julies

I was just reading some old posts, and someone mentioned that school half term for a lot of Europe in 2010 was the end of May and beginning of June. Is that the same this year? If so, what are the dates? We are just starting to try to put together a trip in northern Italy in that time frame and wonder if we'll run into difficulties with many places being full. Thanks.

girlonthego

I am not sure about half terms? We were traveling through Austria in 2008 and encountered an end of school year party and it was around June 30th. It seemed the schools in Austria go till the end of June.

We will be traveling at the end of May in northern Italy and I do not expect it to be as crowded as later in June.
The US schools tend to go mid June to late June and so the tourists with kids tend to probably kick in about then. College kids in the US are done early May to mid May and will be traveling earlier possibly. Hope this helps you a little..

quokka

What is "half term"?

hetismij2

There isn't a European half term. Every country has it's own school holidays, and they are all different.

The Netherlands schools have one or two weeks from 27 April this year.

In the UK it depends on the area, but generally speaking it is the last week of May.

I have no idea what other countries have by way of school holidays then. You can probably Google them easily enough.

Finecheapboxofwine

Sweden has a winter break in Feburary for one week. Then another week in March/April for spring break. I would consider February to be half term timing when it comes to schools.

fourfortravel

Here in Vienna the International schools and Austrian schools break at different times in February (ski break) and around Easter (spring break), and there is a long school holiday weekend in the latter part of May for both. International schools break in mid-June for summer, and the Austrian schools break at the end of June.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

From the calendar of a senior school down here in southern Italy, where the summer term is now under way - no half term as such but public holidays (that some people will stretch into long weekends) thus:

25 April - Liberazione;
1st May - Lavoro;
2nd June - Repubblica;

... with term ending on 8th June, before it gets too hot to be at school! Many of those not taking exams will be out on "school trips" during the last few weeks, in museums, at archaeological sites etc...

Back "home" in the UK, families often take the chance for a get-away around the weekend of the Whitsun / Spring Bank holiday (which falls on May 27th in 2013).... before the schools continue well into June, or even July.

No promises that it's entirely typical, but...

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms...erm-dates.aspx

Peter

cathies

As far as I know 'spring break' is an American holiday. Europe is made up of lots of independent countries. I don't know why you would think they all have the same school holidays.

indy_dad

Half term is a UK term. Here the schools do tend to align their schedules similarly. The 3 terms are typcially separated by longer breaks at Christmas, Easter and summer. Between terms, there are "half term" breaks in October, February and the end of May. Folks with school age children (like us) do tend to travel during those times.

That said, I doubt it would apply to anyplace in "Europe" which are likely to have a varied range of school breaks.

julies

When I read the posting I wondered to myself why schools would be having a small break at this time of year because it didn't seem to logical according to any school calendar I'd ever thought about. So, good, I won't have problems with it being a super busy time with massive numbers of families traveling, but there are definitely schools that will be out at this time of year. And, thanks for the heads up about the Repubblica holiday in Italy.

quokka

There are a number of Christian holidays around that time of year (Ascension, Pentecost weekend, Corpus Christi) which allow long "bridge" weekends where they are public holidays, so short school holidays around these make sense. However, Europe consists of 47 independent countries, and school holidays vary not only from country to country but, for example in Germany they vary from federal state to federal state.

hetismij2

julies - schools in some countries do not have months off in the summer, six or seven weeks is normal, often not starting until mid July, hence the short week break in May.
In the UK it traditionally ties in with Whitsun, though now the May bank holiday is fixed rather than moveable like Whitsun so the May half-term is fixed.

In the Netherlands we have Koninginnedag on April 30th plus Ascension day on 9 May, so many schools are having a two week break then, plus another day for Whitsun on 20th May.
Schools then finish for the six or seven week break from the beginning of July, depending on where in the Netherlands they are.
Children here also only get two days for Easter.

Odin

"Half term" and "end of term" refer to school terms in the UK. The dates vary within the UK as each county will have slightly different school term dates.

Cathinjoetown

To add to the mix, French schools have staggered printemps breaks.

Dates are 22 April to 6 May, 15 April to 29 April and 29 April to 13 May.

Alec

You really cannot tell. Each country, often each state/province (or a bunch of them) have different dates, and even the same school may vary their breaks by a few days each year.
Generally, you can expect one or two weeks around Holy Week/Easter, may be a few days to a week around Whitsun, and long summer holidays start in June or July till August (in Northern Europe) or September (Southern Europe).