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The North-region calendar in 2026
The Netherlands fixes its main school holidays nationally but staggers them across three regions, North, Middle and South, to spread holiday traffic. Amsterdam follows the North region, which breaks up earliest of the three for the summer. Local and international schools in the city both work to this North-region framework, though international schools set their own precise term start and end dates and add their own in-service days. For the wider picture of schools and stages, see our international schools in Amsterdam directory, and for the full date tables our Amsterdam school holidays 2026 calendar.
The 2026 holiday dates that shape the year
The North-region holiday dates below apply across Amsterdam in 2026. The May holiday and the Christmas holiday are the same in all three regions; the spring, summer and autumn breaks are region-specific.
| Holiday (North region) | Dates 2026 |
|---|---|
| Spring half-term (Voorjaarsvakantie) | 21 February to 1 March 2026 |
| May holiday (Meivakantie), all regions | Saturday 25 April to Sunday 3 May 2026 |
| Summer holiday (Zomervakantie) | Saturday 4 July to Sunday 16 August 2026 |
| Autumn holiday (Herfstvakantie) | Saturday 10 October to Sunday 18 October 2026 |
| Christmas holiday (Kerstvakantie), all regions | Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 |
These are the centrally set regional dates. King's Day on 27 April falls inside the May holiday window in 2026, and individual schools add their own teacher-training days through the year, so a school's actual closures will be a little wider than the table above. Always confirm against the school's own calendar.
How international school terms map onto the dates
International schools in Amsterdam align their breaks with these North-region holidays but do not all run an identical year. The IB schools, such as the International School of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam International Community School and Amity International School Amsterdam, typically run a year from late August to early July with breaks around the national dates. British curriculum schools, principally the British School of Amsterdam, use a three-term structure with an autumn and a spring half-term that fall in the autumn and voorjaars windows above. The practical upshot is that the national table tells you when the city's families will be travelling, while the exact first and last day of your child's year, and any extra in-service days, come from the individual school. The 2026 to 2027 dates were still being finalised by some schools at the time of writing, so treat the late-August start and early-July finish as indicative until each school confirms.
Choosing a school in Amsterdam?
The school finder filters Amsterdam schools by curriculum, district and stage so you can match the calendar and the programme at once.
Use the school finderPlanning the 2026 year
Three practical points for families planning the Amsterdam school year. First, because the North region breaks up earliest for summer, on Saturday 4 July, Amsterdam families hit the airports and the motorways a week or two before much of the rest of the Netherlands, so book early-July travel well ahead. Second, the May holiday around King's Day is a popular and busy week across the whole country, since all three regions are off together, so prices peak. Third, international school fees are usually billed by semester or term, with the larger invoice falling at the late-August restart; our guide to international school fees in Amsterdam covers the tiers and timing. Families with younger children can also see stage-specific timing in our Amsterdam primary schools guide.
Amsterdam school holidays 2026: FAQ
Amsterdam sits in the Dutch North region of the three-region national holiday calendar. The 2026 North-region summer holiday runs from Saturday 4 July to Sunday 16 August, and the North region breaks up earliest of the three regions. International schools build their own term dates around these national breaks. See our full Amsterdam school holidays 2026 calendar for the detailed tables.
The Dutch North-region summer holiday runs from Saturday 4 July to Sunday 16 August 2026, with schools restarting in the week beginning 17 August. International schools may finish a little earlier and start a little later than the local dates, so confirm the exact end and start of the year with your school.
Broadly, but not always to the day. International schools in Amsterdam align their breaks with the North-region spring, May, summer, autumn and Christmas holidays, but each sets its own term start and end and its own in-service days, and British curriculum schools use a three-term half-term pattern. Always check the school's own published calendar for the precise dates.
The North-region spring half-term, the voorjaarsvakantie, runs from 21 February to 1 March 2026. It is a single week and is staggered by region across the Netherlands, so dates differ from the Middle and South regions. Most Amsterdam international schools take their February break in this window.
Each school publishes its own calendar, and the British School of Amsterdam, the International School of Amsterdam and Amity International School Amsterdam all list term dates on their websites. For the consolidated public-holiday and North-region framework, see our full Amsterdam school holidays 2026 calendar, then confirm the precise figures with your chosen school.