Long weekends in Benin, 2026
In 2026, holidays give Benin6 runs of at least three consecutive days off. Below they are listed in calendar order, followed by the bridge days that stretch a short break into a long one.
Every long weekend, in date order
| Starts | Ends | Days off | Because of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 4 Apr | Mon 6 Apr | 3 days | Easter Sunday, Easter Monday |
| Fri 1 May | Sun 3 May | 3 days | Labour Day |
| Sat 23 May | Mon 25 May | 3 days | Whit Monday |
| Sat 24 Oct | Mon 26 Oct | 3 days | Armed Forces Day |
| Sat 28 Nov | Mon 30 Nov | 3 days | National Day |
| Fri 25 Dec | Sun 27 Dec | 3 days | Christmas Day, St. Stephen's Day |
Bridge days
A bridge day is a lone working day sitting between a holiday and the weekend. Book that one day as leave and the time off joins up into four days or more. Offices tend to be quiet on these dates even though nobody is officially off.
| Date | Weekday | Next to |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 2026 | Friday | New Year's Day |
| 15 May 2026 | Friday | Ascension Day |
The cheapest leave of the year: spending 2days of annual leave on the bridges above gives you 2 breaks of at least four days. Expect colleagues to have the same idea, so request these early.
How we find them
Each day of 2026 is marked as a working day or a day off, using Benin's weekend pattern and its nationwide holidays. Consecutive days off are joined into runs; a run of three days or more that includes at least one holiday counts as a long weekend. A plain two-day weekend never qualifies.
Regional holidays are not part of this calculation. If your region has its own dates, you may get extra long weekends that do not appear in the national list.
Back to the Benin2026 holiday calendar or check working days between two dates.