South Africa · 2026

PlanSA gives you the big picture first, then lets you jump into the details. Start here for a quick overview, or go straight to public holidays, school terms, leave planning, and important dates.

South Africa's
planning tool. 🇿🇦

Public holidays, school terms, leave optimiser, SASSA dates and more — all in one place, always free.

Start here

Public holidays and long weekends

See confirmed public holidays, observed dates, and the best long-weekend opportunities.

School planning

DBE school terms and matric dates

Check the 2026 national school calendar and key milestones for the Class of 2026.

Leave smarter

Find the best leave bridges

Use the leave optimiser to rank the best break opportunities by days off per leave day.

Useful dates

Track SASSA, fuel, tax, and sports

Keep the practical stuff in view too, so you can plan around more than just holidays.

Frequently asked questions

South Africa has 13 public holidays in 2026 under the Public Holidays Act (No. 36 of 1994), including 10 August as an observed holiday since National Women's Day (9 August) falls on a Sunday.

The Public Holidays tab always shows a live countdown to the next long weekend, based on which public holidays fall next to a weekend. Check the "Next Public Holiday" card above or visit the Public Holidays page for the full list.

Under the Public Holidays Act, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday becomes a public holiday too. This does not apply if the holiday falls on a Saturday — no substitute day is added in that case, unless separately gazetted.

Yes — since 2024, all nine provinces follow a single unified national DBE school calendar for public schools. Independent and private schools may still set their own term dates, so always confirm with your specific school.

No. PlanSA is an independent, free tool that aggregates official published data from gov.za, the Department of Basic Education, SASSA, DMRE, SARS and Umalusi. Always verify against the original source before making travel, financial, or leave decisions — see the About page for full source links.

South Africa · 2026

Plan your time off. This page shows every upcoming public holiday, long weekend, and school holiday in South Africa. Filter by province or time window to see what's relevant to you.

Your next long weekend
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Upcoming holidays

DBE National School Calendar · 2026

All nine South African provinces follow the unified national school calendar. These dates apply to public schools — independent and private schools set their own.

School terms

School holidays

⚠️ All nine provinces follow a unified national DBE calendar since 2024. Independent and private schools set their own dates. Always confirm with your school admin. education.gov.za →
PlanSA Leave Optimiser

Plan your leave around public holidays and school breaks. Enter a date range below to see exactly how many leave days you need — weekends and public holidays are excluded automatically.

Leave Day Calculator

Pick a date range — public holidays and weekends are excluded automatically.

leave days needed

My Leave Plan 0 selected

No leave days added yet. Use the calculator above, or "Add to plan" on any leave hack below, to start building your request.

Best leave hacks — ranked by days off per leave day

Class of 2026 · NSC Matric Countdown

Track the most important dates for South Africa's matric class of 2026. All dates are based on historical patterns — official dates are confirmed by DBE/Umalusi mid‑year.

Key matric milestones

📋 The official NSC exam timetable is released by the DBE in mid-year. The dates below are based on historical patterns and the 2026 academic calendar — confirm with Umalusi and education.gov.za once officially published.
PlanSA 2026 Wall Planner

A complete year‑at‑a‑glance calendar for 2026. Public holidays are marked in red, school holidays in green, and today is highlighted in gold.

Public holiday Observed School holiday Today
PlanSA Useful Dates

Stay on top of key dates beyond public holidays — SASSA grant payments, fuel price adjustments, SARS tax deadlines, and major sports events.

SASSA Payment Dates 2026
Fuel Price Announcements 2026
SARS Tax Deadlines 2026
Major Sports Events 2026
Today in South African history
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📌 SASSA grants are paid on the first working day of each month. Fuel price adjustments are announced on the first Wednesday and take effect the following Wednesday. Tax deadlines are provisional — confirm with SARS. Sports dates are indicative.
About PlanSA

PlanSA is built on official South African government data. All public holiday dates come from the Public Holidays Act, and school terms follow the DBE national calendar.

Official sources — always verify before booking

Disclaimer: Public holiday dates are sourced from the Public Holidays Act (No. 36 of 1994) as published on gov.za for the confirmed 2026 calendar. School term dates reflect the unified national DBE calendar effective since 2024 — all nine provinces follow the same schedule for public schools. Independent and private schools set their own calendars. Leave‑bridging suggestions are not employment advice. Matric exam dates are indicative based on historical patterns — official dates are published by DBE/Umalusi mid‑year. This tool is updated manually and does not connect to any live government data feed. Always verify against official sources before making travel or financial commitments. Last updated: July 2026. Not affiliated with any government department.