Ramadan and the Eids across the Gulf and Egypt, country by country

Ramadan and the two Eids move every market in the region, but not on the same day or for the same number of days. Each country confirms the month after its own moon sighting and then sets its own holidays. A host in Dubai, a host in Doha and a host in Cairo can see the same Eid start a day apart and end several days apart.

One month, seven announcements

In Saudi Arabia the Supreme Court confirms the start and end of the month, which the guide to Ramadan pricing in Saudi Arabia covers. Elsewhere:

• The UAE follows the announcement of the moon-sighting committee under the UAE Council for Fatwa, according to the UAE government portal.
• Bahrain hears it from the Shari'a Sighting Authority, which meets at the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; its statement for Eid al-Fitr 2026 is an example.
• Egypt relies on Dar al-Ifta, whose seven committees look for the new moon before the Grand Mufti announces the month, as Dar al-Ifta describes.
• Oman announces its Eid holidays in line with its main moon-sighting committee, as the Oman News Agency reported with the 2026 holiday list.
• Qatar and Kuwait confirm the dates through their own authorities, and then the Amiri Diwan in Qatar, as in its Eid al-Fitr 2026 statement, and the Council of Ministers in Kuwait announce the days off.

The sighting itself sets the timing. Dar al-Ifta's committees, for example, look for the new moon on the evening of the 29th of the month, so whether Ramadan lasts 29 or 30 days is known only that evening, one day before Eid. Plan for both endings rather than one.

Until those announcements, the JokerPrice calendar shows the Umm al-Qura dates and marks them expected. For 2027, Ramadan by country:

The holiday rules differ

Even with the same Eid day, the holidays differ in length, because each country has its own rule.

• Saudi Arabia gives the private sector four days for each Eid, as the guide to Eid and Hajj pricing explains.
• The UAE gives 1 to 3 Shawwal, plus 30 Ramadan when the month runs thirty days, and Arafah Day with 10 to 12 Dhu al-Hijjah, according to the official holiday list.
• Qatar gives government bodies 28 Ramadan to 4 Shawwal and 9 to 13 Dhu al-Hijjah, as The Peninsula reported from the official gazette.
• Oman sets 29 Ramadan to 3 Shawwal and 9 to 12 Dhu al-Hijjah by royal decree.
• Bahrain adds a day when a holiday falls on a Friday, a Saturday or another holiday, under a 2006 decree, so an Eid that touches the weekend grows longer.
• Egypt sets a legal minimum of two days for Eid al-Fitr, and Arafah with two days for Eid al-Adha, and in 2026 the Cabinet granted longer breaks for both: 19 – 23 March 2026 (official dates) and 26 – 31 May 2026 (official dates).
• Kuwait decides each holiday by Cabinet decision, sometimes with a substitute day.

Eid al-Fitr 2027 by country, with each holiday computed from its country's rule until it is announced:

And Eid al-Adha 2027:

Ramadan changes the working day

Shorter working days change when guests are free. In the UAE, private-sector working hours drop by two hours a day in Ramadan, for Muslim and non-Muslim employees alike, according to the government portal. Evenings fill with iftar and suhoor gatherings, and the weekly shape your weekday pattern learned in other months may not hold. The last ten nights, and the days before Eid, deserve their own look in every market, not only in Makkah and Madinah.

Pricing while the dates are expected

The first night of Ramadan and the last two nights before Eid are the ones most likely to move by a day. A few habits keep that from costing you:

• Use event rules rather than fixed prices. An event rule follows the calendar when an expected date becomes official, and every priced night names the event, its certainty and its source.
• Keep long minimum stays off the edge nights until the announcement. A three-night minimum that starts on the wrong day blocks the bookings you wanted.
• Price the holiday you have, not the neighbour's. Event rules apply only to dates in the property's own country, so a Dubai property follows the UAE's Eid and a Kuwait property Kuwait's. If guests from a neighbouring country fill your nights on their holidays, add a custom date rule.
• Recheck after each announcement. The events calendar marks a date official once the authority publishes it, with the source linked.

A worked example

Take an apartment in Doha with the religious event kind switched on at an adjustment of 15% and a two-night minimum stay. The calendar expects Qatar's Eid al-Fitr holiday on 7 – 12 March 2027 (expected dates, may move), so the holiday's nights get the adjustment and the minimum stay, and each night's explanation names the holiday, says its dates are expected and links the source. Ramadan is a religious event too, so its nights get the same adjustment unless you give Ramadan its own setting, or switch it off, in the pricing calendar. Where Ramadan's last nights overlap the start of the holiday, the larger adjustment applies once rather than both. A custom date rule on the same night takes precedence, a fixed nightly price is never changed, and every price stays within your minimum and maximum, as the events calendar's method sets out. When the Amiri Diwan announces the holiday and the calendar is updated, the rule follows the new dates.

Checklist

• Find who announces the dates in your country, and expect the announcement close to the day.
• Use your own country's holiday rule for the length of the Eid break.
• Switch on the religious event kind, or single Eid events, with modest adjustments while the dates are expected.
• Avoid long minimum stays on the first and last nights until the announcement.
• Give Ramadan its own rule rather than letting a season or weekend rule run through it.