These are the most important national holidays in the Netherlands and an overview of Dutch school holidays. It can be interesting to connect your trip with feast days or events. Cities like Utrecht can be very quiet during school holidays as there are living 35.000 students in Utrecht that leave on vacation in summertime. Their departure has great impact on the city’s social life.
In the Netherlands school holidays are organized by region and by type of school. There are three regions: north, central and south. Scroll down to overview the details.
Planning your trip to Holland
When you plan your trip to Holland in Dutch holiday periods from one side you will enjoy more activities than off to the holiday season and on the other side certain cities are very quiet as most people left on a vacation. Amsterdam, the beach resorts and the Dutch Isles will be crowded in summer while cities inland can be nicely quiet. Take a look at my Events Calender as well. I selected a broad range of events for you. In the summertime all over the country concerts and parties are going. Make your choice and have a good time.
DUTCH HOLIDAYS | ||||
National Holiday | ||||
Date | Day off the week | Week number | ||
New Year’s Day | January 1 | Thursday | Week 1 | |
Good Friday | April 19 | Friday | Week 14 | |
Easter Sunday | April 21 | Sunday | Week 14 | |
Easter Monday | April 22 | Monday | Week 15 | |
Kings Day | April 27 | Saturday | Week 18 | |
Liberation Day | May 5 | Sunday | Week 19 | |
Ascension | May 30 | Thursday | Week 20 | |
Whit Sunday | June 9 | Sunday | Week 21 | |
Whit Monday | June 10 | Monday | Week 22 | |
Christmas Day | December 25 | Wednesday | Week 52 | |
Boxing Day | December 26 | Thursday | Week 52 | |
New Years Eve | December 31 | Tuesday | Week 53 | |
Other Holidays | ||||
Date | Day off the week | Weeknumber | ||
Epiphany | January 6 | Sunday | Week 2 | |
Carnival | March 3 till 5 | Sunday till Tuesday | Week 7 | |
Valentine’s Day | February 14 | Thursday | Week 7 | |
Witte Thursday | April 2 | Thursday | Week 14 | |
Summertime Clock goes one hour forward in time |
March 31 | Saturday | Week 13 | |
Commemoration of the dead | May 4 | Saturday | Week 19 | |
Mothers Day | May 12 | Sunday | Week 19 | |
Fathers Day | June 16 | Sunday | Week 25 | |
Ramadan | May 5 till June 4 | Sunday | Week 26 | |
Eid al-Fitr | June 5 | Tuesday | Week 31 | |
Prinsjesdag Openingday of Dutch parliament | September 17 | Tuesday | Week 38 | |
Animals Day | October 4 | Friday | Week 40 | |
Wintertime Clock goes one hour back in time |
October 25 | Sunday | Week 43 | |
Halloween | October 31 | Thursday | Week 43 | |
Saint Martin | November 11 | Monday | Week 46 | |
St. Nicolas | December 5 | Thursday | Week 49 | |
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS | ||||||
2018/2019 | Northern region | Central region | Southern region | |||
Pre-school |
Secundary School | Pre-school & Primary school |
Secundary School | Pre-school & Primary school |
Secundary School |
|
Christmas Holiday 2018 | 20-12-2018 till 4-1-2019 | |||||
Spring Holiday | 16-2-2019 till 24-2-2019 | 23-2-2019 till 3-3-2019 | 23-2-2019 till 3-3-2019 | |||
May / Tulip Holiday | 27-4-2019 till 5-5-2019 | |||||
Summer Holiday | 13-7-2019 till 25-8-2019 | 20-7-2019 till 1-9-2019 | 6-7-2019 till 18-8-2019 | |||
Autumn Holiday | 19-10-2019 till 27-10-2019 | 19-10-2019 till 27-10-2019 | 12-10-2019 till 20-10-2019 | |||
Christmas Holiday 2019 | 21-12-2019 till 5-1-2020 | |||||