Public holidays in Iceland, 2020

How Iceland public holidays work in 2020

Iceland marks 16 official public holidays across 2020. These are the days on which banks, government offices, and most schools close, and when many private employers either close entirely or operate at reduced capacity. The list above is sourced from Nager.Date, which compiles each country's official gazette entries. If you are a remote worker or freelancer billing clients in Iceland, this list tells you which dates payroll runs, post arrives, and meetings stand a real chance of happening.

Some holidays in Iceland are fixed dates that fall on whatever day of the week they land on, while others are observed on the closest Monday or Friday to create a long weekend. The Day column above tells you exactly when each holiday lands in 2020. A holiday that lands on a Saturday or Sunday is sometimes given a substitute day off on the following Monday; the source data marks those substitutions where they apply.

For people planning cross-border meetings, the practical move is to overlay Iceland's calendar with the calendars of the other countries on your team. A week that looks completely clear from your end might be a national holiday on theirs. The compare tool above pairs two country calendars and highlights the overlapping closures, so you can spot the weeks where almost no one is at their desk before you put a launch on the board.

If you are visiting Iceland, the holiday list tells you when to expect heavier domestic travel, busier restaurants, and quieter office districts. The big retail holidays move shopping crowds; the religious holidays move family travel. Either way, the dates above are the ones to mark in your own calendar before you book trains or internal flights for the year.