Holy Week — Semana Santa — is the week the Philippines comes closest to stopping. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays, millions travel to the provinces or the beach, Manila's rail systems typically use the holiday for maintenance, and many malls close on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday — while churches fill for the Visita Iglesia, the Good Friday processions and the Easter dawn Salubong. For a visitor that means two things at once: the Lenten traditions are on full view, and ordinary travel gets harder.
The dates: Holy Week 2027 runs from Palm Sunday, March 21, to Easter Sunday, March 28. Under the 2027 holiday proclamation (No. 1427), Maundy Thursday (March 25) and Good Friday (March 26) are regular holidays and Black Saturday (March 27) is a special non-working day, creating a four-day holiday weekend for many workers. Easter moves every year — in 2026 Holy Week fell in early April.
Dates: Palm Sunday, March 21 – Easter Sunday, March 28, 2027 · The week at a glance below
Holidays: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are regular holidays; Black Saturday is a special non-working day (Proclamation No. 1427, signed September 8, 2026)
Train, mall and bank schedules: not yet published — in 2026 they came out in mid- to late March
We update this box as the 2027 schedules are announced.
Is Holy Week a good time to visit the Philippines? Only if you plan around it. It is peak domestic travel — in 2026 the Philippine Coast Guard monitored about 3.4 million maritime passengers during its Holy Week travel period — so flights, ferries and beach rooms go early, and transport and shops run differently over the holidays: in 2026 LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 suspended service from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday, and major Metro Manila mall chains closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. If you want to see the traditions, this is the week; if you just want beaches, the weeks either side are easier.
Holy Week 2027 at a glance
The dates and holidays are set; the train, mall and bank schedules are announced each March, so the right-hand column shows what happened in 2026.
| 2027 | What it is | 2026, for reference |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Mar 21 | Palm Sunday — palms blessed at Mass; the travel rush is under way | Mar 29; the Coast Guard counted its Holy Week period from March 28 |
| Mon–Wed Mar 22–24 | Ordinary working days, as departures from Manila build | By March 30 the Coast Guard had logged nearly 742,000 port passengers, about 26% more than at the same point in 2025 |
| Thu Mar 25 | Maundy Thursday — regular holiday; the Visita Iglesia is traditionally observed in the evening | LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 suspended from Thursday to Easter Sunday; Metro Manila's big malls and most bank branches closed Thursday and Friday |
| Fri Mar 26 | Good Friday — regular holiday; processions, and the crucifixion reenactments at San Pedro Cutud, Pampanga | PNR trains also stopped on Friday and Saturday |
| Sat Mar 27 | Black Saturday — special non-working day; more businesses usually reopen | The big Metro Manila malls reopened 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Easter Sunday |
| Sun Mar 28 | Easter Sunday — the dawn Salubong, then the trips home | Manila's trains resumed on Monday, April 6 |
2027 holidays from Proclamation No. 1427 (GMA News, September 11, 2026). 2026 schedules: trains from Top Gear Philippines (March 30, 2026); Metro Manila mall hours from GMA News (March 23, 2026); bank closures from GMA News (March 31, 2026); port passengers from the Philippine Coast Guard via DZRH (March 30 and April 6, 2026). The 2027 schedules are set each March — check them before you rely on a train or a bank that week.
What closes, and what doesn't
Is everything closed in the Philippines during Holy Week? No. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday have the broadest closures: government offices and many banks close, and major malls may shut or cut their hours. Hotels, resorts, airports and ports keep running, and many tourism businesses stay open, though schedules vary. More businesses usually reopen on Black Saturday. Check the specific place you need before you rely on it.
Government offices close for the holidays. In 2026 most bank branches closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, some through Easter, while ATMs and online banking kept running; Metro Manila's big malls — SM, Ayala and Robinsons — closed on both days and reopened on Black Saturday, along with the restaurants inside them; and Manila's LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 stopped from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday for their annual maintenance. Schedules vary by place and by year — outside Metro Manila especially — so check the 2027 announcements in March. If the trains stop again, getting around the capital means Grab or taxis, though with so many residents away the roads are typically quieter than usual.
Where to see the traditions
- Manila — the Visita Iglesia. On Maundy Thursday evening, families walk between churches, traditionally seven of them. The churches of Intramuros, Quiapo and Binondo sit close together; our Manila guide covers the neighborhoods.
- Pampanga — San Pedro Cutud. On Good Friday in Barangay San Pedro Cutud, in San Fernando, penitents reenact the Crucifixion — some are nailed to wooden crosses, others flagellate themselves along the streets as acts of penance. It is a local penitential tradition, not a practice the Catholic Church requires or endorses: a spokesman for the bishops' conference has called it unnecessary, and the Department of Health has warned of tetanus, infection and heat illness. Ruben Enaje, 65, who had announced in 2025 that he would stop, returned in 2026 for what he described as his final crucifixion; Arnold Maniago, 47, who has taken part for 25 years, has said he is ready to succeed him. Our San Fernando guide covers the city.
- Marinduque — the Moriones. Masked "Roman soldiers" roam the streets of Boac and the island's other towns during Holy Week, reenacting the story of Longinus, the centurion said to have pierced Christ's side; for many of those behind the masks it is a vow of penance. The island is part of MIMAROPA.
- Siquijor — the healers. The island's folk healers hold their Holy Week gathering; our Siquijor guide explains the tradition.
If you're heading for a beach
Our guides to Bantayan, Calaguas, Gigantes and Vigan all warn of Holy Week crowds — book well ahead or go the week after. Batanes, far to the north, opens its calm season in March, though its fares rise around Holy Week.
The weather
Late March is the hot, dry season on Luzon and the western islands: PAGASA's Port Area station in Manila averages 3 rainy days in March, with highs around 32°C, and April is hotter still. The Pacific-facing east runs wetter — our month-by-month guide has the whole country.