Schools out! (and when they're not!). A very useful guide to when Australian kids are on their school holidays

Australian kids really do get fantastic views from their playgrounds. This one is in Robe, South Australia (that's me and Alex sitting on the grass).

Being that they live in such a GREAT country, then it's hardly surprising that a lot of Australians choose to take their holidays 'at home'. Now this is great for the Aussies, as they are already in my favourite country for a vacation :) but for the rest of us visiting from overseas, we might like to explore when it's a bit quieter.

Right now in January is the busiest time for Australians to be on holiday. The end of December and January is our equivalent to the July and August school holidays, so this is 'peak season' for most parts of Australia to visit. And when I say peak season I mean: busy roads, busy airports, expensive accommodation rates, etc. So for most of the temperate South (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and up to Brisbane), it's a busy and expensive time to visit during the main 'summer' school holidays.

So that you can plan ahead for 2009, we've done the hard work for you and put together a table of all the Australian school holiday dates, so you can see when the gaps are and when the busy periods are likely to be. Here you go:

What month will you be going in 2009?

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

ACT

Until 29

10—27

4—19

26 Sept— 11 Oct

From 19

NSW

Until 26

10—27

11—26

3—18

From 19

Until 27

6—13

22 June— 17 July

28 Sept— 2 Oct

From 12

QLD

Until 27

10—19

27 June— 12 July

19 Sept— 4 Oct

From 12

Until 26

10—26

4—19

26 Sept— 11 Oct

From 12

TAS

Until 10 Feb

10—19

30 May— 14 June

5—20

From 18

VIC

Until 2 Feb

4—19

27 June— 12 July

19 Sept— 4 Oct

From 18

Until 1 Feb

10—28

4—20

26 Sept— 12 Oct

From 18

Have a look through and see when the schools are and aren't on hols, if you want to spot the quieter times to travel to popular destinations (or avoid kids, if that's important!). Also, think about when it will be busier in other seasons. The far North (places like Broome, Darwin and Cairns) will be busy in our summer, for example, which is the Australian winter for the southern states. Therefore, in the July and Sept—Oct holidays, it's likely to be busy with families who live in VIC, TAS, SA and ACT and NSW heading up North for some sunshine! I know I would :)

Also, just wanted to say that this table is included in the Free Travel Companion that you can download when you sign up to web site updates (see pic and sign up on the top left here). And for anyone that's got last year's companion planning guide, just email us and we'll send you the 2009 version.

PS. in case you need translations for the table here's the states in full: