When are the school holidays in NZ? Plan your travels in Aotearoa
We suggest you use this information to help you plan your travels around New Zealand based on the upcoming school holidays.
As a world-renowned tourist destination and local favourite, people are always on the road in New Zealand.
School holidays, however, can have a significant impact on the availability of accommodation and activities around the country and can make travel more expensive.
They can also create a real buzz and excitement on a town centre and provide a great opportunity for local families to see Aotearoa – creating memories to last a lifetime in the process.
When though is the best time to travel in New Zealand?
Whether you’re looking to specifically travel within the NZ school holidays, or you’re keen to avoid them, this information will help you to lock your dates in.
To make your planning easy, we’ve provided information regarding both term dates and school holidays (so you can focus on the timeframe you really want), along with public holidays.
You should also check our 101 New Zealand travel FAQs guide for first-time visitors. It covers a wide range of topics such as visas, currency, transportation, weather, and more, that you may find helpful for your upcoming trip.
Happy travels!
School Holidays NZ – Plan Your Aotearoa Adventure
When are the School Holidays in NZ?
The vast majority of schools in New Zealand observe the same school holidays.
Though it’s worth noting that university students and private school students do have slightly different holidays, our public schools have the largest impact on the rest of the country.
The largest break for students (which coincides with our peak travel season), falls from mid-December until the beginning of February. These holidays are approximately 6 weeks long, whilst other holidays span two weeks at a time and are spread three times across the year.
Schools are able to set their own start and end dates for the year (within a period of approximately a week) so there will be a staggered start and end each year. For the most part though, holidays are consistent across the country.
How Might School Holidays Impact My Travel Plans in New Zealand?
Without doubt, school holidays are a busier (and often, more expensive) time to travel, so if you’re able to avoid them, it will work in your favour.
In an ideal world, the school holidays are not the best time to visit New Zealand due to the cost and number of people circulating.
With that said though, many local families can only ever travel in the school holidays and don’t generally face any problems (aside from inflated airfares and busy campsites at the peak of summer).
If you’re restricted to the school holidays (or long weekends, which are also busy travel times), don’t let it stop you from having an amazing New Zealand adventure!
Did you know? Though they have a similar impact, the Australian school holidays make travel in New Zealand busier too – in particular, Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.
Download the NZ (and Australian) School Holidays to Your Calendar
To help make planning your holidays in New Zealand easy, we’ve added the following calendars for you.
To read the calendars in this post, read on.
Download the iCal option if you would like to add the current calendar to your own. If you are running Google Calendars it’s best to choose that option as you will then receive all future updates automatically.
New Zealand School Holidays
- iCal (download to your own calendar)
- Google Calendar (follow our calendar for future updates)
Key Australian School Holidays
- iCal (download to your own calendar)
- Google Calendar (follow our calendar for future updates)
New Zealand Public Holidays
- iCal (download to your own calendar)
- Google Calendar (follow our calendar for future updates)
2023 School Holiday and Term Dates
New Zealand School Holidays 2023
The following information will allow you to make travel arrangements that fall within the 2023 school holidays in New Zealand.
Each of the following dates are inclusive.
If the school holidays for that term start on a Saturday, the last day of school will be the Friday prior.
If a holiday finishes on a Sunday, the following day (Monday) will be the first day back at school.
| School Holidays NZ 2023 | Start | Finish |
| 2022/2023 Summer Holidays | Between Sun 29 Jan & Mon 6 Feb 2023 | |
| Term 1 Holidays – Autumn | Fri 6 Apr 2023 | Sun 23 April 2023 |
| Term 2 Holidays – Winter | Sat 1 Jul 2023 | Sun 16 Jul 2023 |
| Term 3 Holidays – Spring | Sat 23 Sept 2023 | Sun 8 Oct 2023 |
| Term 4 Holidays – Summer | No later than Thurs 21 Dec 2023 |
Term Time for NZ Schools in 2023
The following information will allow you to make travel arrangements that fall within the 2023 term dates in New Zealand.
If you choose to travel between these dates you can generally expect accommodation and activities to be quieter than during school holidays.
Each of the following dates are inclusive.
If the term starts on a Monday, the last day of the holidays will be the Sunday before.
If a term finishes on a Friday, the following day (Saturday) will be the first day of holidays.
| School Terms 2023 | Start | Finish |
| Term 1 | Between Mon 30 Jan & Tues 7 Feb 2023 | Thurs 6 April 2023 |
| Term 2 | Mon 24 April 2023 | Fri 30 June 2023 |
| Term 3 | Mon 17 July 2023 | Fri 22 Sept 2023 |
| Term 4 | Mon 9 Oct 2023 | No later than Wed 20 Dec 2023 |
Public Holidays in 2023
The following public holidays are observed right across New Zealand.
In addition, each region also has its own anniversary day.
To help you plan your travels, we have displayed both school holidays and public holidays together – if you’re travelling with children, combining the two can be a great bonus (though this timeframe is likely to be busier than normal).
| School Terms 2023 | Public Holidays | School Holidays |
| Term 1 | Waitangi Day– Mon 6 Feb (sometimes in school holidays), During school holidays: Good Friday – Fri 7 April, Easter Monday – Mon 10 April, Easter Tuesday – Tues 11 April (a holiday for schools only) | Fri 7 April – Sun 23 April |
| Term 2 | Anzac Day – Tues 25 April Queen’s Birthday – Mon 5 June During school holidays: Matariki– Fri 14 July | Sat 1 Jul – Sun 16 July |
| Term 3 | None | Sat 23 Sept – Sun 8 Oct |
| Term 4 | Labour Day – Mon 23 Oct During school holidays: Christmas Day – Mon 25 Dec Boxing Day – Tues 26 Dec New Year’s Day – Mon 1 Jan 2024 | Start no later than Thurs 21 Dec 2023 |
2024 School Holiday and Term Dates
New Zealand School Holidays 2024
The following information will allow you to make travel arrangements that fall within the 2024 school holidays in New Zealand.
Each of the following dates are inclusive.
If the school holidays for that term start on a Saturday, the last day of school will be the Friday prior.
If a holiday finishes on a Sunday, the following day (Monday) will be the first day back at school.
| School Holidays NZ 2024 | Start | Finish |
| 2023/2024 Summer Holidays | Between Sun 28 Jan & Tues 6 Feb 2024 | |
| Term 1 Holidays – Autumn | Sat 13 Apr 2024 | Sun 28 April 2024 |
| Term 2 Holidays – Winter | Sat 6 Jul 2024 | Sun 21 Jul 2024 |
| Term 3 Holidays – Spring | Sat 28 Sept 2024 | Sun 13 Oct 2024 |
| Term 4 Holidays – Summer | No later than Sat 21 Dec 2024 |
Term Time for NZ Schools in 2024
The following information will allow you to make travel arrangements that fall within the 2024 term dates in New Zealand.
If you choose to travel between these dates you can generally expect accommodation and activities to be quieter than during school holidays.
Each of the following dates are inclusive.
If the term starts on a Monday, the last day of the holidays will be the Sunday before.
If a term finishes on a Friday, the following day (Saturday) will be the first day of holidays.
| School Terms 2024 | Start | Finish |
| Term 1 | Between Mon 29 Jan & Wed 7 Feb 2024 | Fri 12 April 2024 |
| Term 2 | Mon 29 April 2024 | Fri 5 July 2024 |
| Term 3 | Mon 22 July 2024 | Fri 27 Sept 2024 |
| Term 4 | Mon 14 Oct 2024 | No later than Fri 20 Dec 2024 |
Public Holidays in 2023
The following public holidays are observed right across New Zealand.
In addition, each region also has its own anniversary day.
To help you plan your travels, we have displayed both school holidays and public holidays together – if you’re travelling with children, combining the two can be a great bonus (though this timeframe is likely to be busier than normal).
| School Terms 2024 | Public Holidays | School Holidays |
| Term 1 | Waitangi Day – Tuesday 6 February (sometimes in school holidays) Good Friday – 29 March, Easter Monday – 1 April, Easter Tuesday – 2 April (a holiday for schools only) During school holidays: ANZAC Day 25 April | Sat 13 April – Sun 28 April |
| Term 2 | Queen’s Birthday – Mon 3 June, Matariki – Fri 28 June | Sat 6 Jul – Sun 21 July |
| Term 3 | None | Sat 28 Sept – Sun 13 Oct |
| Term 4 | Labour Day – Mon 28 Oct, During school holidays: Christmas Day – Wed 25 Dec, Boxing Day – Thurs 26 Dec, New Year’s Day – Wed 1 Jan 2025 | Start nolater than Fri 20 Dec 2024 |
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