Costa Blanca red days and 2024 public bank holidays

SPANISH BANK HOLIDAYS Whether you're living in our part of the Costa Blanca or just visiting, knowing when the bank holidays fall can help plan your stay here. Here's our list of all of Spain's public holidays you need to know about in 2024, and what they mean in English and Spanish.

How many bank holidays are there in Spain? Usually, each municipality of Spain is permitted to have 12 bank holidays each year. That includes 8 national red days set by the Spanish government, 2 regional holidays set by the provincial government, and 2 local holidays set by the municipality.

However, 2024 will offer 13 bank holidays in Spain, including 9 national holidays, 2 Valencian Community public holidays, and 2 local holidays approved by the local town hall of Orihuela.

It's important to note the dates of Spain's public holidays because on some of these days businesses, shops, shopping centres, and public offices will close, or have reduced hours.

To ensure you don't get caught out or miss out on anything important, this guide puts together a list of bank holidays in the Orihuela Costa area for the forthcoming year.

An introduction to Costa Blanca public and bank holidays

The national government in Spain sets the Spanish national holidays each year, although Spanish bank holidays differ between each of the regions. While each city observes the national holidays in Spain, additional regional bank holidays are set by the local autonomous governments.

Bank holidays in Spain that fall on weekends are sometimes replaced with alternate days (usually on the following Monday) if the regional government so chooses. However, alternate days have not always been granted, and it depends on how many public holidays occur in any one year.

In general, regional Spanish holidays coincide with large Spanish festivals and can be a spectacular time to visit a new locale and try authentic Spanish food.

However, many of Spain's festivals are world-famous, and accommodation often fills up quickly. It's important to book accommodation and make restaurant reservations early if your trip falls over a Spanish national holiday.

Many businesses also close during the national and regional holidays in Spain. Locally, Zenia Boulevard and other shops observe many of the annual public holidays, meaning shopping centres can be closed on bank holidays.

Public holidays for Orihuela Costa in 2024, what is a red day?

National bank holidays and important regional public holidays in the Costa Blanca are sometimes called “Red days” locally. On a “Red day”, almost all businesses will close and your shopping choices on these days will be limited.

Bars and restaurants don't normally close on a public bank holiday in Spain, but you may find that making reservations during typically busy seasonal periods such as Christmas might be difficult. It's not unusual for restaurants to announce their Christmas menus around September, so make sure you plan ahead.

If you want to see if Zenia Boulevard is open today, check out this article detailing the opening and closing times for the shopping centre during the year.

And take a look at our article on 24-hour shops, late-night and bank holiday shopping in Orihuela Costa. The feature provides detailed information about retail outlets that offer residents and visitors out-of-hours shopping, complete with Google Maps from your location in Spain – handy for late arrivals or shopping on Sundays.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com