In Germany, summer vacation is grounds for interstate spats

Why don't all schoolchildren in Germany have their summer vacation at the same time?

About 11.4 million minors attend school in Germany. If they and their families were to go on vacation at the same time, the result would be even more massive traffic jams on the highways, overcrowded trains and overbooked hotels.

Therefore, each of the 16 German federal states starts its summer vacation at a different time. In 2025, the six-week vacation period for Saxony started at the end of June, whereas for Bavaria it will not start until the beginning of August.

A summer vacation period that is staggered is also in the interests of the tourism industry. Hotels, beaches and amusement parks can be evenly visited over several months.

Who decides when a federal state goes on vacation?

Education in Germany is a matter for the individual states, not the federal government in Berlin. So Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Thuringia, Hesse and the other federal states are free to decide when to set their vacations.

The education ministers of the 16 federal states coordinate with each other at the standing conference of the ministers of education and cultural affairs, setting vacation dates years in advance. For over 50 years, they have tried to accommodate all interests.

The idea is that the summer and winter semester in all states should be roughly the same length, allowing for enough time for students to sit exams ahead of the summer vacation, as well as for excursions, sports days and projects.

So why are there still arguments every year?

Because each federal state would like to have the best dates. That is: Not only so that there is time for exams, but also so that residents get as much sun as possible and access to cheap flights and hotels.

As these are harder to come by in mid-July than at the end of August, later vacation dates are particularly popular. The weather is likely to be more pleasant, and people can also take advantage of bargains because of the start of the low season.

Two states in particular do not want to alternate: Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. Both insist on being the last state to go on vacation in the summer.

They used to justify this by saying that schoolchildren in agricultural regions had to help with the harvest. Now, they say that their Whit Sunday holidays are late.

Is there a solution in sight?

Not yet. For years, the representatives of other federal states have called on Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg to cooperate. North Rhine-Westphalia's education minister, Dorothee Feller, said in an interview with the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung that NRW "would also like to have a later start to the vacations.”

Year after year, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg block all attempts by other states to change the system. "We have our vacation rhythm," said State Premier Markus Söder, of the conservative Christian Social Union.

Even if the two states were to give in, the earliest change would come in five years, as all vacation dates are fixed until then.

Does the problem exist in other countries?

Germany is not the only country in which regions have different start and finish dates for vacations. In the Netherlands, there are three zones with different summer vacations. However, these are determined by the national Education Ministry and are never more than two weeks apart.

France also has a staggered start to some holidays, but not the long summer vacation. In other countries, such as the UK, there has been discussion of a rolling system for a long time.

The annual dispute between the north and south about when the school summer vacations should begin seems to be a purely German ritual.