August is the Netherlands's busiest month, with 15.4% of 2025's tourist nights, and February the quietest, with 4.6%. July and August together carried 27.1% of the year, making the Netherlands the 22nd most seasonal of 35 European countries we measured. September was quieter than June, at 8.9% against 11.3%.
The Netherlands, month by month
- Two busiest months
- Other months
When is the Netherlands busiest, and when is it quietest?
August was the busiest month in 2025, with 15.4% of the year's tourist nights. February was the quietest, with 4.6%. That makes August 3.3 times as busy as February.1
Five months each carried less than an average month's share of 8.3%: January, February, March, November and December.
Who stays in the Netherlands: residents or guests from abroad?
In 2025, guests living abroad spent 43.6% of the Netherlands's tourist nights. Residents of the Netherlands spent the rest.1
- Highest share from abroad
- Other months
The share from abroad was highest in April, at 54.2% of that month's nights, and lowest in May, at 38.3%.1
Residents spent more than half of the month's nights in January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Guests from abroad spent more than half in April.
Eurostat counts guests by the country they live in, not by nationality.2
How seasonal is the Netherlands compared with the rest of Europe?
July and August together carried 27.1% of the Netherlands's nights. Ranked by that share, the Netherlands is the 22nd most seasonal of the 35 European countries we measured, where 1 is the country most concentrated into its two busiest months.1
For comparison, the most seasonal country on this measure was Croatia at 54.5%, and the least seasonal was Malta at 21.8%. See all 35 countries ranked.
How full are the Netherlands's hotels each month?
Hotel rooms were fullest in August, when 77.5% were in use, and emptiest in January, at 52.1%.3
- Fullest month
- Other months
This is Eurostat's net occupancy rate of bedrooms: bedrooms in use divided by bedrooms available. It covers hotels and similar places only, not campsites or holiday lets, so it can peak in a different month from the nights figures above.2
How long do guests stay in the Netherlands?
Guests stayed an average of 2.8 nights each time they checked in at tourist accommodation in the Netherlands in 2025: 146,527,390 nights across 52,280,472 arrivals.4 Across the 33 countries on this site with complete figures, the average ran from 1.5 nights in Iceland to 4.7 in Cyprus.4
This is our division of Eurostat's two counts. Eurostat counts an arrival each time a guest checks in at a place to stay, so a traveller who moves between places is counted more than once, and a whole trip is longer than the figure suggests.2
Did accommodation in the Netherlands get more expensive in 2025?
On Eurostat's harmonised index of consumer prices, prices of accommodation services in the Netherlands were 3.0% higher on average in 2025 than in 2024. Across the EU the rise was 4.1%.5
This measures how prices changed, not what a stay costs, so check the current price when you book. Accommodation services cover hotels, motels and inns; holiday centres, campsites and youth hostels; and other places to stay.
What are the Netherlands's public holidays in 2026 and 2027?
In the Netherlands, public holidays fall on 11 days in both 2026 and 2027.6 In 2026, 3 of those days are a Saturday or Sunday.6 The Dutch government notes that no law makes these holidays days off for employees; whether you get the day off depends on your employment contract.
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day Nieuwjaarsdag | Thu 1 January | Fri 1 January |
| Good Friday Goede Vrijdag | Fri 3 April | Fri 26 March |
| Easter Sunday Pasen (eerste paasdag) | Sun 5 April | Sun 28 March |
| Easter Monday Pasen (tweede paasdag) | Mon 6 April | Mon 29 March |
| King's Day Koningsdag | Mon 27 April | Tue 27 April |
| Liberation Day Bevrijdingsdag | Tue 5 May | Wed 5 May |
| Ascension Day Hemelvaartsdag | Thu 14 May | Thu 6 May |
| Whit Sunday Pinksteren (eerste pinksterdag) | Sun 24 May | Sun 16 May |
| Whit Monday Pinksteren (tweede pinksterdag) | Mon 25 May | Mon 17 May |
| Christmas Day Kerstmis (eerste kerstdag) | Fri 25 December | Sat 25 December |
| Second day of Christmas Kerstmis (tweede kerstdag) | Sat 26 December | Sun 26 December |
We took these dates from the official list named in the sources, not from a holiday website. The dates match the European Commission's list of public holidays for 2026.7 Regional and local holidays are not included.
When are the Netherlands' school holidays in 2026–27?
The Netherlands splits its school holidays across three regions, north, central and south, so the dates depend on where you are. Christmas is the same everywhere.8
| Holiday | North | Central | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn (advised) | 10–18 Oct 2026 | 17–25 Oct 2026 | 17–25 Oct 2026 |
| Christmas | 19 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 | 19 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 | 19 Dec 2026 – 3 Jan 2027 |
| Spring (February) (advised) | 20–28 Feb 2027 | 20–28 Feb 2027 | 13–21 Feb 2027 |
| May (advised) | 24 Apr – 2 May 2027 | 24 Apr – 2 May 2027 | 24 Apr – 2 May 2027 |
| Summer | 10 Jul – 22 Aug 2027 | 17 Jul – 29 Aug 2027 | 24 Jul – 5 Sep 2027 |
For the autumn, spring and May holidays the education ministry gives advised dates only, so schools may choose others; it suggests checking with the school.8 The government's page lists which municipalities are in each region.
What is the weather like in Amsterdam each month?
Averaged over 1991–2020, the AmsterdamSchipholAp weather station, which we use for Amsterdam, is warmest in July, with an average high of 22.5 °C, and coldest in February, with an average low of 1.0 °C. Its wettest month is August (99 mm of rain on average) and its driest April (40 mm).9
In February, the Netherlands's quietest month, the station's average high is 6.9 °C and its average low 1.0 °C, with 55 mm of rain. In August, the busiest, the average high is 22.4 °C.9
In February the station averages 10.8 days with at least 1 mm of rain and 94 hours of sunshine.9 On 15 February the sun is up for about 9 h 55 min there, against 14 h 40 min on 15 August.10
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rain | Rainy days | Sunshine | Daylight on the 15th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.2 °C | 1.2 °C | 66 mm | 12.2 days | 69 h | 8 h 15 min |
| February | 6.9 °C | 1.0 °C | 55 mm | 10.8 days | 94 h | 9 h 55 min |
| March | 10.1 °C | 2.8 °C | 52 mm | 9.7 days | 146 h | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 14.3 °C | 5.2 °C | 40 mm | 8.6 days | 198 h | 13 h 55 min |
| May | 17.8 °C | 8.6 °C | 54 mm | 8.9 days | 231 h | 15 h 45 min |
| June | 20.3 °C | 11.3 °C | 65 mm | 9.7 days | 217 h | 16 h 45 min |
| July | 22.5 °C | 13.5 °C | 82 mm | 10.9 days | 225 h | 16 h 20 min |
| August | 22.4 °C | 13.4 °C | 99 mm | 11.6 days | 204 h | 14 h 40 min |
| September | 19.2 °C | 11.0 °C | 84 mm | 10.9 days | 154 h | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 14.7 °C | 7.7 °C | 87 mm | 12.4 days | 117 h | 10 h 40 min |
| November | 10.0 °C | 4.5 °C | 85 mm | 13.4 days | 67 h | 8 h 45 min |
| December | 6.9 °C | 1.9 °C | 82 mm | 14.1 days | 58 h | 7 h 45 min |
Thirty-year averages from one weather station, AmsterdamSchipholAp, which we use for Amsterdam. They describe a typical year at that station, not a forecast, and weather varies across the Netherlands. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain. Daylight is not measured: it is our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset.
June or September? May or October?
September was quieter than June, at 8.9% against 11.3%.
October was quieter than May, at 8.8% against 9.3%.
These compare months at similar distances from the summer peak. For typical weather in Amsterdam, see the weather section.
What these figures cannot tell you
These figures are good at one thing: showing when a country's registered tourist accommodation fills up. Four things they cannot do.
They miss some small places. The counts cover hotels, holiday and short-stay accommodation and campsites, but countries may exclude establishments with fewer than ten bed places, so small guesthouses can be missing.2
Nights are not queues. A national monthly total cannot see how busy one old town, beach or museum is on a given day.
Tourist nights say nothing about weather or prices. The weather section uses 30-year averages from one station, not a forecast. The price section shows how accommodation prices changed, not what a stay costs.
They are one year. These are 2025 figures. Patterns shift from year to year, and Eurostat revises its data as countries update their returns.
The full year
| Month | Share of year | Nights | From abroad |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.7% | 6,878,496 | 43.0% |
| February | 4.6% | 6,759,877 | 39.2% |
| March | 5.9% | 8,579,738 | 44.5% |
| April | 9.1% | 13,344,335 | 54.2% |
| May | 9.3% | 13,590,116 | 38.3% |
| June | 11.3% | 16,505,006 | 41.6% |
| July (one of the two busiest months) | 11.7% | 17,178,861 | 45.2% |
| August (one of the two busiest months) | 15.4% | 22,575,138 | 40.9% |
| September | 8.9% | 13,001,707 | 41.8% |
| October | 8.8% | 12,823,131 | 48.8% |
| November | 5.3% | 7,741,991 | 44.0% |
| December | 5.2% | 7,548,994 | 40.1% |
Total for 2025: 146,527,390 nights, 43.6% of them by guests living abroad. The two busiest months are marked. "From abroad" is the share of that month's nights spent by guests living outside the Netherlands.
Key takeaways
- February was the Netherlands's quietest month in 2025, with 4.6% of the year's tourist nights.
- July and August were the busiest, carrying 27.1% of the year between them.
- The Netherlands ranks 22 of 35 European countries for seasonal concentration, where 1 is the most concentrated.
- Guests living abroad spent 43.6% of the Netherlands's 2025 tourist nights; residents spent the rest.
- Hotel rooms were fullest in August (77.5% in use) and emptiest in January (52.1%).
- Public holidays in the Netherlands fall on 11 days in both 2026 and 2027.
- Dutch summer school holidays in 2027 start on 10 July in the north, 17 July in the central region and 24 July in the south.
- September was quieter than June, at 8.9% against 11.3%.
- What we would skip: assuming every shoulder month is equally quiet. In the Netherlands, June carried 11.3% of the year's nights against September's 8.9%.
Sources
The tourism and hotel figures on this page come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which receives them from each country's national statistical authority. The weather averages come from the World Meteorological Organization's 1991–2020 climate normals, published by the US National Centers for Environmental Information. We downloaded the data directly and calculated the shares, rankings and comparisons ourselves. See how we research.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
- Eurostat, Tourist accommodation reference metadata, on collection by national authorities under Regulation (EU) 692/2011, the definition of a night spent, country of residence, and the ten-bed-place threshold. Read it. Checked 17 September 2026.
- Source: Eurostat, Net occupancy rate of bed-places and bedrooms in hotels and similar accommodation – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_MNOR, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: bedrooms, percentage, January–December 2025.
- Source: Eurostat, Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_ARM, with the nights data (tour_occ_nim), accessed 25 September 2026. Extract: number of arrivals and nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests, January–December 2025. Average stay is our calculation: nights divided by arrivals.
- Source: Eurostat, HICP – annual data (average index and rate of change), doi:10.2908/PRC_HICP_AIND, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: accommodation services (COICOP CP112), annual average rate of change, 2025.
- Public holidays: Rijksoverheid, Wanneer zijn de officiële feestdagen in Nederland?. Read it. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- European Commission, Public holidays 2026, Official Journal of the European Union C/2025/6771, ELI. Used only as a cross-check. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- School holidays: Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, Schoolvakanties 2026-2027, Rijksoverheid open data (CC0 1.0). Read it. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), station AmsterdamSchipholAp (station ID 00006240), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, and total hours of sunshine, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 22 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0.
- Daylight: our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month of 2026 at the weather station's location, by the method of the NOAA Solar Calculator (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, “Solar Calculation Details”, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, allowing 0.833° for refraction and the size of the sun). Read it. Checked 22 September 2026. NOAA notes that calculated times can differ from what is observed.
Modified data. The monthly shares, residence shares, rankings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, so they may not add exactly. Eurostat bears no responsibility for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here. Rainfall is rounded to the nearest millimetre; temperatures are shown as published.