A list of public
holidays in Portugal checked and updated 23rd May 2018
Holidays are always observed on the day they fall and are not moved to a convenient Monday as in the UK.
Buses and trains usually run to Sunday/Holiday
timetables on public holidays. At Christmas and New Year
timetables may be changed completely.
On Christmas Eve December 24th and New
Year's Eve December 31st Businesses and shops close
early, around 6 or 7pm. On Christmas Eve virtually everything
closes early including bars and restaurants. Some late-evening
buses and trains (especially long-distance services) will not run.
This information is announced about two weeks beforehand.
Major malls and supermarkets are usually open all
day on public and religious holidays, except on Christmas Day and
New Year's Day. when they remain closed.
Some also close on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and May 1st. You
will need to check locally and/or nearer the time.
In tourist areas, smaller shops usually stay open
all day except some will close on Good Friday and / or Easter
Sunday.
On Christmas Day and New Year's Day shops are closed. Most small
shops in the villages and of course all post offices and banks
observe the holidays strictly.
School holiday breaks 2018 - apart from the
obvious dates below, schools will be on holiday at these times,
therefore the 'Schooldays only' buses will not run :
'half term' break is the week commencing Monday 12th February
Easter Break begins Monday 26th March, lessons recommence Monday
9th April
Last day of term 30th June although some schools finish earlier.
Winter term 2018 generally starts on the second Monday of
September and ends on the Friday before Christmas
Summer bus timetables (where different) apply from 1st July until
(generally) the second Sunday of September
SPANISH PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Cross border travel may be affected. Do check before making firm
plans. In particular, some of the cross border buses (coaches)
between Seville, the Algarve region and Lisbon do NOT operate on
December 25th and January 1st. They do operate on most other major
holidays.
For a list of all the timetables on the site,
click here
For an alphabetical list of places in the Algarve, click here
For some important general notes about buses in the Algarve, click
here
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