Buenos Aires school holidays 2026

Argentine public holidays 2026

Every school in Buenos Aires closes on Argentine national public holidays. Some are fixed, some are moveable to create long weekends, and the government also designates a few non-working tourism days each year.

Carnival in February falls inside the long summer break, so it rarely affects school days. The cluster of patriotic holidays from May to July is where most school closures and long weekends land during the teaching year.

Buenos Aires term dates 2026

State schools across the province of Buenos Aires and the autonomous city (CABA) follow a calendar set each year by the education authorities, guaranteeing 190 teaching days. Because the country sits in the southern hemisphere, the year runs March to December rather than September to June. The headline 2026 dates are below.

There is no autumn or spring half term in the Argentine system. The teaching year is effectively two long halves split by the July winter break, with single closure days on the national holidays above. Dates can vary by a day or two between the province and the city, so confirm with your specific school.

International school term dates

Buenos Aires has a deep tradition of bilingual and international schools (St Andrew's Scots School, Northlands, Belgrano Day School, St George's College and the American-curriculum Asociacion Escuelas Lincoln among them). Most of them follow the local southern-hemisphere year, opening in late February or early March and finishing in early December, with the same July winter break as state schools.

The exception is a small number of American schools that run a northern-hemisphere August to June calendar to align with the United States. For a family moving from the northern hemisphere this is the single most important question to settle early, because choosing a local-calendar school can mean a child either repeats or skips part of a year in the transition. All international schools still close on the Argentine national public holidays above. To weigh the curricula on offer read the curriculum guide.

Planning the year

Three practical notes for Buenos Aires families. First, the December to February summer is the natural window for a long trip or a visit to the northern hemisphere, and it coincides with the Argentine holiday exodus to the coast and to Patagonia, so domestic travel books up early. Second, the July winter break is short but popular for skiing in Bariloche and the Andes; prices peak across those two weeks. Third, for families arriving from a northern-hemisphere school, the March start means a mid-year move can leave a gap of several months, which is worth planning around. For how the city compares on lifestyle and neighbourhoods return to the Buenos Aires city guide.

Common questions

When does the 2026 school year start in Buenos Aires? The 2026 school year starts on 2 March 2026 for most levels across the province and the city, and runs through to December.

When do schools break up in Buenos Aires for winter 2026? The mid-year winter break runs from 20 to 31 July 2026, two weeks in the coldest part of the southern winter.

How long is the summer holiday in Buenos Aires? School ends around 22 December 2026 and the summer break runs through January and February, roughly ten to eleven weeks, before classes resume at the start of March.

Does Buenos Aires follow a January to December school year? Yes. As a southern-hemisphere city it runs March to December, with the long summer over December to February and a two-week winter break in July.

Do international schools in Buenos Aires follow the local calendar? Most do, running the local March to December year. A few American schools follow a northern-hemisphere August to June calendar, so check each school directly.

Related guides

• Buenos Aires city guide
• Compare curricula
• London school holidays 2026