2025 is the year of the vacation. It's not us saying that, but a look at the calendar: many public vacations fall in such a way that we only need to take a few vacation days to get the most out of our time off. Clever planning can bring you more relaxation and experiences - you just need to know which days are involved. And that's exactly what we want to tell you here.
Find out which public holidays and bridging days are coming up, how you can best include them in your vacation planning and which destinations are most beautiful at that time.
Your overview: Public holidays in Germany in 2025
You have these days off in 2025:
- New Year's Day (January 1)
- Good Friday (April 18)
- Easter Monday (April 21)
- Labour Day (May 1)
- Ascension Day (May 29)
- Whit Monday (June 9)
- German Unity Day (October 3)
- Christmas (December 25 & 26)
These nine public holidays apply to all federal states. In addition, there are the public holidays of the individual federal states - such as Corpus Christi (on June 19 in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland), or Reformation Day (on October 31 in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). October in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia).
The number of public holidays varies from a maximum of 15 public holidays in Augsburg to 10 public holidays in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. We are referring here to the public holidays that all federal states have the same. And this shows that even if you 'only' have 10 public holidays, you can still take a lot of vacation.
Holiday planning 2025: make the most of these public holidays
January: start the new year relaxed
New Year falls on a Wednesday in 2025. So you can use January 02 and 03 to take a longer break and recharge your batteries for the new year.
2 vacation days (02. + 03.01.) = 5 days off (01. - 05.01.)
Our travel tips: If you long for sunshine in winter, we recommend a trip to South Africa. It's summer on the other side of the hemisphere when the days are gray and short here. Maybe you can even take a second week off so that you have enough time to discover Cape Town and the surrounding nature. Do you fancy the exact opposite with snow, the lowest temperatures and dark skies against which the Northern Lights look particularly good? Then you should travel to Norway and make unforgettable winter wonderland memories in Tromsø and the like.
April: Easter is really worth it
Late in April, you can take a really long break. From April 18 to 21 is the 'long Easter weekend'. So if you take your vacation the week before, you have a whole ten days off!
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vacation days (14 - 17.04.) = 10 days off (12 - 21.04.)Our travel tips: Sun in April? Please, yes! In the Canary Islands, there's a good chance that you can already lie on the beach here. On Lanzarote, temperatures are already climbing to 25°C, and even if it's still too cool for a beach day, the islands offer plenty of excursion destinations to see and experience new things. You can find four more tips from us on where you can already get that summer feeling in April here .
May: relax twice
May is twice as good for us. There are two public holidays coming up - namely 'Labor Day' (May 1) and Ascension Day (May 29). That makes two long weekends that you can use perfectly for a short trip.
1. Labor Day (May 1): A vacation day on Friday, May 2, gets you a 4-day weekend (May 1-4).
2. Ascension Day (May 29): A vacation day on Friday, May 30, gets you another 4-day weekend (May 29 to June 1).
Our travel tips: Long weekends are great for short trips to cities or spa hotels. We love strolling through alleyways, going to museums, watching the hustle and bustle in restaurants in the evening and having endless sightseeing options. That's why we are fans of city trips in Europe. In 2025, Bilbao, for example, is at the top of our list.
June: Pentecost comes in handy
Whit Monday allows us to really relax and fly off on our summer vacation halfway through the year. You only have to submit four vacation days and have 9 days off.
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vacation days (10. - 13.06.) = 9 days off (7. -15.06.)Our travel tips: Many people want to go on vacation in June. It can quickly happen that some cities and beaches become quite crowded. Not so at our insider tips for Europe. We've picked out four destinations for you that are still totally underrated. But shhh, don't tell anyone.
Autumn: The long break for the change of season
You can really enjoy the golden summer in 2025 if you use October 3rd in your planning. Submit four vacation days and you will have nine days off to fly or drive to your autumn vacation.
4 vacation days (29.09. - 02.10.) = 9 days off (27.09. - 05.10.)
Our travel tips: Are you still torn as to whether you want to extend the summer or start the fall? While it's still nice and warm in Seville, it's already getting a bit stormy on the North Sea. Let inspire you here with our fall travel destinations.
Christmas: Contemplatively on the slopes
Give yourself the greatest gift at the end of the year with a long break. Make the most of the Christmas period:
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vacation days (22 - 24.12.) = 9 days off (20 - 28.12.)Our travel tips: "I am dreaming of a white christmas" - do you feel the same way? Then why not spend Christmas in Europe's most beautiful ski resorts. Nowhere else will you have as much fun in the snow and feel the 'Christmas feeling' as here.
Holidays 2025: It's all in the planning
Thanks to our planning, we were able to turn 17 vacation days into 50 days off. Anyone who still has vacation days left can think about it: Do I extend my vacations each time? Or do I prefer to take shorter trips that are more frequent and give me time to take a deep breath?
Whatever you decide, always keep in mind: 2025 is the year of the vacation. Take it the smart way.
