If you thought 202 was generous with its 11 weekends, just wait till you see the long weekends of 2020. With a total of 17 potentially long weekends, 2020 could officially be the year of travel. If you take a day off in April you can vacation for 5 days. Two days off in August allows you a six-day holiday and November has four days of rest without the need to apply for leave. Here’s the complete list: 

long weekends of 2020


Long weekends in January 2020

Wednesday, 1 January – New Year
Thursday, 2 January – Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti (restricted)
Friday, 3 January – Take the day off
Saturday, 4 January 
Sunday, 5 January
Consider: Andaman for scuba-diving; Karnataka for spotting leopards and panthers; Ooty for its weather, Skiing trip to Auli, Uttarakhand; Kutch Gujarat for the White Desert

Long weekends in February 2020

Friday, 21 Feb: Maha Shivratri (restricted)
Saturday, 22 Feb
Sunday, 23 Feb
Monday, 24 February – Take the day off
Consider: Goa for its carnival (22-25 Feb); Gulmarg for snowboarding; Ladakh for Tibetan New Year (24 february to 26 February)

Long weekends in March 2020

Saturday, 7 March 
Sunday, 8 March
Monday, 9 March – Take the day off
Tuesday, 10 March – Holi 
Consider: Ranthambore for spotting tigers; Vrindavan for Holi; Shillong for the Bara Bazar; Mount Abu before the summer kicks in; Vrindavan-Mathura for Holi; Ooty for picturesque views; Sikkim for a peaceful getaway; Hampi for its ruins and landscapes.

Long weekends in April 2020

Thursday, 2 April – Ram Navami (restricted)
Friday, 3 April- Take the day off 
Saturday, 4 April
Sunday, 5 April
Monday – 6 April – Mahavir Jayanti (restricted)
Friday, 10 April- Good Friday 
Saturday, 11 April
Sunday, 12 April
Consider: Auli to beat the heat; Darjeeling for the tea plantations and watching the sunrise; Kalimpong for river-rafting; Dalhousie for snow-clad mountains; the Maldives for scuba diving; Thailand for Songkran (water fight; 13 April to 15 April)


Long weekends in May 2020

Friday, 1 May- Labour Day/Maharashtra Day 
Saturday, 2 May 
Sunday, 3 May

Thursday, 7 May – Buddha Purnima
Friday, 8 May – Take the day off
Saturday, 9 May
Consider: Spiti for its mountainscapes; Bir-Billing for paragliding; Kerala for its backwaters;  Nagaland for its cool weather; Tadoba, Maharashtra, for tiger spotting; Ooty for the flower show

Long weekends in August 2020

Saturday, 1 August 
Sunday, 2 August 
Monday, 3 August – Rakshabandhan

Wednesday, 12 August – Janmashtami (restricted)
Thursday, 13 August – Take the day off
Friday, 14 August – Take the day off 
Saturday, 15 August – Independence Day 
Sunday,16 August 
Monday, 17 August – Parsi New Year 
Saturday, 29 August 
Sunday, 30 August – Muharram 
Monday, 31 August – Onam (restricted)
Consider: Kerala for Onam; Uttarakhand for the Valley of Flowers; Cherapunjee for the monsoon; Lahaul for Yak Safari; Mussoorie for its waterfalls; Tanzania for the great migration; Pondicherry for the coffee plantations; Ha Long Bay, Vietnam for limestone islands and rainforests

Long weekends in October 2020

Friday, 2 October – Gandhi Jayanti
Saturday, 3 October
Sunday, 4 October

Thursday, 29 October – Id-e-milad
Friday, 30 October – Take the day off
Saturday, 31 October 
Sunday, 1 November
Consider: Rishikesh for river rafting; Mysore for Dussehra; Pachmari for the sunrises; Varkala for its beaches

Long weekends in November 2020

Friday, 13 November – Dhanteras
Saturday, 14 November – Diwali 
Sunday, 15 November 
Monday, 16 November – Bhaiduj
Saturday, 28 November 
Sunday, 29 November 
Monday, 30 November – Guru Nanak Jayanti 
Consider: Agra for Taj Mahal; Jaisalmer for its fort and museums; Amritsar for the Golden Temple Diwali celebrations (14 November); Varanasi for Diwali fireworks; Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh for tiger spotting; Jaisalmer for its desert safari

Long weekends in December 2020

Friday, 25 December – Christmas
Saturday, 26 December 
Sunday, 27 December 
Thursday, 31 January – Take the day off 
Friday, 1 January 2020 – New Year
Consider: Goa for its Christmas festivities; Daman & Diu for experiencing Portuguese traditions; Kerala for its Christmas decorated houseboats