Netherlands School Holidays 2026 and 2027
This page contains a calendar of all 2026 and 2027 school holidays in the Netherlands. These dates are unlikely to be modified by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. However, please check back regularly for any updates that may occur.
School Calendar 2025-2026
| School Holidays | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Holidays (South Region) | 11 Oct 2025 (Sat) | 19 Oct 2025 (Sun) |
| Autumn Holidays (Central & North Regions) | 18 Oct 2025 (Sat) | 26 Oct 2025 (Sun) |
| Christmas Holidays | 20 Dec 2025 (Sat) | 4 Jan 2026 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (Central & South Regions) | 14 Feb 2026 (Sat) | 22 Feb 2026 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (North Region) | 21 Feb 2026 (Sat) | 1 Mar 2026 (Sun) |
| May Holidays | 25 Apr 2026 (Sat) | 3 May 2026 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (North Region) | 4 Jul 2026 (Sat) | 16 Aug 2026 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (South Region) | 11 Jul 2026 (Sat) | 23 Aug 2026 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (Central Region) | 18 Jul 2026 (Sat) | 30 Aug 2026 (Sun) |
School Calendar 2026-2027
| School Holidays | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Holidays (North Region) | 10 Oct 2026 (Sat) | 18 Oct 2026 (Sun) |
| Autumn Holidays (Central & South Regions) | 17 Oct 2026 (Sat) | 25 Oct 2026 (Sun) |
| Christmas Holidays | 19 Dec 2026 (Sat) | 3 Jan 2027 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (South Region) | 13 Feb 2027 (Sat) | 21 Feb 2027 (Sun) |
| Spring Holidays (Central & North Regions) | 20 Feb 2027 (Sat) | 28 Feb 2027 (Sun) |
| May Holidays | 24 Apr 2027 (Sat) | 2 May 2027 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (North Region) | 10 Jul 2027 (Sat) | 22 Aug 2027 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (Central Region) | 17 Jul 2027 (Sat) | 29 Aug 2027 (Sun) |
| Summer Holidays (South Region) | 24 Jul 2027 (Sat) | 5 Sep 2027 (Sun) |
Please visit rijksoverheid.nl for the original release of the 2025-2026 approved calendar and 2026-2027 approved calendar.
School holidays are divided into 3 regions:
- North Region – Province of Groningen (All municipalities), Province of Friesland (All municipalities), Province of Drenthe (All municipalities), Province of Overijssel (All municipalities), Province of Flevoland (All municipalities except Zeewolde), Province of Gelderland (Hattem), Province of Utrecht (Eemnes and the former municipality of Abcoude), and Province of North Holland (All municipalities)
- Central Region – Province of Flevoland (Zeewolde only), Province of Gelderland (Aalten, Apeldoorn, Barneveld, Berkelland, Bronckhorst, Brummen, Buren, Culemborg, Doetinchem, Ede, Elburg, Epe, Ermelo, Geldermalsen, Harderwijk, Heerde, Lingewaal, Lochem, Montferland (except the former municipality of Didam), Neder-Betuwe (except the former municipality of Dodewaard), Neerijnen, Nijkerk, Nunspeet, Oldebroek, Oost-Gelre, Oude IJsselstreek, Putten, Scherpenzeel, Tiel, Voorst, Wageningen, Winterswijk and Zutphen), Province of Utrecht (All municipalities except Eemnes and the former municipality of Abcoude), Province of South Holland (All municipalities), and Province of North Brabant Werkendam (except the communities of Hank and Dussen) and Woudrichem)
- South Region – Province of Gelderland (Arnhem, Beuningen, Doesburg, Druten, Duiven, Groesbeek, Heumen, Neder-Betuwe (only the former municipality of Dodewaard), Lingewaard, Maasdriel, Millingen aan de Rijn, Montferland (only the former municipality of Didam), Nijmegen, Overbetuwe, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Rijnwaarden, Ubbergen, Westervoort, West Maas & Waal, Wijchen, Zaltbommel and Zevenaar), Province of Zeeland (All municipalities), Province of North Brabant (All municipalities except Woudrichem and the communities of Sleeuwijk, Nieuwendijk and Werkendam in the municipality of Werkendam) and Province of Limburg (All municipalities)
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science sets the school holiday dates for primary, secondary and special education schools in the Netherlands each year.
The Ministry sets compulsory school holiday periods like Christmas (2 weeks), May holiday (1 week) and the summer holidays (6 weeks) which must be adhered to by primary, secondary and special education schools. The Ministry gives only advisory dates for the spring (1 week) and autumn (1 week) holiday. The arrangement is different for institutions of secondary vocational education (MBO) and higher education schools, which are free to set their own holiday dates each year, providing that all the study load requirements are met.
The school holiday dates varies across regions to distribute the peaks of holiday traffic. For instance, the start date of the 6-week summer holidays in the Netherlands is spread across 3 weeks – first week of July, second week of July and third week of July. As a result, schools in each region will have a different start date of the new school year.