Egypt Public Holidays and the Days That Shut the Country Down

Egypt Public Holidays and the Days That Shut the Country Down

Two events will strand you on a sold-out train platform or close the bank where you planned to change money: Eid al-Adha and the winter school break. Everything else leaves major sites open or causes delays you can plan around.

Egypt runs on two calendars. The civil calendar gives you fixed dates you can mark years ahead. The Islamic lunar calendar shifts 10 to 11 days backward each Gregorian year, so Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha land on different dates every trip. Coptic Easter and Sham el-Nessim follow the Coptic calendar, which also moves annually. Cross-check your travel dates against all three before you book flights or sleeper train tickets.

Fixed Date Public Holidays

Seven civil holidays fall on the same date every year. Government offices close. Banks shut. Private sector offices run skeleton staff or close entirely. Most archaeological sites stay open, and shops in visitor areas trade normally. Public transport runs reduced schedules.

January And February

Coptic Christmas Day on 7 January is a quiet religious observance. Major sites remain open. Expect thinner crowds at monasteries and churches. Revolution Day and Police Day on 25 January closes banks, but the Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir operate as usual. The mid-year school break runs two weeks from late January to early February. It drives a secondary travel surge on the Red Sea coast and in Luxor and Aswan.

Spring

Sham el-Nessim falls the day after Coptic Easter Sunday, which shifts annually. This is not a shutdown day. Egyptians picnic in parks and along the Nile. The tradition includes eating feseekh, a fermented salted fish that triggers annual food-poisoning warnings from the health ministry. You will see crowds at public gardens, but sites, banks and restaurants continue normal operations. Sinai Liberation Day on 25 April is a civil holiday. Red Sea resorts see higher domestic traffic. International services remain available. Labour Day on 1 May works the same way: banks close, sites stay open.

Summer And Autumn

30 June Revolution Day and 23 July Revolution Day are civil closures. Banks and government offices shut. The summer school break runs from mid-June to late September. Domestic travel peaks July through August. Red Sea hotels fill with families, and coastal bus routes from Cairo to Hurghada and Alexandria sell out days in advance. Armed Forces Day on 6 October follows the same pattern: banks closed, sites open, public transport reduced.

Lunar and Religious Holidays That Shift Every Year

Islamic holidays follow the lunar Hijri calendar, which is 10 to 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year. A holiday that falls on 10 June in 2025 lands near 30 May in 2026. Check the exact dates for your travel year before booking. The government publishes the official list annually.

Ramadan

Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days. During daylight hours, most cafés and restaurants close outside resorts. Service in shops slows. Alcohol sales are restricted except in establishments serving foreign visitors. Evening traffic in Cairo and Alexandria turns dangerous as everyone drives home for iftar. Hotels and Nile cruise boats serve food and drink as normal inside their premises. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice notes reduced working hours across government offices.

Eid al-Fitr

This three-day holiday begins immediately after Ramadan. Domestic travel spikes hard. The sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan sells out weeks in advance. Banks close for three days. Sites remain open except during morning prayers. Shops in Giza, Downtown Cairo and Luxor East Bank operate reduced hours. Budget for a hotel stay in one city rather than moving between cities during this window.

Eid al-Adha

The four-day holiday from 10 to 13 Dhu al-Hijjah is the single worst time to move between cities. Domestic travel peaks across every mode: trains sell out, long-distance bus seats vanish, and domestic flight prices triple. Government offices and banks close for four days. Sites close for morning prayers. If you are in the country during this period, pick one base and stay there. Red Sea resorts and Nile cruise boats operate normally, but you cannot change your itinerary on short notice.

Other Shifting Holidays

Islamic New Year on 1 Muharram and Prophet Muhammad's Birthday on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal are single-day closures. Banks shut; sites stay open. Coptic Easter Sunday varies each year; the day after is Sham el-Nessim, which does not shut anything down. The National Day of each governorate is a regional holiday that matters only if you are in that specific area.

Practical Impact on Your Itinerary

The failure case for most travellers is arriving during Eid al-Adha or the two-week winter school break with a plan to take the sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor. Sleeper train tickets cost USD 110 to 130 and cannot be bought with local currency. You must pay in hard currency or with a foreign-issued card. During the big feast, those tickets sell out four to six weeks ahead. Your backup is a domestic flight Cairo to Luxor, operated by EgyptAir and Nile Air, which also prices up during the period. Book that flight at least three weeks out.

During Ramadan, daytime food and drink are scarce outside your hotel. The pound is the dominant currency for small transactions; ATMs in cities and visitor centres work reliably, but rural ATMs in the Western Desert or Siwa Oasis do not. Carry enough cash in local currency for three days in any location without a bank branch. The SIM tax on foreign-registered phones kicks in after 90 days; if you stay shorter, you do not need to worry. Buy a local Vodafone or Orange SIM at Cairo International Airport baggage claim for passport-registered data.