2019 is almost here and most people are excited to ring in their New Year celebrations. While some people are so enthusiastically waiting for the new beginnings, for some it might not be as exciting. After a few days into the new year, the routine starts to feel the same. School, college and work will always continue but it is never too late to plan a holiday. Since most of the working population is tired sitting on their desks round the clock, they all crave a little break. A well-planned vacation works better since you get enough time to book the tickets, make your reservations at the places to visit and also manage everything within a short frame of time. Weekends are a good time to step out for a break, but its the long weekends that are our best friends, when we need a small yet nice vacation. So if you have been already looking for the long weekends of 2019, let us give you a list. Advance New Year 2019 Wishes: WhatsApp Stickers, Facebook Quotes, GIF Image Messages & SMS to Send the First Happy New Year Greetings.

But 2019 is not as favourable for holidays as was 2018. Because we were blessed with 16 long weekends in 2018, in the coming year, the number goes down to just 10. But to avail these long weekends, you might have to club some leaves. So it is not going to be an easy holiday planning for 2019. Depending upon your leave policies, you might have to be ready with your leave applications just in time. So mark your calendars and leaves so you can make the most of the long weekends on 2019. Hindu Calendar 2019 Free Download in PDF: Know List of Festivals, Holidays, Fasts According to Drik Panchang, Kalnirnay, Lala Ramswaroop Hindi Calendars Online.

List of Long Weekends in 2019

January

The first month of the year has one chance for a long weekend.  12- 13 and 14 January. The festivals of Pongal, Sankranti and Bhogi will be celebrated on Monday, January 14. But this is a restricted holiday, so you may have to check your holiday list if you have a holiday on January 14. But this year infact, a marked holiday of Republic Day falls on a Saturday. January 26 is a Saturday, so no extra holiday in this month.

February

The second month of the year also has one long weekend, provided you have a holiday on February 19 for Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti. You will have to take a leave on February 18 ie Monday and you can enjoy a four-day long weekend from February 16, Saturday to February 19, Tuesday.

March 

March starts off well with a long holiday right at the start. Maha Shivaratri 2019 will be celebrated on March 4. Since March 2 and 3 is a weekend, you have a Monday off too. That's not all, if you want a longer holiday then an important festival of Holi also falls in the same month. Day 2 of Holi or the day of playing with colours will be on February 21, which is a Thursday. Take a leave on Friday and enjoy a good four-day long holiday from March 21- 24.

April

You will have to carefully look through your holiday list to get a good long break in the month of April. After a tiring March-ending pressure, you can have a good break of five days in April. Mahavir Jayanti falls on April 17 which is a Wednesday. Take a leave on Thursday and Friday is again a holiday for Good Friday. Followed by a weekend, you can enjoy a nice long weekend from April 17-21. Better start looking for places and booking your tickets right away, you wouldn't want to miss this good break. So even though you have important holidays like Gudhi Padhwa and Ram Navami falling on weekend days, you can still get an off in this month.

May

Gone are the days when we awaited the month of May for long summer vacations. But the 1st of May, labour day falls on Wednesday this year. If you can manage to take the next two days off, then you can enjoy a long weekend of 5 days. There is no other holiday in the month of May.

June

No long weekends come easy in 2019, you must apply for one or two days leave to avail a good break. The festival of Ramzan Eid will be celebrated on June 5, Wednesday. So you can follow it up with a 2-day leave on Thursday and Friday to get a longer weekend. There is no other holiday in the month of June as well.

July

There is no holiday for monsoon trips and treks in the month of July. Not a single holiday in the month of July, so you will have to just carry on to your regular weekend offs. List of Dry Days of 2019 in India: Check Dates When Alcohol Will Not Be Available for Sale in Your City.

August

If July is going to be holiday-less, then August is to your rescue, with not one but two long weekends. The festival of Bakra Id falls on August 12, which is a Monday. So August 10-12 is your first long weekend. Independence Day, August 15 will be on a Thursday, so follow it up with leave on Friday. You can once again enjoy a long weekend from August 15 to August 18. August ends also on a long weekend continuing into September.

September

August 31 is a Saturday and Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on September 2. So you can enjoy a three-day long weekend from the end of last month. There is another holiday of Moharam on September 10, which is a Tuesday. So if you can apply for leave on Monday, September 9, you get a four-day holiday from September 7- September 10.

October

October is the month of festivals. Navaratri and Diwali both the festivals fall in this month in 2019. So the first long weekend that you can take is from October 5 to October 8, which is a holiday for Dusshera. You can take leave on Monday, October 7 and enjoy a long weekend break. Diwali holidays differ from company to company but the main Diwali day of Lakshmi Poojan falls on a Sunday this year, so a big important holiday is gone. If you have a holiday on October 28 for Deepawali Padwa, then you can enjoy a long weekend. October 26-27 is a weekend, followed by Diwali holiday. You will have to plan your vacation well in advance since most people plan their holidays at this time of the year.

November

Gone are the festivals and so are your long weekends, well almost. If you have carefully planned your holidays throughout the year, you still need to apply for one day leave, to get a long holiday in November. You need to apply for a leave on November 11, Monday. November 12 is Guru Nanak Jayanti which is a holiday. So you can enjoy a good four-day long weekend from November 9- November 12.

December

The end of 2019 is not so good, as you have not even a single chance for a long weekend in the last month of the year. Christmas falls on a Wednesday, so just a mid-week break there. Well, if you have made the most of all the other weekends in the year, then you can sure let go off in December.

Like we mentioned earlier, there are no easy long weekends in the year 2019. You will have to apply for a lot of one or two day leaves to secure a break with a weekend in tow. So now that you have a list of holidays ready with you, what are you waiting for? Start marking your calendars and get planning. Wish you all a very happy new year!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 29, 2018 08:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).