OBJECTIVE To investigate the characteristics of retinal detachment (RD) and compare the outcomes of surgical interventions, such as scleral buckling (SB), pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), or PPV combined with SB, conducted on holidays and on workdays to determine the optimal surgical timing for primary RD treatment in clinical practice. METHODS Retrospective cohort study. METHODS The cohort included 3178 patients with primary RD registered in the Japan Retinal Detachment Registry between February 2016 and March 2017. Surgery data were divided into holiday and workday groups. A descriptive analysis of primary RD characteristics was performed, and the outcomes for each surgical intervention were assessed. The primary outcome was anatomical failure at 6 months post-surgery classified as follows: level 1, inoperable state; level 2, anatomical recovery with silicone-oil use; and level 3, additional surgery required for RD repair. RESULTS The holiday group comprised 108 and the workday, 3070 cases of primary RD. Compared with those in the workday group, surgery in the holiday group took longer (PPV, P < 0.0001; SB, P = 0.047) and was performed by less experienced surgeons (P = 0.014). However, there were no statistically significant differences in surgical failure 6 months post-surgery between the workday and holiday groups. CONCLUSIONS Although surgery conducted on holidays and workdays was not significantly different in terms of outcome, some surgery should be postponed with proper preoperative interim measures to limit RD progress until it can be conducted on workdays by a well-prepared team.