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School holidays in the Netherlands

The Netherlands - Living#

School holidays

There are various school holidays in the Netherlands:

  • Spring break (voorjaarsvakantie, carnavalsvakantie or krokusvakantie): 1 week
  • May holidays (meivakantie): 1-2 weeks, depending on holidays
  • Summer (zomervakantie): 6 weeks
  • Autumn holidays (herfstvakantie): 1 week
  • Winter holidays (kerstvakantie): 2 weeks

Fixed and flexible school holidays in the Netherlands

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap OCW) clearly defines summer, Christmas and May holidays. Schools may deviate from the recommended holiday season for spring break and fall break. For example, schools in the south of the Netherlands like to move their spring break forward to include the carnival days. Although the May holidays cannot be postponed, schools can extend them by one week.

It is essential to match the exact dates with the school. The correct holiday times and days off are usually available on the website of the respective school (Rooster or Schoolgids).

 

School holidays Regions [a]

Regions

When determining holidays, Dutch schools and international schools in the Netherlands are divided into three regions: North, Central, and South. Similar to the German states, each region has its own holiday plan to avoid traffic jams.

 

The following overview shows for each region which provinces and municipalities belong to the region. [1]

 

North region (Regio Noord)

Province Municipality
Drenthe All municipalities
Flevoland All municipalities except Zeewolde
Friesland All municipalities
Gelderland Hattem
Groningen All municipalities
Noord-Holland All municipalities
Overijssel All municipalities
Utrecht Eemnes and the former municipality Abcoude

Central Region (Regio Midden)

Province Municipality
Flevoland Zeewolde
Gelderland Aalten, Apeldoorn, Barneveld, Berkelland, Bronckhorst, Brummen, Buren, Culemborg, Doetinchem, Ede, Elburg, Epe, Ermelo, Geldermalsen, Harderwijk, Heerde, Lingewaal, Lochem,  Montferland (except the former municipality Didam), Neder-Betuwe  (except the former municipality Dodewaard), Neerijnen, Nijkerk, Nunspeet, Oldebroek, Oost-Gelre, Oude IJsselstreek, Putten, Scherpenzeel, Tiel, Voorst, Wageningen, Winterswijk and Zutphen
Noord-Brabant Werkendam (except the village centers Hank and Dussen) and Woudrichem
Utrecht All municipalities except Eemnes and the former municipality Abcoude
Zuid-Holland All municipalities

South region (Regio Zuid)

Province Municipality
Gelderland Arnhem, Beuningen, Doesburg, Druten, Duiven, Groesbeek, Heumen, Neder-Betuwe (only the former municipality Dodewaard), Lingewaard, Maasdriel, Millingen a/d Rijn, Montferland (only the former municipality Didam), Nijmegen, Overbetuwe, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Rijnwaarden, Ubbergen, Westervoort, West Maas en Waal, Wijchen,Zaltbommel and Zevenaar.
Limburg All municipalities
Noord-Brabant All municipalities except Woudrichem and the village centers Sleeuwijk, Nieuwendijk and Werkendam in the municipality Werkendam
Zeeland All municipalities

The Netherlands - Living

Overview school holidays

   

Regio Noord

Regio Midden

Regio Zuid
School year
2019 - 2020

Herfst­vakan­tie

Octo­ber 19
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 27, 2019

Octo­ber 19
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 27, 2019

Octo­ber 12
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 20, 2019

Kerst­vakan­tie

Decem­ber 21, 2019
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 5, 2020

Decem­ber 21, 2019
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 5, 2020

Decem­ber 21, 2019
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 5, 2020

Voor­jaars­vakan­tie

Febru­ary 15
up to and in­clud­ing
Febru­ary 23, 2020

Febru­ary 22
up to and in­clud­ing
March 1, 2020

Febru­ary 22
up to and in­clud­ing
March 1, 2020

Mei­vakan­tie

April 25
up to and in­clud­ing
May 3, 2020

April 25
up to and in­clud­ing
May 3, 2020

April 25
up to and in­clud­ing
May 3, 2020

Zomer­vakan­tie

July 4
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 16, 2020

July 18
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 30, 2020

July 11
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 23, 2020
School year
2020 - 2021

Herfst­vakan­tie

Octo­ber 10
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 18, 2020

Octo­ber 17
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 25, 2020

Octo­ber 17
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 25, 2020

Kerst­vakan­tie

Decem­ber 19, 2020
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 3, 2021

Decem­ber 19, 2020
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 3, 2021

Decem­ber 19, 2020
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 3, 2021

Voor­jaars­vakan­tie

Febru­ary 20
up to and in­clud­ing
Febru­ary 28, 2021

Febru­ary 20
up to and in­clud­ing
Febru­ary 28, 2021

Febru­ary 13
up to and in­clud­ing
Febru­ary 21, 2021

Mei­vakan­tie

May 1
up to and in­clud­ing
May 9, 2021

May 1
up to and in­clud­ing
May 9, 2021

May 1
up to and in­clud­ing
May 9, 2021

Zomer­vakan­tie

July 10
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 22, 2021

July 17
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 29, 2021

July 24
up to and in­clud­ing
September 5, 2021
School year
2021 - 2022

Herfst­vakan­tie

Octo­ber 16
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 24, 2021

Octo­ber 16
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 24, 2021

Octo­ber 23
up to and in­clud­ing
Octo­ber 31, 2021

Kerst­vakan­tie

Decem­ber 25, 2021
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 9, 2022

Decem­ber 25, 2021
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 9, 2022

Decem­ber 25, 2021
up to and in­clud­ing
Janu­ary 9, 2022

Voor­jaars­vakan­tie

Febru­ary 19
up to and in­clud­ing
Febru­ary 27, 2022

Febru­ary 26
up to and in­clud­ing
March 6, 2022

Febru­ary 26
up to and in­clud­ing
March 6, 2022

Mei­vakan­tie

April 30
up to and in­clud­ing
May 8, 2022

April 30
up to and in­clud­ing
May 8, 2022

April 30
up to and in­clud­ing
May 8, 2022

Zomer­vakan­tie

July 16
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 28, 2022

July 9
up to and in­clud­ing
Au­gust 21, 2022

July 23
up to and in­clud­ing
Sep­tem­ber 4, 2022

Sources:
[1] Overheid (2017). Regio's schoolvakantie. Retrieved on November 1, 2019, from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/schoolvakanties/regios-schoolvakantie

[a] Developed with Microsoft Excel, supported by Bing, © GeoNames, HERE, MSFT, Wikipedia; Map may differ from the specifications