Plan your long weekend on Wego
Live Wego fares in Saudi riyals, sampled 21 August 2026
Flying from
Pick a long weekend
How the days fall
Public holidayWeekendAnnual leaveWorking day
Where you can get to
The cheapest destinations from Saudi Arabia during long weekends
Saudi National Day, 23 to 26 September 2026. Cheapest nonstop return per adult, departure airport in brackets: Kuwait City SAR 604 (Riyadh), Dubai SAR 633 (Riyadh), Amman SAR 699 (Riyadh), Muscat SAR 700 (Dammam), Bahrain SAR 721 (Riyadh), Cairo SAR 760 (Jeddah), Istanbul SAR 934 (Jeddah), Doha SAR 993 (Riyadh) and Baku SAR 1,423 (Jeddah).
Founding Day, 19 to 22 February 2027. Dubai SAR 484 (Riyadh), Kuwait City SAR 608 (Riyadh), Amman SAR 651 (Riyadh), Cairo SAR 742 (Dammam), Istanbul SAR 831 (Riyadh), Doha SAR 918 (Riyadh), Bahrain SAR 982 (Jeddah), Baku SAR 1,034 (Riyadh) and Muscat SAR 1,267 (Riyadh).
Riyadh is the cheapest departure airport on 12 of the 18 route and window pairs, so where you start matters more than which holiday you pick. Widest gap: Doha in February, SAR 918 from Riyadh against SAR 3,088 from Jeddah. Dammam has no nonstop to Kuwait City or Baku on these dates, which is 3 of the 54 fares checked. Wego fares, 21 August 2026.
Every Saudi public holiday until end of 2027
| Holiday | Dates | Days off with no leave | Longest run with leave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi National Day | Wednesday 23 September 2026 | Just the one day, midweek. One leave day on Thursday 24 makes 4 | 9 days, 18 to 26 September, using 4 leave days |
| Founding Day | Monday 22 February 2027 | Just the one day, midweek. One leave day on Sunday 21 makes 4 | 9 days, 19 to 27 February, using 4 leave days |
| Eid al-Fitr Expected | Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 March 2027 | 4 days, Wednesday to Saturday | 9 days, 5 to 13 March, using 3 leave days |
| Arafat Day and Eid al-Adha Expected | Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 May 2027 | 5 days, Friday 14 to Tuesday 18 | 10 days, 13 to 22 May, using 3 leave days |
| Saudi National Day | Thursday 23 September 2027 | 3 days, Thursday to Saturday | 9 days, 17 to 25 September, using 4 leave days |
Saudi Arabia observes four public holidays a year: Founding Day, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and National Day. Founding Day and National Day are fixed Gregorian dates and safe to book against now. The two Eids follow the Hijri calendar, so the dates above are expected and confirmed by official announcement nearer the time. The working week runs Sunday to Thursday, which is why a midweek holiday needs a leave day to become a break at all.
Stay in Saudi Arabia over a long weekend: 23 to 26 September 2026
Why these dates: National Day falls on Wednesday 23 September 2026. One leave day on the Thursday runs the break through to Saturday, and the three nights below cover exactly that.
★★★★★
Fairmont Riyadh
Room level comparison
Prices cover the full three night booking for one room.
See live rates
More places to stay in Riyadh
Nine more properties Wego priced for the same three nights.
The cheapest places to stay over the National Day break
Three nights, 23 to 26 September 2026, two adults in one room, total for the stay: Jeddah from SAR 459 (City Center Plaza Aparthotel), Riyadh from SAR 534 (Towlan Khurais), Abha from SAR 624 (Al Qasr Hotel Suites - Airport (King Abdullah Road)) and AlUla from SAR 1,878 (Cloud 7 Residence AlUla).
Abha is the safest budget: every one of the 9 listed there comes in under SAR 2,000 for all three nights. AlUla is the outlier: Wego lists only 11 bookable properties there for these dates and the cheapest is SAR 1,878, because the valley is nearly all resort stock. Flexibility is priced very differently by city, from SAR 0 extra for a free-cancellation rate at Braira Abha to SAR 738 at Dar Tantora. Live Wego rates, 21 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many Saudi long weekends are left in 2026?
One. Saudi National Day falls on Wednesday 23 September 2026, and because the Saudi weekend is Friday and Saturday, that single midweek day is not a long weekend by itself. One leave day on Thursday 24 September carries it through to Saturday 26 September, which is four consecutive days off. The next public holiday after it is Founding Day on Monday 22 February 2027.
Which Saudi public holiday gives the longest break?
Eid al-Adha in May 2027. Arafat Day and Eid al-Adha are expected to run from Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 May 2027, and with the Friday weekend in front of them that is five consecutive days off for no leave at all. Two leave days on the Wednesday and Thursday afterwards stretch it to nine days, 14 to 22 May, and a third leave day on the Thursday before makes ten. Eid al-Fitr in March 2027 also reaches nine days, but it needs three leave days to get there.
Why is a Monday holiday not a long weekend in Saudi Arabia?
Because the Saudi weekend has been Friday and Saturday since June 2013, which makes the working week Sunday to Thursday. Sunday is a normal working day, so Founding Day on Monday 22 February 2027 sits on its own with a workday between it and the weekend. Taking Sunday 21 February as leave joins it to the Friday and Saturday and produces four days off. The same logic applies in reverse to a Wednesday holiday like National Day 2026.
What happens if a Saudi public holiday falls on the weekend?
It is compensated. Under the Saudi Regulations on Leaves, if National Day falls on a Saturday the holiday moves to the following Sunday, and if it falls on a Friday it moves to the preceding Thursday. Neither of the National Days in the table needs it: 23 September falls on a Wednesday in 2026 and a Thursday in 2027.
Is it cheaper to fly from Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam?
Riyadh, more often than not. On fares searched on 21 August 2026, Riyadh was the cheapest of the three airports on 12 of the 18 route and window pairs, and it holds the cheapest single fare in the whole set, Dubai at SAR 484 return per adult over Founding Day. The gaps can be large: Doha over Founding Day is SAR 918 from Riyadh but SAR 3,088 from Jeddah for the same 85 minute flight. Dammam is the most limited of the three, with no nonstop to Kuwait City or Baku on these dates.
How much is a three-night stay in Saudi Arabia over the National Day break?
For 23 to 26 September 2026, two adults in one room, the cheapest of the 40 properties listed above is City Center Plaza Aparthotel in Jeddah at SAR 459 for all three nights. Riyadh starts at SAR 534 and Abha at SAR 624, while AlUla is the expensive one at SAR 1,878 because almost all of its stock is resort stock. The dearest listed stay is Jeddah Hilton at SAR 14,043. All figures are live Wego rates for the full three nights, not per night.
Sources
- Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (the Regulations on Leaves, including the rule that National Day falling on a Saturday is compensated the following Sunday and on a Friday the preceding Thursday)
- Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (the statutory holiday and leave entitlements for the private sector)
- Saudipedia (confirmation that Saudi Arabia observes four official holidays, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, National Day on 23 September and Founding Day on 22 February)
- Wego holiday, flight and hotel data (Saudi public holiday dates from the Wego holiday calendar; cheapest nonstop return fares for one adult from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam across nine destinations on both priced windows, 54 searches in all; and live hotel rates and room-level rate sheets for 23 to 26 September 2026 in Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla and Abha, all sampled on 21 August 2026)
