1. Republic Day – 26 jan weekend

Even though this long weekend has already gone, one can still visit relevant destinations that are enjoyable this time of the year. For eg. Dubai. Shop to your heart’s delight, try the grub, admire the man made islands, take a desert safari or just check out the souks.

2. Mahashivratri : Fri, 24 Feb

MahaShivratri is a holiday in most of India. Add to it the weekend of Sat, 25 Feb and Sun, 26 Feb and you have a long weekend. One can visit Agra (Taj Mahotsav) , Andaman Islands, Goa (Goa carnival) , Landsowne , Ooty. Wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan – check out  Jodhpur or Udaipur or Jaisalmer or Pushkar or Alwar for the lovely weather.

Udaipur : By: ivosandoval/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

3. Holi weekend: 11-13 Mar

11th and 12th are the weekend and Monday, 13th March is Holi. Celebrate Holi in Mathura, Visit Coorg to catch the white coffee flowers in bloom or again cities in Rajasthan (Jaipur , Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Alwar) before summer kicks in.

Jaisalmer : By: zedzap/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

4. Gudi Padwa : 28th Mar

25th, 26th is the weekend, Take leave on Monday, 27 March and add Gudi Padwa holiday on 28th – you get 4 days! You can visit Rishikesh for white water rafting or Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangkok.

Bangkok : By: stuckincustoms/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

5. Ram Navami : 4th Apr

The weekend is on 1st and 2nd April. Take leave on Monday, 3 Apr. Ram Navami is on 4th April. With 4 days, you can visit Cappadocia, Turkey for hot-air ballooning, Tokyo for cherry blossoms, Srinagar for tulips, or Hong Kong for family fun time in Disneyland.

6. Baisakhi/Good Friday/Easter weekend

Thu, 13 Apr: Baisakhi
Fri, 14 Apr: Dr Ambedkar Jayanti, Good Friday
Sat, 15 Apr : weekend
Sun, 16 Apr: Easter weekend

IF you can take leave on Mon, Tues, Wed (10,11,12 apr) then it becomes a REALLY long weekend for international travel.
You can visit Amritsar for Baisakhi, for the food, Wagah border change of guard ceremony ; Phuket for the Phuket Bike Week (11–16 Apr) and Bangkok for Songkran Festival (13–17 Apr)

7. Labour day : 1 May

29 Apr & 30 Apr is the weekend. Monday, 1 May is May Day or Labour day. Travel to the north east to get relief from the heat. You can visit Shillong, Mashobra or Landour to beat the heat; Tadoba or Ranthambore to spot wildlife; or take a quick break Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Colombo : By: nazly/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

8. Eid Weekend : 26 Jun

24th and 25th June is the weekend and Eid is on 26th Jun

Travel to Hyderabad/Lucknow/Delhi for Ramzan Eid; Munnar for the monsoon; Dharamshala for camping/trekking. Try a different kind of Goa in monsoon. It is very cheap and also very lovely. Or Visit Srinagar for the cool climate.

9. Janmashtami/Independence Day weekend : 14 Aug/15 Aug

12 Aug, 13 Aug are the weekend, 14 Aug is Janmashtami, 15 Aug is Independence day, Take leave on 16 Aug & 18 Aug, 17 Aug is Parsi New year, and 19, 20 Aug is again the weekend. Now this is the LONGEST weekend ever for travel!

Travel to Ladakh for picturesque views, Uttarakhand for Valley of Flowers; Salzurg, Austria for the Salzburg Festival (21 Jul–30 Aug); Tanzania for the great migration.

10. Ganesh Chaturthi : 25 Aug

Take the Ganesh Chaturthi holiday on a friday and add the weekend to it. Visit Pune or Bombay for Ganesh Chaturthi or Bali for a beach break or Cherrapunji to watch water falls!

Guwahati : By: rao_anirudh/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

11. Gandhi Jayanti : 2 OCt

Weekend + Gandhi Jayanti . One can have a quick visit to Munich for Oktoberfest (16 Sep–3 Oct); Bhutan for the Thimphu Tshechu festival (30 Sep–2 Oct); Bandhavgarh for wildlife season; Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh for the pleasant weather, Gangtok for clear views of the Kanchenjunga

Bhutan : By: jmhullot/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

12. Diwali holidays

14, 15 Oct are the weekend. 16 Oct is Dhanteras, 17 and 18 Oct are Chhoti and Badee Diwali, Take leave on 19 Oct, 20 Oct is Bhaiduj and 21, 22 Oct is again the weekend! 9 days are long enough to visit exotic locations far away!

Visit Sydney/Melbourne for summer on the beach; Vancouver/New York for fall, Bhutan for the perfect season.

13. Eid Weekend  : 1 Dec

Along with Eid-e-Milad, you get the weekend of 2/3 Dec. Travel to Nagaland for Hornbill Festival or Bharatpur for spotting migratory birds.

Dimapur : By: abrinsky/flickr.com used under Creative Commons License BY-SA

14. Christmas Weekend : 25 Dec

This is the Holiday season! 23, 24 Dec are the weekend and 25 Dec is Xmas. If you can use all your remaining leaves of the year then you get Holidays till 1st Jan! One can travel to Maldives/Australia/Singapore/Goa for New year festivities or  Manali for the snow or Pondicherry for a winter break.