From long, sun-drenched summer escapes to crisp alpine getaways, the year ahead is full of possibilities. The best adventures begin with a well-marked calendar, so we\u2019ve put together a complete guide to New Zealand\u2019s 2026 public holidays, long weekends, and school term breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Year\u2019s Day and the Day after New Year\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thursday, 1 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 2 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waitangi Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 6 February<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good Friday and Easter Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 3 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 6 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anzac Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Saturday, 25 April (observed, Monday 27 April)<\/p>\n\n\n\n King\u2019s Birthday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 1 June<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matariki<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 10 July<\/p>\n\n\n\n Labour Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 26 October<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christmas Day and Boxing Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday 25 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saturday, 26 December (observed Monday, 28 December)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Term 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start date: Monday, 26 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n End date: Thursday, 2 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n Term 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start date: Monday, 20 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n End date: Friday, 3 July<\/p>\n\n\n\n Term 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start date: Monday, 20 July<\/p>\n\n\n\n End date: Friday, 25 September<\/p>\n\n\n\n Term 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start date: Monday, 12 October<\/p>\n\n\n\n End date: Friday, 18 December<\/p>\n\n\n\n Auckland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 26 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canterbury (South)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday 28 September<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canterbury<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 13 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatham Islands<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 30 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hawke\u2019s Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Friday, 23 October<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marlborough<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 2 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nelson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 2 February<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otago<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 23 March<\/p>\n\n\n\n Southland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuesday, 7 April<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taranaki<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 9 March<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wellington<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 19 January<\/p>\n\n\n\n Westland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday, 30 November<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tips for planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n With a little planning, you can turn 2026 into a year of escapes, adventures, and well-deserved breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Book early: Long weekends and school holidays are always in high demand, so it\u2019s always advisable to secure accommodation well head of time. Explore Bachcare\u2019s wide range of holiday homes in New Zealand to find the best spot for your next getaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maximise your annual leave: Plan your annual leave days strategically and turn three-day weekends into week-long getaways. A little forward thinking can go a long way to ensure you have more time to relax and recharge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plan around school terms: For parents, long weekends are perfect for short road trips and local escapes, while school term breaks are key to planning longer holidays that suit the whole family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From long, sun-drenched summer escapes to crisp alpine getaways, the year ahead is full of possibilities. The best adventures begin with a well-marked calendar, so we\u2019ve put together a complete guide to New Zealand\u2019s 2026 public holidays, long weekends, and school term breaks. NZ public holidays 2026 New Year\u2019s Day and the Day after New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":50089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Your Guide to Public Holidays 2026 and Long Weekends in NZ | Bachcare Blog","_seopress_titles_desc":"Plan your year ahead with our guide to NZ\u2019s 2026 public holidays, long weekends, and school term breaks \u2014 perfect for road trips, getaways, and well-earned breaks","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50088,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50085\/revisions\/50088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bachcare.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}NZ school term dates in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Regional anniversary days in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n