Plan Your 2023 Travel Around These Long Weekends

As one year end and a new one begins, there’s always the resolution to vaguely “travel more.” I’ve never known anyone to resolve to “travel less,” but when it comes to sticking to your resolutions—including those related to travel—specificity is key. If you’re going to “travel more,” you need to plan ahead now and secure those vacation dates; otherwise, long-awaited long weekends have a way of sneaking up and passing you by—just like all those other run-of-the-mill, pitiful two-day weekends.

For both saving money and managing your PTO, it pays to to start planning ahead to take advantage of all the long weekends we have to look forward to in 2023.

Federal holidays recognized in 2023

When you’re planning your vacations in the new year, it makes sense to extend your paid time off by working around federal holidays. Here’s your complete list of guaranteed or potential long weekends in 2023.

• Monday, Jan. 2 (New Year’s Day recognized)
• Monday, Jan. 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
• Monday, Feb. 20 (President’s Day)
• Monday, May 29 (Memorial Day)
• Monday, June 19 (Juneteenth)
• Tuesday, July 4 (Independence Day)
• Monday, Sept. 4 (Labor Day)
• Monday, Oct. 9 (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
• Friday, Nov. 10 (Veterans Day)
• Thursday, Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Day)
• Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)

Since you’ll be one of many workers looking to take advantage of the vacation dates above, you’ll want to get your PTO approved early. Plus, booking flights and lodging months in advance is one of the easiest ways to save money while traveling. Hey, maybe you can knock off some deeply strange U.S. tourist attractions in the new year. (And maybe schedule your most-hated recurring meetings for Mondays–they’ll be canceled quite a lot.)