car-hire desk | Assume closed. Do it on another day. |
| Eat out in a resort or coastal town | Usually fine, and usually busy. Book ahead for the bigger dates. |
| Shop in a large supermarket or mall | Varies. Check that specific store rather than assuming. |
| Spend the day on a beach | Open as normal, and noticeably busier if the date falls on a weekend. |
| Catch an intercity or town bus | Timetables commonly differ from a normal weekday. Check the operator. |
| Visit a museum or archaeological site | Varies by site and by holiday. Confirm with the site itself. |
Public transport is the one worth checking properly rather than guessing, because holiday timetables are set by individual operators rather than nationally. Our public transport in Cyprus guide explains how the bus networks are organised and where to find each one’s own schedule. If a holiday date falls on your arrival or departure day, a pre-booked transfer removes the question entirely, and the Cyprus taxi guide sets out the difference between the taxi types before you book.
Driving is unaffected in any formal sense, though the roads around coastal towns and picnic areas fill up on the bigger feast days. The driving in Cyprus guide covers the rules and habits that matter more than the calendar does.
The holidays that change what a trip feels like
Several of these dates are worth planning towards rather than around.
Kataklysmos, the Festival of the Flood, is celebrated only in Cyprus. Official tourism material describes several days of festivities in the seaside towns, with games, folk dancing, swimming competitions and boat races, and the largest programme in Larnaca. If your trip overlaps with it, the coast is the place to be rather than the place to avoid.
Green Monday opens Orthodox Lent and is traditionally spent outdoors with lenten food. It is a family and countryside day more than a tourist event, and the mountain and wine villages are where it is most visible. Omodos and Lefkara both give a sense of the kind of village that comes into its own on a day like this.
The two autumn national days sit close together. Cyprus Independence Day on 1 October and Ochi Day on 28 October are marked publicly, and both fall inside a month that is still comfortably warm. The Cyprus in October guide sets out how the weather and crowds behave around them.
The Christmas run of 24, 25 and 26 December is the longest continuous closure in the calendar, and in 2027 it lands across a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Our Cyprus at Christmas guide covers what the season looks like on the island, and the events page is the place to check what is scheduled while you are there.
A short planning check
- Look up the exact dates for your travel year rather than reusing last year’s, because four of them move.
- Ignore Western Easter dates on general calendar sites. Only the Orthodox dates are public holidays in Cyprus.
- Keep banking, car-hire admin and any official appointment off those dates entirely.
- Book restaurants, transfers and popular activities earlier than usual if your trip overlaps one.
- Check bus timetables and site opening with the operator or venue rather than assuming a normal weekday service.
- If a holiday falls mid-trip, plan a beach, coast or village day rather than an errands day.
None of this needs to reshape a holiday. Fifteen dates across a year is fewer than most visitors expect, and the majority of what people actually come to Cyprus for stays open. The planning value is narrow and worth having: know which four dates move, keep the administrative jobs off all fifteen, and let the feast days push you towards the coast and the villages instead of a closed office door. The wider Cyprus holiday guide covers how the rest of a trip fits together once the calendar is settled.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Cyprus have?
Fifteen. The Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism lists eleven fixed dates and four variable ones that follow the Greek Orthodox calendar. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission publishes the same fifteen dates for 2026, which is a useful cross-check when you want an official source rather than an aggregator.
Is Green Monday a public holiday in Cyprus?
Yes. Green Monday, also called Clean Monday, is one of the four variable public holidays and marks the start of Orthodox Lent. It fell on 23 February in 2026 and falls on 15 March in 2027. Because it moves with Orthodox Easter, it can land anywhere from mid-February to mid-March.
Are shops and banks open on Cyprus public holidays?
Official tourism guidance says public services, private businesses, banks and shops close on public holidays, while adding that many businesses in resort and coastal areas stay open. Treat the closure as the default for anything administrative, and treat resort trading as likely but worth confirming with the individual business.
Why does Cyprus celebrate Easter on a different date from the UK?
Cyprus follows the Greek Orthodox calendar, which sets Easter separately from the Western date. The two sometimes coincide and sometimes do not. In 2027 the gap is wide: Western Easter falls in late March, while Orthodox Good Friday is 30 April and Orthodox Easter Monday is 3 May. Only the Orthodox dates are public holidays in Cyprus.
Do public holidays change airport transfers and buses in Cyprus?
Flights and airports run to their own schedules, so a public holiday is not a reason to expect a closed terminal. Bus timetables are the part that commonly changes, and holiday services can differ from a normal weekday. Check the operator's own timetable for the date, and book a transfer or taxi in advance if your arrival lands on one of the bigger holidays.