Long weekends to look forward to in 2018

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After enduring four months of a “long weekend drought” (thanks a lot calendar, for putting 1 July on a Saturday), Hongkongers finally catch a break with the upcoming 1 October long weekend.

With just three months to go before the end of 2017, it is never too early to plan ahead for your holidays in 2018,  since applying for annual leave can be “mission impossible” at some organisations.

Here is a month by month breakdown of the public holidays in 2018 and some tactics to help maximise your days off:

January 

The first day of January in 2018 is on a Monday … a nice long weekend.

February

Next year’s Chinese New Year Holiday starts on Friday 16 February and ends on 19 February Monday. What bad luck to have yet another public holiday fall on a Saturday.

March/April Easter next year is going to be great! One can get 10 consecutive days off by taking three days of leave. The Easter holidays on 30 March and 2 April, coupled with Ching Ming Festival on 5 April, means one can take 3, 4 and 6 of April off for a 10-day break.

May  Take Monday 30 April off and you get four consecutive days, along with the Labour Day holiday on 1 May. The 22nd of May is Buddha’s birthday, so one can also take Monday 21 May off to enjoy a four-day break.

July After bring ripped off on 1 July in 2017, Hongkongers are going to enjoy a long weekend in 2018 – 2 July, the day following Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, is a Monday.

September  The mid-autumn festival on 25 September and the National Day holiday on 1 October mean workers are able to take four days of leave (24, 26, 27 and 28 September) in exchange for a 10-day break.

October The Chung Yeung Festival in 2018 falls on Wednesday17 October.  Not much for employees to gain except for a mid-week break.

December 2018 Take  24, 27, 28 and 31 December off and you’ve got yourself an 11-day break along with Christmas and New Year’s Day.