We have covered New Year; so who is looking at Cyprus for the Bayram holidays? In 2027 the two Bayrams are sixty-eight days apart, but the same island runs on two different calendars on those two dates. You see the real difference in the opening-hours schedule. Because the only working period announced by the Department of Antiquities and Museums opens on 1 April, the March Bayram falls outside it, the May Bayram falls fully inside it, and every calculation of hours comes down to that single line. In March the castles close by mid-afternoon, the sea is still cold and none of the water parks is open. In mid-May the same castles are open until seven in the evening and the pool season has begun. Does the same hotel list work for both? It does not. That is why a Cyprus programme for the Bayram holidays is built around the calendar first, with the route coming afterwards.
Where the Two Bayrams of 2027 Fall in the Calendar
According to the calculated Hijri calendar, Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayramı) begins on Tuesday 9 March and ends on Thursday 11 March. Its eve is Monday 8 March, which is only a half-day holiday, not a full day. Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı) falls between Sunday 16 May and Wednesday 19 May, with its eve on Saturday 15 May. The TRNC's official holiday lists show the religious holidays on the same days as Turkey (there is no separate Hijri calculation specific to the island).
Let us say this from the start. None of these dates has yet been confirmed by official announcement; according to online sources they are all projections based on the Diyanet's calculation, and because the Hijri calendar is eleven days shorter than the Gregorian one the Bayrams move earlier every year, with the exact day settled close to the holiday by sighting of the crescent. You will need to reconfirm the date when the official calendar is published.
Do not forget that leave calculations also come into play. Because Eid al-Fitr falls mid-week, it can stretch to nine days with a day and a half of leave, while for Eid al-Adha anyone who takes 20-21 May off can turn 15-23 May into a single block. The demand peak therefore spreads over a far wider window than the official 3.5- and 4.5-day holidays...
The March Bayram Is Squeezed into Winter Hours
The three days of Eid al-Fitr coincide with the low-season period. The only label announced on the Department's page is "Summer Hours", and since that period starts on 1 April, which schedule applies during the March Bayram is not written anywhere. According to the independent sources we compiled, in the low season the sites stay open in the 08.00-15.30 band, with last entry pulled back to 16.00 at most places. How many stops fit into a day with those hours? Two at most. A programme that puts Bellapais and St. Hilarion on the same day may find the second one's ticket office closed.
The sea is not in play on these dates either. In early March the water temperature sits in the 16-18 degree band and the swimming season has not yet opened. The water park side is closed too, and since the earliest-opening pool waits until 19 March, the March Bayram runs on what is left: indoor venues, that is, a castle and walled-city programme. The Shipwreck Museum in Kyrenia Castle is a stop you walk through in a single hall, and you can visit it on a rainy day as well. Three and a half days sounds short. What really squeezes this holiday, though, is the early-closing ticket offices...
Summer Hours Take In the May Bayram
16-19 May is the exact opposite; those dates fall within summer hours. Kyrenia Castle and Bellapais are open 08.00-19.00 with last entry until 18.00, while St. Hilarion can be visited 09.00-18.30 with last entry pulled back to 16.30. You will notice how the hours gained in the late afternoon widen the programme.
The sea temperature climbs to the 21-24 degree band in mid-May, and the water parks have opened too. For a family with children, this is where the real distinction becomes clear. A programme that looks for indoor venues in March builds itself around the pool and the beach in May. The four-and-a-half-day holiday splits Kyrenia, Nicosia and Famagusta into separate days, and anyone wanting to reach the Karpaz Peninsula gives it a whole day of its own. For someone seeing Cyprus for the first time during the Bayram holidays, the May Bayram is the more generous date in terms of both hours and sea.
Banks Close, Castles Stay Open
Banks and government offices close completely during Bayram. No surprises on the transport side: the airport and the border crossings operate as normal. Private businesses, on the other hand, mostly close only on the first day, and in the tourist areas restaurants and shops stay open, even if at a slower tempo. The item that really needs attention is the museums.
The official visiting-hours page we reviewed carries a "closed on weekends and holidays" note in the rows for Kantara Castle, the Peace and Freedom Museum, Antiphonitis Monastery and the Iskele Archaeology Museum, and never uses the words "religious holiday". The row for the Nicosia museums is clearer; there it says closed to visitors on public holidays. Since religious holidays count as public holidays in the TRNC, those stops may well be closed during Bayram, so do not put them at the centre of your Bayram programme; a phone call before you set off settles it...
By contrast, Kyrenia Castle, St. Hilarion, Bellapais and Salamis do not appear on that list and are expected to be open at their normal hours during Bayram. The Bandabuliya in Nicosia, however, is closed for the first three days of Bayram. Crossing to the south does not come up; citizens of the Republic of Turkey cannot cross the Green Line anyway.
Countdown for Flights and Hotels
The rule that applies to flight tickets is sixty-five days ahead. Promotional fare classes close fifteen days out, leaving only the seats in the most expensive class. Which airline comes out cheaper at Bayram? Eid al-Adha 2026 showed the reverse of what you might expect: on the Ercan-Sabiha Gökçen leg, the lowest Pegasus fare was 5,399 TL while THY, with fifteen kilos of baggage included, was reported in the news at 4,293 TL. As of "September-October 2026" this is the only dated Bayram figure we have, and when you add up the total with baggage you will see the ranking reverse.
The hotel side is less flexible. Bayram week is the week when prices peak, and the occupancy that hovers around 29 percent in the January-March period clearly does not stay at that level on these days. There is a small trap to watch here. The figures circulating about minimum-night requirements are not confirmed at source, so ask the property for its own condition when booking. That said, in the early-booking window that opens at the end of October, the March Bayram falls in the middle and the May Bayram at the end.
Car Rental Classes Run Out Early
As we mentioned before, most people may prefer to rent a car. In car rental, Bayram can behave like a small copy of the high season. The seasonal distinction used by TRNC firms includes Bayrams and public holidays. Our advice is to look for the real gain of early booking in the choice, because a latecomer will find a car but may not find an automatic or a larger model. Looking two months ahead is a reasonable interval.
With extra equipment the field narrows further. Child seats are provided on request and stock runs out quickly in busy periods. Also factor in that traffic drives on the left; the direction to look when getting a child in and out of the car is the opposite of Turkey's.
You have clarified the coverage and it comes back to the ticket again. When the sixty-five-day rule for a Bayram holiday in Cyprus is applied to 2027, the window for Eid al-Fitr falls at the beginning of January. For Eid al-Adha the same calculation points to mid-March.
Bayram Holiday at a Glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr 2027 | 9-11 March, eve 8 March half day |
| Eid al-Adha 2027 | 16-19 May, eve 15 May half day |
| Status of the dates | Calculated calendar, no official announcement as of 17 September 2026 |
| Public holiday length | Eid al-Fitr 3.5 days, Eid al-Adha 4.5 days |
| Bridging extension | Eid al-Fitr 9 days with 1.5 days' leave, Eid al-Adha 15-23 May with 2 days' leave |
| Antiquities Department summer hours | 1 April - 31 October |
| Winter hours band | Generally 08.00-15.30, last entry 14.45 at some sites |
| Summer hours band | Kyrenia Castle and Bellapais 08.00-19.00, last entry 18.00 |
| Sea temperature | Early March 16-18°C, mid-May 21-24°C |
| Aquapark opening | Bafra 19 March, Salamis coast 1 May |
| Closed during the holiday | Banks, government offices, Kantara, Nicosia museums, Bandabuliya |
| Open during the holiday | Airport, border crossings, supermarkets, major castles |
| Flight ticket rule | At least 65 days ahead, promo fares close 15 days out |
| Holiday fare example | Eid al-Adha 2026 Ercan-SAW one way 4,293-5,399 TL, as of September 2026 |
| Hotel window | Late October - early June, holiday week is the price peak |
| Car rental | Higher rates over Bayram, early booking keeps your choice of class |
To see the castles that stay open during Bayram on a single route, read our guide to the North Cyprus castles; for the firms where you need to move early on automatics and child seats, see the Kyrenia car rental guide; and for how the special-period rules play out at New Year, see our guide to New Year's Eve in Cyprus.
