Cayman Islands Public Holidays and the Events Year
Every public holiday for 2026 and the rule behind each one, plus what actually happens through the Cayman year: the festivals, the seasons, and the rhythms locals plan around.
Public holidays 2026 (official)
| Holiday | 2026 date |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January |
| National Heroes Day | Monday 26 January |
| Ash Wednesday | Wednesday 18 February |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April |
| Emancipation Day | Monday 4 May |
| Discovery Day | Monday 18 May |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 15 June |
| Constitution Day | Monday 6 July |
| Remembrance Day | Monday 9 November |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December |
| Boxing Day | Monday 28 December (observed) |
Twelve holidays, and a rhythm worth noticing: outside the fixed dates, almost everything lands on a Monday, so Cayman's holiday calendar is mostly long weekends. When a fixed-date holiday falls on a weekend, the following weekday is observed, which is why Boxing Day 2026 is taken on Monday 28 December.
How the dates are set: National Heroes Day is the fourth Monday of January; Emancipation Day the first Monday of May; Discovery Day the third Monday of May; the King's Birthday the third Monday of June; Constitution Day the first Monday of July; Remembrance Day the second Monday of November. Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Easter Monday move with Easter. New Year's, Christmas and Boxing Day are fixed, observed on the next weekday when they fall on a weekend.
The official 2027 list is published by the government toward the end of the year; this page will carry it as soon as it appears.
The Cayman year, month by month
January
Peak season in full swing: dry, breezy, and the busiest cruise months begin. National Heroes Day makes the fourth Monday a long weekend. The Cayman Cookout, the island’s marquee food festival, typically runs mid-January at the Ritz-Carlton.
February
The most distinctive holiday of the year: Ash Wednesday is a public holiday, and it is Agriculture Show day, when a good part of the island heads to the showgrounds for livestock, produce competitions and local food. Peak tourist season continues.
March
Usually the busiest cruise month of the year and prime beach weather. CAYFEST, the national festival of the arts, builds through early spring to its finale, Red Sky at Night at the Harquail Theatre (21 March in 2026), and the Orchid Show blooms at the Botanic Park in late March. No public holidays in a typical March, though Easter lands here in some years.
April
Good Friday and Easter Monday bookend Cayman’s biggest camping tradition: Easter weekend beach camping. Conch and whelk season closes after 30 April; from 1 May the shells stay in the water until November.
May
The most packed month of the year. Two long weekends: Emancipation Day (first Monday) and Discovery Day (third Monday). Carnival everywhere: in 2026 Batabano and CayMAS united as One Cayman Carnival with the main parade late in the month, while Braccanal takes over Cayman Brac around the Discovery Day weekend. Cayman Art Week opens 50+ venues across the islands in late May, and the Out of this World music fest (9,600 strong at Camana Bay in 2026) closes the month. Nassau grouper season opens 1 May.
June
Hurricane season opens 1 June (see the prep guide; the real peak is months away). The King’s Birthday holiday lands mid-month, the Flowers Sea Swim typically brings hundreds to the Seven Mile Beach mile in June, and Saharan dust hazes arrive.
July
Constitution Day makes the first Monday a long weekend, and the long quiet summer stretch settles in. Sargassum season peaks on exposed coasts; Seven Mile Beach is usually spared.
August
The quiet build-down: hot, humid, and the start of the low season. No public holidays; a good month for locals’ deals as visitor numbers thin.
September
The island’s quietest month (about 26,800 air arrivals in September 2025 versus roughly 69,000 in March) and the statistical peak of hurricane season around 10 September. Many restaurants take their annual closures now.
October
Low season winds down and the festival year restarts: Cayman Cocktail Week runs late in the month (22–29 October in 2026), then Pirates Week opens on Cayman Brac (30–31 October 2026). Restaurant closures taper; hurricane season remains live into November.
November
The big month: Pirates Week on Grand Cayman (6–14 November 2026) with the landing, parades and fireworks, then Little Cayman’s weekend (20–21 November). Remembrance Day is the second Monday. Conch and whelk season opens 1 November, hurricane season ends 30 November, Gimistory storytelling typically tours the districts early in the month, NCAA teams fly in for the Cayman Islands Classic basketball tournament at John Gray in late November, the Camana Bay tree lighting in mid-November starts nightly light shows that run to early January, and Porter’s winter nonstops from Toronto and Ottawa return.
December
The Cayman Islands Marathon takes over George Town’s roads on the first Sunday (6 December in 2026). Lobster season opens 1 December (three per person per day; see the seafood guide). Christmas Day and Boxing Day close the holiday year, and peak tourist season begins again.
Methodology and sources
The 2026 holiday list is the Cayman Islands Government's official schedule (gov.ky); 2027 dates are computed from each holiday's established rule and marked expected until the official list is published. Festival timings are stated as typical months except where dates are officially announced (Pirates Week 2026, per the Ministry of Culture). Season markers come from Daily.ky's verified guides: marine season dates from the National Conservation Regulations, hurricane season from NOAA, arrival figures from CIAA data. Spot an error? Email info@daily.ky. Last updated: 10 September 2026.