New Zealand holiday planning
Find smart ways to place annual leave around New Zealand public holidays. Choose your region and leave allowance to see longer breaks and the exact working days to request.
Last reviewed: 25 August 2026
Free leave optimiser
Choose the public-holiday calendar that applies to you and how many working days you can request.
Standard work week assumed
Results assume you normally work Monday to Friday. Shift workers and alternative working weeks need a personalised calculation.
Your results
Option 1
Use 5 leave days for a 13-day break
Request these working days
Option 2
Use 5 leave days for a 13-day break
Request these working days
Option 3
Use 5 leave days for a 13-day break
Request these working days
Option 4
Use 4 leave days for a 12-day break
Request these working days
Option 5
Use 4 leave days for a 12-day break
Request these working days
Option 6
Use 3 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 7
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 8
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 9
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 10
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 11
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Option 12
Use 5 leave days for a 11-day break
Request these working days
Before you book: This planner does not approve leave or determine holiday entitlement. Confirm the dates with your employer before paying for travel or accommodation.
Select the year, the region whose anniversary day applies to your workplace and the maximum leave you want to use in one break. The planner joins public holidays with weekends and ranks continuous breaks by total length.
Each option separates total calendar days away from the working days to request. Public holidays and weekends extend the break without being counted as annual leave under the planner’s Monday-to-Friday assumption.
The calendar includes nationwide public holidays plus one selected regional anniversary day. Anniversary observance can depend on where you work and local custom, so check the date with your employer.
A public holiday is not automatically a day off for everyone. Shift patterns, otherwise-working-day rules, transferred holidays and employment agreements can change the days that should be requested.
Public holidays such as Waitangi Day, Easter, Anzac Day, Matariki, King’s Birthday and Labour Day can sit beside a weekend. Requesting the surrounding working days can create a longer holiday while using fewer days from your annual leave balance.
Christmas and New Year can create another useful window, but observed dates change with the weekday on which each holiday falls. Use the year selector instead of assuming last year’s leave pattern still applies.
The planner currently covers 2026 and 2027 public-holiday dates. Results use calendar arithmetic rather than estimating the dates. We review the dataset against Employment New Zealand and clearly label regional holidays in the calculation.
Easter is one of the strongest opportunities for a long weekend because Good Friday and Easter Monday sit on opposite sides of the same weekend. The planner tests the working days before and after Easter automatically.
Good Friday is 3 April 2026 and Easter Monday is 6 April 2026. Taking 30 March–2 April uses four leave days for a possible 10-day break from 28 March–6 April.
Good Friday is 26 March 2027 and Easter Monday is 29 March 2027. Taking 30 March–2 April uses four leave days for a possible 10-day break from 26 March–4 April.
These examples assume a Monday-to-Friday work week and approved leave. Easter Sunday is not treated as a working day in that pattern.
Compare leave around Waitangi Day, Easter weekend, Anzac Day, King’s Birthday, Matariki, Labour Day, Christmas and New Year. Selecting your region also adds its anniversary day, which can create a local long weekend that a national-only calendar misses.
Christmas and New Year breaks can cross from one calendar year into the next. KiwiTools includes adjacent-year public holidays when ranking those options so the recommended working days remain connected to the complete break.
Confirm public-holiday dates, otherwise-working-day rules and annual-holiday rights using official guidance and your employment agreement.
Choose a year, region and maximum number of annual leave days. The planner compares weekdays, weekends and listed public holidays, then ranks longer continuous breaks and shows the working days you would need to request.
Yes. Select the relevant region to include its listed anniversary day. Employers and local observance can vary, so confirm the date that applies to your workplace.
No. The planner assumes a standard Monday-to-Friday working week. Saturdays, Sundays and listed public holidays are counted in the break but not as leave days.
Not necessarily. Entitlements depend on whether the day would otherwise be a working day and on your employment circumstances. Check your agreement and Employment New Zealand guidance.
Yes. The planner downloads a calendar file containing the working days in that suggestion. It is a planning reminder, not an approved leave request.
No. Submit leave through your employer’s normal process and wait for approval before making non-refundable bookings.
Good Friday is 3 April 2026 and Easter Monday is 6 April 2026. For a standard Monday-to-Friday worker, requesting 30 March to 2 April can create a 10-day break from Saturday 28 March through Monday 6 April.
Good Friday is 26 March 2027 and Easter Monday is 29 March 2027. Requesting 30 March to 2 April can create a 10-day break from Friday 26 March through Sunday 4 April for a standard Monday-to-Friday worker.
The best dates depend on your region, roster and available leave. Use the planner to compare Easter, Matariki, Labour Day, Christmas, New Year and the anniversary day that applies to your workplace.