2025 Public Holiday Dates

to Maximize Your PTO

At Safestay, we have made an executive decision to leave overpriced travel tickets, lack of time and hesitance of discovering the world in 2024. Our New Year’s resolutions in 2025 is more, more & mooooore.  

In this article we’ve compiled a list of all public holidays observed in Europe, UK & Argentina to help you plan your vacation or paid time off days and maximize your travel. We also share some quick tips on how to get the most out of this time, so read further to learn what you need.  

3 Ways to Maximize Your PTO 

Time is money and while that’s true, a wiser concept is recognizing that time off is just as valuable as time worked which we often forget. With a little smart planning and forward thinking you can turn your PTO into a greater adventure, hence why we wrote this out for you.  

Take time off around federal holidays 

To actually rest during your holidays should include a minimum of two days: one for the holiday itself, and another for either prep beforehand or reset afterward. You don’t want scrambling before/after the trip of a lifetime.  But also, it’s a smart way to apply PTO or ask for a mental health day if you get it with your job. 

Be strategic when using PTO for longer vacations 

Planning your PTO wisely is essential, especially when considering your work schedule and job demands. Busy seasons at work and the type of trip you’re planning can impact how flexible your time off can be. 

For instance, a cruise has set dates, so your PTO needs to align perfectly with the itinerary. Traveling internationally? Ask yourself if you’ll be ready to work Friday or if you’ll need an extra day to recover from jet lag. 

To get the most out of your PTO, start by defining your priorities and goals for your time off. This way, you can make your vacation days work harder for you. 

Try something new 

To truly feel like you’ve travelled even in a short span of 4 days, try to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Instead of a hotel or a bnb book your stay at a hostel. You will socialize with people from all backgrounds, you’ll have an outgoing plan for each day (pub crawls, workshops) and if you choose to stay with Safestay hostels & hotels you’ll be guaranteed a walking distance to all the landmarks on your must see list.  

Why Europe, UK & Argentina? 

Since efficiency & comfort are at the top of our priorities list we chose these three regions as 2/3 are places where we can host you at Safestay hostels & hotels. Adding Argentina was not a major brain teaser as we love and appreciate all of you that have visited us in the last year, crossing the ocean just to be with us, this list is the bare minimum we could do for you in return.  

Before we cover the entire world, be sure to explore Safestay hostels & hotels 17 fabulous city centre locations across Europe & UK. With 10-year anniversary of the Safestay hostels & hotels we have created loyal relationships with travel enthusiasts and learned so much from you. That’s why 2025 will be the year you will surely want to stay at Safestay during your travels.  

Europe 

Starting with the bank holidays universally observed by all countries in the European Union here is the list: 

Depending on your country of residence we advise you to check how the PTO is counted in case of bank holidays that fall on a weekend. But based on the above, it’s clear Easter and Christmas are the go-to times for travel. 

Poland’s labour code states that if a public holiday falls on a weekend, you may take one of the work days off either from previous or the upcoming week.  

The best time to travel if your job is based in Poland is certainly the beginning of May (Majówka). We recommend going somewhere warm to get the much needed vitamin D, so Safestay Lisbon Bairro Alto might be your best bet! 

Czech Republic 

Prague is only a night train away from Poland’s capital, so grab a ticket and an overnight bag and say Cześć when you arrive at Safestay Warsaw Old Town this Spring to see how the two countries celebrate Easter same same but different. 

Germany 

Below you will find national public holidays observed in Germany, however, it’s important to note that there are plenty unofficial and regional holidays. 

Germany and its capital are spoiled with the amazing music scene that lives in every corner you turn, but this April you must make time to visit Czech Republic, a short train ride away where you can stay at Safestay Prague Charles Bridge and see 25+ global stars that will perform in the month of April. More on that later…

Spain 

Similarly to Germany due to the high number of regions and hundreds of fiestas it’s worth to look into which dates does your place of work or university considers as a holiday. But below you’ll find national public holidays that are observed everywhere in Spain.  

This could be a great time to look further into your regional holiday calendar, add a couple PTO dates and make the trip to a little island up north. Our newest hostel in Edinburgh cannot be located more centrally, staying here also gives you an opportunity to take some day trips and explore the beautiful nature of Scotland. 

Just under an hour you can drop off your backpack at Safestay Glasgow Charing Cross and go for a classic Scottish party to revitalize yourself after a soulful trip through the highlands. 

Though if you don’t want to stretch yourself too thin, then look no further than Andalucia. Our second newest hostel Safestay Cordoba Mezquita Catedral is the go-to place for a short trip a long weekend allows. 

Portugal 

As you see below, Portugal is one of the countries with most public holidays during work days, which is the perfect opportunity for you to take a couple days off here & there and make a long weekend trip out to different European countries.  

We think this is the perfect opportunity to go fully transform your surroundings and travel to Slovakia. The city of Bratislava is full of hidden gems both historic and modern. Latter often influenced by the aesthetics and hipster movements of Lisbon. 

UK 

The United Kingdom of course consists of England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. Each of these regions have their additional holidays that are not always observed everywhere in the UK, though below is the short list of the bank holidays that you can be sure of.  

As you can see, there are several Monday bank holidays, allowing you to explore the UK further, whether in Scotland or England. You may also branch out and fly down to Berlin for a fabulous hotel stay at Safestay Berlin Kurfürstendamm.

Argentina 

In 2024 we noticed a high influx of guests coming from Argentina to stay at Safestay hostels across Europe and the UK. Not only does this give us immense happiness that each time you travel you choose us, but there’s something incredible about being chosen as the place to be for a trip over the ocean.  

Based on the table above, we just have to assume we will be seeing lots of Argentinian guests in 2025 as the country does not only have the most public holidays observed in the year, but most of them fall on the weekdays making every weekend a long one.  

This year gives you a perfect opportunity to plan something larger, maybe incorporate a few must see events taking place in Europe such as Primavera Sound Festival headlined by Charli XCX, Chappel Roan and Sabrina Carpenter or the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix both taking place in Barcelona.

Have a look at our hostels Barcelona, Spain:

• Safestay Barcelona Passeig de Gracia
• Safestay Barcelona Gothic

Honourable mentions:

Slovakia – Apart from the EU bank holiday 2025 calendar, there are a couple more public holidays that can help you plan a kickass vacation:

Belgium – Same story as in Slovakia, Belgium’s public holidays are very similar to Germany with a couple more additions:

The Takeaway

These are just the few public holidays that we found relevant to our readers. If you think we missed something please let us know via our Instagram which is a great platform to follow us on: we host giveaways, partnerships and provide exclusive content that makes your travels easier. 

Lastly, we truly appreciate you staying with us in 2024, and are looking forward to be your home away from home in 2025!