- I moved from the US to Denmark in 2020 and have been raising my kids here.
- It's common for families to take three to four weeks of vacation in July and August.
- Overnight camps seem less popular than they are in the US
I'm an American living in Denmark, and for the first time I am having to play by the cultural and legal rules of Danish summer vacation. Let me explain.
My oldest child just turned 6 and started primary school in Denmark. Many Danish families take the same three or four weeks of vacation in mid-July into early August, when schools are closed.
In Denmark, enjoying a long summer vacation isn't just a perk — it's a right under the Danish Holiday Act, called Ferieloven. It embodies Denmark's philosophy toward work-life balance and is designed to ensure that employees, get ample time off to unwind. But as someone coming from the US, where the average employee gets two weeks of vacation a year, I've found it takes some getting used to.
If you have a full-time job in Denmark as I do, you get five or six weeks off a year. While the law allows for flexibility in when employees can take that time, they're encouraged to take three consecutive weeks off during a "main holiday" period between May 1st and September 30th. I'm not used to taking vacation time, and I still have a bit of an American work ethic mixed with a fear of being away too long. I've been so precious about parsing out my vacation days in Denmark, that it's actually backfired and I've lost the time I didn't take.
Many offices shut down in August
The law says employees should ideally inform their employers about their leave plans three months in advance of the main holiday period. If you are one of the people working through the summer, as I've done the past two years, it's a very quiet time, which can be nice, but it is difficult to get anything done that requires other people.
Many Danes do not respond to work related calls or texts during this period, which I appreciate but found shocking at first. This is why many Danish companies not only urge everyone to take those weeks off but even close down during the summer months.
Traveling during the high season can be expensive
While there are many upsides to the summer vacation high season, one of the downsides is that many holiday activities and destinations in Denmark, such as amusement parks or bath hotels, are packed and expensive during this time. Flights out of Denmark can double in price. Many Danes choose instead to go camping or head off to their summer houses.
Growing up in the US, I spent a full eight weeks at an overnight summer overnight camp in Wisconsin every year from age 4. I loved the skills I was able to acquire, like horseback riding, sailing, and water skiing, but I missed my parents. In Denmark, there are many free and paid day camps, but no real equivalent of an overnight camp other than a weeklong scout camp, likely because families prefer spending their holidays together.
Now that I'm a working parent in Denmark, I'm very grateful for getting to experience a new way of spending the summer holidays together with family. I just need to learn how to take the time off and really unplug.