Sabah Public Holidays
Although Sabah has an extensive list of public holidays, it's good to note that these will rarely have an impact on your fun as a tourist.
While post offices, government departments and banks will be closed on most public holidays, there will always be a number of shops, restaurants, bars and tours or activities available to you regardless of the day.
Public holidays are also a great time to spend a day with the local Sabahans who may invite you into their homes to experience true local Sabahan life.
2026 Sabah Public Holidays
- Thursday 1 January 2026 New Year's Day
- Tuesday 17 February 2026 Chinese New Year
- Wednesday 18 February 2026 Chinese New Year (2nd Day)
- Saturday 21 March 2026 Hari Raya Aidilfitri
- Sunday 22 March 2026 Hari Raya Aidilfitri Holiday
- Monday 23 March 2026 Hari Raya Aidilfitri Holiday
- Monday 30 March 2026 Sabah Governor's Birthday
- Friday 3 April 2026 Good Friday
- Friday 1 May 2026 Labour Day
- Wednesday 27 May 2026 Hari Raya Haji
- Saturday 30 May 2026 Harvest Festival (Kaamatan)
- Sunday 31 May 2026 Harvest Festival Holiday & Wesak Day
- Monday 1 June 2026 Agong’s Birthday
- Wednesday 17 June 2026 Awal Muharram (Islamic New Year)
- Tuesday 25 August 2026 Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Maulidur Rasul)
- Monday 31 August 2026 Merdeka Day (National Day / Sabah Day)
- Wednesday 16 September 2026 Malaysia Day
- Sunday 8 November 2026 Deepavali
- Thursday 24 December 2026 Christmas Eve
- Friday 25 December 2026 Christmas Day Note: Don't miss the must visit islands of Sipadan and Mabul (Tawau airport).
Note: Don't miss the must visit islands of Sipadan and Mabul (Tawau airport).
Ask about the Sabah Public Holidays
More about Sabah Public Holidays
Sabah keeps an extensive calendar of public holidays — a happy consequence of Malaysia's mix of cultures and faiths — but here's the traveller's honest summary: they will rarely affect your trip. Banks, post offices and government departments close on most of them; restaurants, shops, boats, resorts and dive centres largely carry on, because tourism doesn't take the day off.
What's actually worth planning around:
- Hari Raya (end of Ramadan) and Chinese New Year — the two big domestic-travel surges. Flights to Tawau fill, town hotels tighten, and popular resorts book out; lock your dates earlier if your trip brushes either.
- Kaamatan (Harvest Festival, end of May) — Sabah's own celebration, and a genuinely good time to be here: festivities statewide, and a cultural bonus rather than an obstacle.
- School holidays — Malaysian families travel, and the KK islands and ferries feel it more than Semporna's dive circuit does.
Two practical notes: change money and handle any banking before a holiday cluster, and expect Semporna's seafront restaurants to be pleasantly busier rather than closed. Dive operations run to the sea's calendar, not the state's.
If your dates land near a major holiday, tell us when you enquire — we'll flag any real availability pinch and book the tight links first.