Holidays from Abu Dhabi and Dubai
UAE National Day Holiday Packages: Trips That Fit the Long Weekend
UAE National Day falls on 2 December, and the public holiday usually gives residents a long weekend. The trips that fit it are short flights of under four hours: Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Oman, for three or four nights with flights and hotel.
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Packages
Trips you can book
Every package can change: dates, nights, hotel grade and tours. Prices are per person and dated.
3 or 4 nights
3 or 4 nights
3 or 4 nights
2 to 4 nights
01
This year's holiday dates and how many days you get off
UAE National Day is on 2 December. In 2026, 2 December falls on a Wednesday, so the number of days off depends on how the government sets the holiday this year. In most years the holiday covers 2 and 3 December, and when it joins a weekend, residents get three or four days without taking leave. We update this table as soon as the official dates are announced.
UAE National Day 2026
- Official dates
- Ask us
- Days off (with weekend)
- Ask us
- Our page
- This page
School winter break 2026
- Official dates
- 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (Ministry of Education and most Dubai and Sharjah private schools)
- Days off (with weekend)
- About three weeks
- Our page
- Winter holidays
Eid al Fitr 2027
- Official dates
- Ask us
- Days off (with weekend)
- Ask us
- Our page
- Eid holidays
Eid al Adha 2027
- Official dates
- Ask us
- Days off (with weekend)
- Ask us
- Our page
- Eid holidays
UAE public holiday windows for the 2026 to 2027 season. All dates are confirmed against the official announcement before we sell trips for them.
| Holiday | Official dates | Days off (with weekend) | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE National Day 2026 | Ask us | Ask us | This page |
| School winter break 2026 | 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (Ministry of Education and most Dubai and Sharjah private schools) | About three weeks | Winter holidays |
| Eid al Fitr 2027 | Ask us | Ask us | Eid holidays |
| Eid al Adha 2027 | Ask us | Ask us | Eid holidays |
02
National Day packages: trips that fit the long weekend
A National Day trip has one job: to fit the days you have off, with as little leave as possible. That rules out long-haul flights for most people. The trips above are built around three or four nights, with flights that leave the evening the holiday starts and come back the night before work.
Georgia
Tbilisi for the old town and food, with a day trip to the mountains at Kazbegi or Gudauri.
Georgia tour package
Azerbaijan
Baku suits a short break: the old city, the seafront boulevard and an easy day out to Gobustan or the mountains at Shahdag.
Azerbaijan tour package
Armenia
Yerevan, Garni Temple, Geghard Monastery and Lake Sevan fit neatly into three or four nights.
Armenia tour package
Oman
The closest trip of all. Drive to Musandam or fly to Muscat for mountains, wadis and the coast.
Oman tour from Dubai
- 01
Day 1: Fly out
Evening flight from Abu Dhabi or Dubai on the first day of the holiday.
- 02
Day 2: Tbilisi
Walk the old town, ride the cable car to Narikala Fortress and eat at a local restaurant in the evening.
- 03
Day 4: Fly home
Free morning for shopping, then the flight back in time for the first working day.
That is a sample shape for a four-day Georgia trip. Baku and Yerevan follow the same pattern: one city day, one day out of the city, and flights at either end that avoid using a full day of the holiday.
Every package is a starting point. We change the hotel, add a night, or swap a day tour for free time, then send you a written quote with the price for your exact dates.
03
Prices for holiday weeks, and why they rise
Holiday weeks cost more than normal weeks. The reason is simple: a large share of UAE residents want to fly out on the same two or three evenings, and airlines and hotels price for that demand. The first seats on each flight cost the least, and the price climbs as they sell. By the last week before the holiday, fares on popular routes can be well above a normal weekend.
Georgia
- Nights
- 3 or 4
- Normal week from
- On request
- National Day week from
- On request
- Valid until
- Ask us
Azerbaijan
- Nights
- 3 or 4
- Normal week from
- On request
- National Day week from
- On request
- Valid until
- Ask us
Armenia
- Nights
- 3 or 4
- Normal week from
- On request
- National Day week from
- On request
- Valid until
- Ask us
Oman
- Nights
- 2 to 4
- Normal week from
- On request
- National Day week from
- On request
- Valid until
- Ask us
Kazakhstan
- Nights
- 4
- Normal week from
- On request
- National Day week from
- On request
- Valid until
- Ask us
Holiday-week prices per person, sharing a double room, with flights and hotel. Prices are dated and confirmed before you pay.
| Trip | Nights | Normal week from | National Day week from | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 3 or 4 | On request | On request | Ask us |
| Azerbaijan | 3 or 4 | On request | On request | Ask us |
| Armenia | 3 or 4 | On request | On request | Ask us |
| Oman | 2 to 4 | On request | On request | Ask us |
| Kazakhstan | 4 | On request | On request | Ask us |
- Flying out the evening before the holiday starts often costs less than the first morning of the holiday.
- Coming back a day early, or a day after the crowd, can lower the fare.
- A smaller hotel in the same area often costs much less than a chain hotel in the same week.
- Booking three to six weeks ahead usually saves the most.
04
Short-flight picks for a 3 to 5 day holiday
With three to five days, flight time matters more than anything else. Every hour in the air is an hour less at the destination. These destinations are all under four hours from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and most UAE residents can enter with an e-visa or a visa on arrival, so there is no long visa wait before the holiday.
Georgia
- Flight time
- Under 4 hours
- Good for
- Food, mountains, first snow of the season
- Visa for UAE residents
- Ask us
Azerbaijan
- Flight time
- Under 4 hours
- Good for
- City break, old town, seafront
- Visa for UAE residents
- Ask us
Armenia
- Flight time
- Under 4 hours
- Good for
- Monasteries, history, mountain views
- Visa for UAE residents
- Ask us
Kazakhstan
- Flight time
- Under 4 hours
- Good for
- Almaty and mountain day trips
- Visa for UAE residents
- Ask us
Oman
- Flight time
- About 1 hour by air, or a drive
- Good for
- Coast, wadis, mountains
- Visa for UAE residents
- Ask us
Short-flight destinations for a National Day break. Visa rules depend on your passport and residence visa; we check yours before you book.
| Destination | Flight time | Good for | Visa for UAE residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Under 4 hours | Food, mountains, first snow of the season | Ask us |
| Azerbaijan | Under 4 hours | City break, old town, seafront | Ask us |
| Armenia | Under 4 hours | Monasteries, history, mountain views | Ask us |
| Kazakhstan | Under 4 hours | Almaty and mountain day trips | Ask us |
| Oman | About 1 hour by air, or a drive | Coast, wadis, mountains | Ask us |
Early December is cool to cold in the Caucasus and Kazakhstan, so pack warm layers. Oman is mild and suits families who would rather not deal with coats and boots. If you only have two nights, our weekend trips from Dubai page lists the shortest options.
05
Staying in the UAE for National Day
Not everyone wants to fly over the long weekend.
- A desert safari Abu Dhabi with dinner at a camp. Desert camps fill up over National Day, so book early.
- A hotel staycation in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. We handle hotel booking for one night or the whole weekend.
- A city tour for relatives visiting for the holiday.
If you have relatives visiting for the holiday, plan the busy days first. Book the desert trip and any hotel nights as soon as your dates are fixed, then fill the quieter days with free things such as the Corniche and the Grand Mosque.
Hotel prices in the UAE also rise over National Day, especially by the beach. The same booking advice applies: decide early, and ask us to compare two or three hotels side by side.
06
When to book for each holiday
Each holiday has its own booking pattern. National Day dates are known well in advance, so the cheaper seats sell early. Eid dates are confirmed late, which makes people wait and then book all at once. The school winter break is the longest window, and family rooms go first.
UAE National Day
- Start looking
- Eight weeks before
- Book by
- Ask us
School winter break
- Start looking
- Ten to twelve weeks before
- Book by
- Ask us
Eid al Fitr
- Start looking
- Eight weeks before the expected date
- Book by
- Ask us
Eid al Adha
- Start looking
- Eight weeks before the expected date
- Book by
- Ask us
Book-by advice from our desk. The book-by date is the last day we usually still find good flight and hotel options.
| Holiday | Start looking | Book by |
|---|---|---|
| UAE National Day | Eight weeks before | Ask us |
| School winter break | Ten to twelve weeks before | Ask us |
| Eid al Fitr | Eight weeks before the expected date | Ask us |
| Eid al Adha | Eight weeks before the expected date | Ask us |
07
How to book a holiday-week trip with Happy Journey
- 01
Tell us your days off
Message us on WhatsApp with the dates you can travel, how many people are going and the ages of any children. Press Get a Holiday Week Quote on this page to start.
- 02
We check visas
Send a photo of each passport and residence visa. We tell you which destinations you can enter easily and what the visa costs.
- 03
You get a written quote
We send two or three options with flights, hotel and what is included, priced for your dates, with the date the price is valid until.
- 04
Confirm and pay
We send flight tickets, hotel vouchers and a short travel checklist.
Prefer to talk it through? Visit us at Office 329A, 3rd Floor, Mushrif Mall, Abu Dhabi, Monday to Saturday 9am to 9pm and Sunday 2pm to 9pm, or call 02 679 8008.
08
Eid and winter break trips: where to find them
This page covers the National Day long weekend. Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha have their own page with longer trips and flexible dates: see our Eid holiday packages. For the three-week school break in December and January, with snow trips, Christmas markets and beach escapes, see our winter holiday packages from the UAE.
Questions
Holiday packages FAQs
Looking for a trip outside the holiday weeks? See all our holiday packages from Abu Dhabi, or the cheapest tour packages from Dubai for any week of the year. Happy Journey is a travel agency in Abu Dhabi at Mushrif Mall, open since May 2020.
When is the UAE National Day holiday?
. We update this page as soon as the dates are announced.
How much are National Day holiday packages?
Prices are higher than normal weeks because the whole country travels at once, so seats run out early.
Can I travel for National Day without taking leave?
Yes, if the holiday joins a weekend you can fit a three or four night trip with no leave. Choose a destination within four hours' flight, such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan or Oman, and fly out the evening the holiday starts.
What can I do in the UAE over National Day?
If you stay in the UAE, National Day brings fireworks, parades and events across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. . Book early, as desert camps fill up.
Which destinations fit a four-day National Day trip?
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Oman all fit a four-day break, with flights under four hours from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most UAE residents can enter with an e-visa or visa on arrival, so there is no long visa wait before the holiday.
Do flights cost more over National Day?
Yes. Fares for the National Day weekend rise as it gets closer, because many residents travel on the same days. Booking three to six weeks ahead, or flying out the evening before the holiday starts, usually saves the most.
It's your smart choice
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- DubaiShop 1041, BurJuman
- Call us02 679 8008