Tourism is a big industry in the Dominican Republic and the many holidays stimulate domestic travel. The holidays celebrate Roman Catholic religious dates and mark important historical events. In some years more than others commemorative dates are switched around to accommodate work.
This year, the Ministry of Labor has only changed two dates that will celebrate important events to the nearest Monday. Nevertheless, a record 11 long vacation periods are created.
In 1997, the government introduced the legislation that defines Dominican holidays, and on which day of the week these would be celebrated. For instance, 1 May, Labor Day in the Dominican Republic, is celebrated on the Monday closest to the actual date. In 2024, this holiday was held on 29 April, since 1 May was a Wednesday. In 2025, the holiday will be held on Monday 5 May, since the 1 May is a Thursday.
The same holds true for Constitution Day, which celebrates the first constitution of the Dominican Republic on 6 November. This year, the holiday will be held on 19 November, the following Monday.
For travel planners, the long weekends this year will be:
New Year long weekend. Given that the 31 December this year falls on a Tuesday, expect the last week of the year to be extra long and even 11-day holiday, for those who don’t work in the tourism or shopping industries and can take the time off. That is because people will be taking off from Friday, 27 December 2024 including the real holiday 1 January that falls on a Wednesday. Many people will consider continuing the vacation because the next holiday, 6 January, falls on a Monday. So, don’t expect any major business project to get done from 27 December through 6 January 2025 (Three Kings Day), another national holiday.
The good news is that these are excellent days for those who stay in urban areas, too. Traffic will be at a low and major shops will be open as usual.
Next on the list of extra vacation days is Tuesday, 21 January 2025. Given that it falls on a Tuesday, expect those who can to turn the previous weekend into a five-day vacation time from 18 January through 21 January, included. Again, this will be another good time for shopping in the big cities.
This year, Independence Day (27 February) falls on a Thursday. This means, expect many to take the long weekend off – 27, 28, 1, and 2 March 2025.
Next on the list is Easter Week. This year, it is celebrated the week of 11 to 20 April 2025, with Good Friday being the only official holiday. Schools are close for this vacation time. As on several other occasions, this is a time to enjoy the cities with less traffic and people. With the exception of Good Friday, most stores will remain open for shopping all throughout the week.
Labor Day in the Dominican Republic falls on Thursday, 1 May 2025. This creates another long weekend for those who can, from Thursday 1 May through Monday, 6 May 2025.
Thursday, 19 June 2025 celebrates the religious holiday of Corpus Christi. Most schools will give their students time to enjoy the unofficial long weekend.
Constitution Day falls on Thursday, 6 November but this year, the government is moving the holiday to Monday, 10 November 2025. This means many will take off from Friday through Monday, a normal long weekend.
Christmas time this year calls for a similar situation as New Year. Christmas Day falls on 25 December, a Thursday, and is the official holiday, but most offices will close on Wednesday, 24 December, the traditional day for the gathering of family and friends. The partying and vacation time, for those who can, will then start on 24 December, and continue over the weekend on Thursday, 25 December, Friday, 26 December, Saturday, 27 December and Sunday, 28 December. People get to work on Monday and Tuesday, before party time for 31 December and 1 January 2026.
For your information and planning, here is a list of the national holidays for 2025 in the Dominican Republic:
Wednesday, 1 January, New Years Day
Monday, 6 January, Three Kings Day
Tuesday, 21 January, the Feast of Our Lady of Grace, the Patroness of the Dominican Republic
Sunday, 26 January, Juan Pablo Duarte Day. One of the founders.
Thursday, 27 February, Dominican Independence Day
Friday 18 April, Holy Friday of Easter Week
Labor Day (1 May) will be moved to Monday 5 May.
Thursday, 19 June is Corpus Christi
Saturday, 16 August, is Restoration Day
Wednesday, 24 September is the feast of Our Lady of Mercy
Constitution Day (6 November) will be celebrated on Monday, 10 November
Thursday, 25 December is Christmas Day.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Labor
Listin Diario
18 November 2024