Short answer: Four periods reprice domestic travel: Holy Week in March or April, Undas from 31 October to 2 November, the stretch from Christmas Eve to New Year, and the school summer break from roughly March to May. Holiday dates are set by presidential proclamation each year and published in the Official Gazette, usually the year before.
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Search on Trip.comFor travellers choosing dates, and for anyone who has been told the Philippines has no high season. Fixed holiday dates below are set in statute; movable and special days are proclaimed annually. Last checked 30 July 2026 - confirm the specific year's proclamation before booking around a long weekend.
How we compiled this
We separated the holidays that are fixed in law from those proclaimed annually, because only the first group can be planned around years ahead. We then mapped each against the practical effect on domestic transport and accommodation rather than on office closures, since that is what changes a traveller's cost. Dates that move with the lunar or liturgical calendar are described by their rule, not by a guessed date.
| Occasion | Date rule | Type | Travel impact |
|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January, fixed | Regular holiday | Peak, tail of the Christmas period |
| Maundy Thursday and Good Friday | Movable, March or April | Regular holidays | Highest domestic demand of the year |
| Araw ng Kagitingan | 9 April, fixed | Regular holiday | Often adjacent to Holy Week |
| Labor Day | 1 May, fixed | Regular holiday | Long weekend if it falls well |
| Independence Day | 12 June, fixed | Regular holiday | Moderate |
| National Heroes Day | Last Monday of August | Regular holiday | Guaranteed long weekend |
| Undas | 1-2 November | Special non-working | Largest internal movement of the year |
| Bonifacio Day | 30 November, fixed | Regular holiday | Moderate |
| Christmas Day and Rizal Day | 25 and 30 December, fixed | Regular holidays | Peak, book months ahead |
Regular holidays and special non-working days are not the same thing
Philippine holidays come in two legal classes and the distinction explains what you will find closed. A regular holiday carries full pay for unworked days and a premium for work performed. A special non-working day operates on a no-work-no-pay basis unless a company chooses otherwise, with a smaller premium.
The consequence for a visitor is that regular holidays close things comprehensively - government offices, banks, many businesses - while special non-working days close them patchily. A mall stays open on a special day and a Bureau of Immigration office does not.
If your trip includes an errand that needs a government counter - a visa extension, a licence conversion, a permit - check which class the date falls into. A special non-working day is not a safe bet for official business either, but a regular holiday is a guaranteed closure.
The four periods when domestic travel becomes a different market
Holy Week is the largest. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are regular holidays and the surrounding week empties the cities, with airfares and island accommodation pricing accordingly and ferries running full.
Undas, spanning 1 and 2 November, produces the single biggest simultaneous internal movement of the year as families travel to home provinces for the cemeteries. Buses, ferries and domestic flights are the constraint rather than hotels, because most of the travelling population is staying with relatives.
The Christmas period runs long, effectively from mid-December to the first week of January, with Christmas Day and Rizal Day on 30 December both regular holidays. And the school summer break, roughly March to May, is a season rather than a spike - it is why Baguio, Boracay and the beach destinations are busiest in the driest months.
Holy Week shuts more than visitors expect
Holy Week is worth singling out because its effects go beyond price. Good Friday in particular sees a large share of ordinary commerce close, transport schedules thin out, and some destinations observe the day in ways that suspend tourist activity entirely.
Alcohol service is restricted in some localities, island-hopping operators may not sail, and processions occupy town centres. In parts of the country, notably Pampanga, the week includes public rituals that draw very large crowds of domestic spectators.
This is not an argument against travelling then - it is one of the more interesting weeks in the Philippine calendar. It is an argument against arriving unaware, expecting a normal beach week, and finding the boats tied up.
Undas moves the whole country at once
All Saints' Day on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November together form Undas, when families gather at cemeteries. The travel pattern is distinctive: heavy outbound movement from Manila and Cebu toward the provinces in the days before, and heavy return traffic after.
For a foreign visitor the practical advice is inverted from the usual. Cities are quieter and more pleasant during Undas itself; the problem is getting anywhere. Book domestic transport a month ahead or plan to stay put.
Long-distance buses and provincial ferries feel this more than international flights, so a trip structured around a single base with local activities survives Undas comfortably while an island-hopping itinerary does not.
How the dates are actually set each year
Fixed-date holidays sit in statute. The movable ones - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Eid'l Fitr and Eid'l Adha - and the full list of special non-working days are set by presidential proclamation, typically issued the preceding year and published in the Official Gazette.
Two things follow. Additional special days are frequently proclaimed to create long weekends, so the calendar for a given year is longer than the statutory list. And Islamic holidays are declared close to the date because they depend on lunar observation, which means they cannot be reliably predicted far ahead.
The Official Gazette proclamation is the authoritative source. Aggregator sites reproduce it, and they reproduce last year's version more often than anyone admits.
What most guides get wrong about Philippine holidays
The most common error is publishing a holiday list for a future year as settled fact. Only the statutory fixed dates are knowable in advance. Movable religious dates and the special non-working days that create long weekends come from an annual proclamation, and a list that presents them all with equal confidence is guessing about half of it.
The second is treating Undas as a minor local observance. It generates the largest internal movement of the Philippine year, and an itinerary with a domestic flight or a long bus leg on 30 or 31 October is competing with tens of millions of people for the same seats.
The third is the claim that the Philippines has no high season because it is tropical. Domestic demand creates sharper seasonality than weather does. The most expensive weeks in Boracay are driven by Holy Week and the school break, not by rainfall, and a traveller optimising only for dry weather books straight into the peak.
Frequently asked questions
When is the busiest time to travel in the Philippines?
Holy Week in March or April, followed by Undas on 1 and 2 November and the Christmas to New Year period. The school break from March to May is a sustained high season rather than a spike.
What is the difference between a regular holiday and a special non-working day?
Regular holidays such as Christmas Day carry full pay when unworked and close government offices and banks comprehensively. Special non-working days such as Undas on 1 November are no-work-no-pay by default, and closures are patchier.
What is Undas?
All Saints' Day on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November, when families travel to home provinces for the cemeteries. It produces the largest simultaneous internal movement of the Philippine year.
How far ahead are holiday dates announced?
Fixed dates are in statute. Movable and special days come by presidential proclamation, usually issued the preceding year, though Islamic holidays are declared close to the date because they follow lunar observation.
Does anything close during Holy Week?
Considerably. Good Friday sees widespread commercial closures, thinned transport schedules, alcohol restrictions in some localities, and island-hopping operators that may not sail at all.
