When are the winter holidays in Denmark, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands?

When do the winter holidays take place in Denmark, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, and how do they compare with the Swedish peak season? All four countries have a school holiday in late winter, but they do not all take place at the same time and are organised differently. Denmark and Norway have holidays that are close together in February. In Germany, the holidays vary considerably from one federal state to another. The Netherlands divides its holidays into regions.

For a family looking to book accommodation in Sälenfjällen during the school holidays This isn’t just an academic question. The week you choose determines both the price and how busy the slopes will be. And as the Swedish school holidays are spread over several weeks, there’s almost always a week where your own holidays fall outside the busiest period in Sweden. The exact weeks change every academic year and are decided locally, so always check the current dates with your own school or education authority before you book.

Short answer: this is how the laws overlap

This is what the pattern looks like. Please note that the table describes how the systems are structured, not the dates that apply to a particular year.

The practical implication of the table is that the foreign school holidays tend to cluster around February, whilst the Swedish winter holidays are spread out over a longer period. This allows for flexibility: there are Swedish holiday weeks that do not coincide with any foreign school holidays, and vice versa.

The Swedish school holidays – and why they drive prices

Sweden does not have just one sports holiday, but several. Different parts of the country have their holidays in different weeks, and the reason for this is precisely to avoid everyone travelling at the same time. For Sälenfjällen, this means that occupancy remains high over a long, continuous period in February and March, with clear peaks during the weeks when the most populous Swedish regions have their holidays.

Prices vary according to occupancy. Peak weeks are the most expensive, whilst the weeks before and after are noticeably cheaper, and the difference is often greater than most people realise. We have described what the Swedish season looks like as a whole in our article on during the peak season at Sälen.

Denmark and Norway: the weeks to keep an eye on

The Danish winter holidays take place in February and last for one week. The specific week varies from municipality to municipality, which in practice means that the Danish winter holidays span more than one calendar week when viewed across the country as a whole. Many Danish families have a long tradition of travelling to Swedish mountain resorts, and Sälenfjällen has long been one of the most popular destinations.

The Norwegian winter holidays take place later in February or in early March, and the timing of the week varies across different parts of the country. The difference compared with Denmark is that many Norwegian families have shorter journeys and therefore also travel over individual weekends, not just during the holiday week.

The same applies to both countries: check your own local authority’s school calendar for the academic year you are planning for. The weeks shift from year to year, and they do not shift in the same way everywhere.

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium

Germany is the most difficult of the countries to navigate, as school holidays are determined by each federal state individually. Some federal states have a full week of Winterferien, others just a couple of days off around a local bank holiday, and some have no separate winter holiday at all. The holidays are also deliberately spread out over the year. In practical terms, this means that a German family can rarely rely on what applies in a neighbouring federal state, but must check their own federal state’s calendar.

The Netherlands divides its winter holiday, the ‘krokusvakantie’, into three regions: the north, the centre and the south. The regions have different weeks, which helps to spread the pressure. Belgium has a similar holiday at the end of winter, linked to the carnival, and the week may vary between the country’s language communities.

What all three have in common is that the school holidays are short, often just one week. This makes the journey a real factor: a long car journey takes up two out of seven days. Many families from these countries therefore choose to add a few days on either side of the holidays, or to travel in a completely different week.

Which weeks are the quietest for a family from abroad?

This is where the real opportunity lies. If you’re not tied to a single week, there are options where you can enjoy the same snow, the same slopes and the same accommodation at a lower price and with fewer people around you:

• The weeks in January Before the European holidays. A cold, stable winter and quiet on the slopes.
• The week immediately before or immediately after your own week off, if you can take a few days off school.
• The period between the school holidays in other countries and the final weeks of the Swedish winter holidays.
• Late winter after Easter, which often have long daylight hours and milder weather.

A word of caution: snow conditions vary throughout the season, and the early or late weeks are not in every respect the same as the height of winter. Please check what is open during the dates you are considering, particularly at the start and end of the season.

Easter and late winter as alternatives

Easter is a case in itself, and its date varies considerably from year to year. An early Easter falls in the middle of winter, whilst a late Easter occurs in late winter, with completely different conditions. This makes it difficult to compare Easter directly with the February half-term, but it’s also interesting: a late Easter brings long, light days and a completely different pace on the slopes compared to a February half-term week.

What’s more, the Easter holidays fall at roughly the same time in most European countries, as they follow the church year rather than the school calendar. This means that Easter is a very busy time, but it also means that families from abroad don’t have to convert weeks between different systems. We have summarised the relevant information for Easter in Sälenfjällen on a separate page.

This is how early you should book from abroad

The more tied you are to a single week, the earlier you’ll need to book. A family that can only travel during their own school holidays is competing with all the other families in the same region for the same dates, and the best properties are snapped up first. A family that can choose between two or three weeks has a much wider choice and can also compare prices between the different weeks.

Visitors from abroad often have one extra thing to plan: transport. Ferry berths and cabins during the school holidays sell out well in advance, and should be booked at the same time as accommodation, not afterwards. We have discussed how far in advance it is reasonable to book in the article on how far in advance you should book, and we describe the practical aspects of making a cross-border booking in our guide on booking from abroad.

Summary – choose the right week for you

European winter holidays are concentrated in February, whilst the Swedish sports holiday is spread over several weeks in February and March. Danish and Norwegian winter holidays are close together but vary from one municipality to another. The German Winterferien are determined by each federal state and vary the most of all. The Dutch ‘krokusvakantie’ is divided into three regions, and the Belgian holiday follows the carnival. Here’s what to do: look up your own school’s dates for the academic year you’re planning, compare them with Sälen’s peak season, and see if you can shift your dates by a week in either direction. If you can, both the price and the crowds will be lower, and the snow will be just as good. Always check the current holiday weeks with your own school or education authority, as these are decided on an academic year basis. If you’d like help finding a week that suits both your holidays and your budget, we’d be happy to work it out with you.