A good place. At the right time.

Netherlands
in December.

Is December a good time?

°F°C

No scored region rates very good or better for weather this month.

National overnight stays are 34% of the August peak.

Regional afternoon highs: 46–48°F
Very good weather: 0 / 12 regions

Weather falls below the very-good band in 12 scored regions.

Find your December base

Based on 12 statistical regions. Typical conditions, not a forecast for individual towns.

Gabled houses on an Amsterdam canalDestination view, not month-specific.

One month. 12 possibilities.

Choose your December base.

The useful differences, side by side. Open a region for its full month guide.

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

Find a place or region

Trip focus

12 of 12 regions · Best weather first

Overall scores use the Balanced mix. Choose a different priority to order the regions by that mix.

Illustration of Industrial heritage at Strijp-S in Eindhoven

CityNorth BrabantEindhoven · EftelingRead the December guide ↗ Overall5.4/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.4/10Fair47°F afternoons · 14 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Spring flowerbeds in Keukenhof

CityRotterdam, The Hague & South HollandRotterdam · The Hague · Delft · Keukenhof · KinderdijkRead the December guide ↗ Overall5.4/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.4/10Fair48°F afternoons · 16 rain days Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Wharf cellars along Utrecht's Oudegracht

CityUtrechtRead the December guide ↗ Overall5.4/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.4/10Fair47°F afternoons · 15 rain days Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Reed-fringed wetland in Flevoland

CountrysideFlevolandRead the December guide ↗ Overall6.3/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.3/10Fair47°F afternoons · 15 rain days Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Sand drifts and Scots pines in Hoge Veluwe

CountrysideGelderlandHoge Veluwe · ArnhemRead the December guide ↗ Overall6.3/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.3/10Fair47°F afternoons · 14 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of A cobbled lane in Maastricht's Jeker quarter

CountrysideMaastricht & LimburgMaastrichtRead the December guide ↗ Overall6.0/10#12 month here · Balanced Weather4.3/10Fair47°F afternoons · 15 rain days Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Gabled houses along an Amsterdam canal

CityAmsterdam & North HollandAmsterdam · Haarlem · Zaanse Schans · TexelRead the December guide ↗ Overall5.3/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.3/10Fair48°F afternoons · 16 rain days Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Purple heathland in Drenthe

CountrysideDrentheRead the December guide ↗ Overall6.2/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.2/10Fair46°F afternoons · 14 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Thatched cottages beside a Giethoorn canal

CountrysideOverijsselGiethoornRead the December guide ↗ Overall6.2/10#11 month here · Balanced Weather4.2/10Fair46°F afternoons · 14 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Wadden tidal flats beside Terschelling

BeachFrieslandWadden Islands (part)Read the December guide ↗ Overall3.0/10#12 month here · Balanced Weather1.0/10Poor46°F afternoons · 15 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Historic canal-side warehouses in Groningen

BeachGroningenRead the December guide ↗ Overall3.0/10#12 month here · Balanced Weather1.0/10Poor46°F afternoons · 14 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Illustration of Dunes above the Zeeland coast

BeachZeelandRead the December guide ↗ Overall3.0/10#12 month here · Balanced Weather1.0/10Poor48°F afternoons · 16 rain days Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearLower price seasonhistorical estimated seasonal pattern; national price level

Cost words compare a published regional accommodation level with Netherlands's typical level, or describe a region's price season against its own year. The Cost score still uses Netherlands's price level on the Europe scale; where regional money levels are unavailable, a cheaper season does not establish which region has the cheapest rooms.

What goes into the scores?

Overall combines weather, crowds and cost. It is not a weather rating. By default, the list ranks weather first and shows Balanced Overall scores (50% weather, 30% crowds, 20% cost). Other priorities order it by your Overall mix. Missing cost is excluded and the available parts are reweighted.

Visitor season compares each region with its own year. A higher crowd score does not establish which place has fewer people in absolute terms. Regions cover whole statistical areas; open a guide for its geographic scope. Read the scoring method.

Weather across the country

December weather & packing.

Regional averages vary; check a forecast closer to your trip.

Typical afternoons: 46–48°F
Typical nights: 36–38°F
Rain days: 14–16 days

Ranges span available regional monthly averages, not daily extremes. A dash means a measurement is unavailable or withheld; individual guides explain the gaps.

What to bring.

Afternoons around 48°F (9°C): a sweater and a light jacket; nights around 38°F (3°C): a warm coat. Bring rain gear: about 16 days with at least 1 mm of rain.

Weather, region by region Afternoons, nights, rain & weather

Available regional monthly averages. Very good weather means a displayed score of at least 7.0/10.
Region	Afternoon	Night	Rain days	Weather
North Brabant	47°F	37°F	14	fair
Rotterdam, The Hague & South Holland	48°F	38°F	16	fair
Utrecht	47°F	37°F	15	fair
Flevoland	47°F	37°F	15	fair
Gelderland	47°F	37°F	14	fair
Maastricht & Limburg	47°F	37°F	15	fair
Amsterdam & North Holland	48°F	38°F	16	fair
Drenthe	46°F	36°F	14	fair
Overijssel	46°F	37°F	14	fair
Friesland	46°F	37°F	15	poor
Groningen	46°F	36°F	14	poor
Zeeland	48°F	38°F	16	poor

Before you go

Check the trip details.

The visitor season

Low season, nationally.

December records 34% of August's overnight stays. This measures overnight demand, not queues or day-trippers.

Hotel prices

Well below usual.

−15% on Netherlands's historical national hotel-price index, versus its usual month in 2024–2025. This describes a price season, not a live room quote.

The national index cannot tell you which region has the cheapest rooms.

Thinking about the coast?

Check the water, too.

Among beach-focused regions, the warmest measured seas this month are Zeeland (48°F), Friesland (47°F), Groningen (45°F). Sea temperature is one part of a beach trip; open a region for weather and seasonal closures.

Events & holiday dates Check the year against your trip

Holidays: 42% of people in Netherlands live where schools are out on a typical December 2026 day. Public holidays: 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec Boxing Day. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Same country. A different chapter.

Dates still up in the air?

Netherlands through the year ↗

December is fixed, but the destination isn't? Find somewhere else in Europe ↗

How we know Sources, scope & limitations

Each row is a statistical region (NUTS 2); open it for the full month, the sources and what moving your dates would change. National lines are built from the regions: season is Netherlands's total tourist nights this month against its busiest month (Eurostat, primarily 2024–2025; earlier published years where needed); weather counts regions whose displayed Weather score is at least 7.0/10 (very good or better) rather than averaging across the country; visitors ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions (for a region) or the other countries (for Netherlands) that month.

A regional accommodation level is shown only where publishable money data exists; elsewhere the cost words describe a regional season against its own year, and the score starts from the national price level. Separately, Netherlands's 2024 restaurants-and-hotels level is above EU average (125 where the EU average is 100). Full method.