Busy/Quiet Weeks of the Winter Sports Season

[ChrisC]

I liked this article because it contained more data than just a school calendar.

Online, recommendations for February are often: Italy (no school breaks, but watch out in Sud Tirol for Carnavale), Switzerland, and some of the Maurienne Valley in France.

I liked this chart the most: busiest weeks broken down by nationality.

Calendar

wintersport.nl

www.wintersport.nl

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Busy and quiet weeks of the 2025/2026 winter sports season​

Roel on February 25, 2025 · 78 comments[/COLOR]
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What are the busy and quiet weeks in winter 2025/2026?
School holidays are always the busiest weeks for winter sports. But which weeks will those be in 2025/2026, considering the holidays in the Netherlands and across Europe? And which weeks will be quieter? Just like in previous years, we've researched when the slopes will be busy this coming winter.

School holidays in the Netherlands winter 2025/2026​

To determine which weeks are the busiest, we start with the school holidays in the Netherlands. For winter sports, the Christmas holidays (two weeks) and the spring break/crocus period are important. The spring break is always divided by region, but note that Carnival, not the government's recommended dates , is the determining factor for the holidays in the south of the Netherlands . In 2025/2026, it won't matter, as the recommended dates will coincide with Carnival. This means the following:


[th]
School holidays

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Period

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[td]Christmas holidays:[/td][td]December 20, 2025 to January 3, 2026[/td][td]Spring break South Netherlands:[/td][td]February 14 to 21, 2026[/td][td]Spring break Central Netherlands:[/td][td]February 14 to 21, 2026[/td][td]Spring break Northern Netherlands:[/td][td]February 21-28, 2026[/td]

In 2025/2026, the South of the Netherlands will have its holidays at the same time as Central Netherlands, making it busier than in 2024/2025. Northern Netherlands will have its own week.

Foreign winter sports enthusiasts​

A much larger group of winter sports enthusiasts comes from abroad. Ultimately, it's the Dutch and internationals together who determine how busy it is on the slopes, in the lifts, and in mountain restaurants in certain weeks. The same applies to the crowds on the roads and when searching for accommodations . At your request, we've also looked more closely at Northern and Eastern Europe, with input from experts in those countries.
Germany has by far the largest number of skiers: nearly 15 million. Germans don't all spend a whole week in the Alps, but they are by far the largest group in Europe. The French are in second place with 8.6 million winter sports enthusiasts. Other large countries are Italy and Poland (nearly 5 million each). Austria and Switzerland have approximately 3 million.
DuitslandFrankrijkItaliëPolenOostenrijkZwitserland
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Number of winter sports enthusiasts per country (in millions)[/COLOR]
The Czech Republic has approximately 2.2 million winter sports enthusiasts. Sweden and Norway have 1.8 million and 1.2 million, respectively, although a large portion remains in Scandinavia. Smaller numbers are seen in Denmark (0.7 million) and Hungary (0.6 million), who primarily head to the Alps.

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European school holidays in 2025/2026​

Because Germany and France host the most winter sports enthusiasts, it's important to know when they have their holidays. This is also increasingly true for Poles and Czechs, who mainly travel to Austria and Italy. Below are the main European school holidays for 2025/2026:

What are the busiest winter sports weeks?​

Based on European holiday data, we can estimate the total weekly crowds for the winter of 2025/2026. Note: This is a general overview of the Alps. Crowds may vary in specific ski resorts. We also have a few additional graphs that filter out the largest groups: the French, Germans, and Poles. This is because, for example, French holidaymakers rarely ski in Austria, and Germans rarely ski in France. You can read more about this here .
Total

What stands out?​

These are the key findings for winter 2025/2026:

• The second week of the Christmas holidays (December 27th to January 3rd) is the busiest. Most winter sports enthusiasts have their holidays at the same time, and this year, the Polish are joining them. Due to a combination of circumstances, they will have two weeks of Christmas holidays instead of one this winter. Since this is a large group of winter sports enthusiasts, the second week of the Christmas holidays is busier than usual. This is particularly noticeable in Austria and Italy (Dolomites).
• The February peak is back. In February 2025, the February rush was well-distributed, but in 2026, there will be another week that is significantly busier: February 14th to 21st, 2026. In addition to the south and central Netherlands, large parts of Germany, France, and the British Isles will have a holiday.
• The week in the Northern Netherlands (February 21-28, 2026) is the second-busiest week in February. The French Alps are particularly busy then, as two of the three French zones are on holiday. However, if you exclude the French (who usually ski in their own country), the crowds aren't too bad.

Read more about the characteristics/habits of certain groups of winter sports enthusiasts here

• The weeks leading up to Christmas and the week of January 10-17, 2026 , are particularly quiet winter sports weeks . In the major countries, almost no one has a holiday then. If conditions are good, these are recommended for a winter sports holiday. Otherwise, it's quiet from mid-March onwards.
• Outside of our holiday weeks, January 31st to February 7th, 2026, is a somewhat busier week in Austria. Vienna and a significant part of Poland are on holiday then.
• The French Alps will be relatively quiet between January 3 and February 7, 2026. Few of the nationalities that enjoy visiting France will be on holiday then.

Groups of friends and schools​

As mentioned, this overview is based on holidays from various countries. It doesn't account for the booking behavior of groups of friends who also visit popular ski and après-ski destinations outside the peak season. We also don't have insight into organized school winter sports trips or study-free weeks. These can impact the crowds in certain weeks and ski resorts, while other areas are unaffected.
There are even more factors that influence this. Therefore, read the overview with tips for a peaceful winter sports holiday, which we've also updated. You'll find useful information about specific areas and insights into the booking behavior of Germans, French, Polish, and others.[/COLOR]

 

[Tony Crocker]

I try to post one of those Euro school holiday charts every year in this thread. Jnelly beat me to it for 2025-26.