Best places to travel in May

Look through our city guides and one phrase comes up again and again in May: the best month. Lisbon, Rome, Athens and Kraków all give it that title. The sea is warming in the Mediterranean, terraces are open everywhere, and prices haven’t reached their summer peak.

These are the best places to travel in May, picked from our city guides using their own weather, crowds and daily costs.

🌍 The best places to travel in May

📍 Lisbon, Portugal

☀️ 22° average high👥 busy💶 about €45 a day

Our Lisbon guide calls May the best month: warm, long evenings, everything open, at about 22°. Ride the yellow trams up the seven hills, find a miradouro for sunset and stay in the hostel capital of Europe. It’s getting busy, at about €45 a day on a shoestring.

📍 Athens, Greece

☀️ 25° average high👥 fairly busy💶 about €43 a day

May is Athens at its best, according to our guide: warm, green and uncrowded, at about 25°. The Acropolis is far more pleasant than in the summer heat, and the city’s late, loud nightlife is in full swing. A shoestring day costs about €43.

📍 Rome, Italy

☀️ 23° average high👥 busy💶 about €57 a day

Rome’s guide calls May the best month too: warm, with long days, at about 23°. An arena, a Pantheon, a pope and the best carbonara in the country are all within walking distance. Rome isn’t cheap, at about €57 a day on a shoestring, but May is the month to pay it.

📍 Kraków, Poland

☀️ 20° average high👥 busy💶 about €28 a day

Kraków’s best month is May, at about 20°. Europe’s largest market square, the castle on the hill and the old Jewish quarter turned bar district are all lively without the summer crush. At about €28 a day, it’s the best-value city break on this list.

📍 Dubrovnik, Croatia

☀️ 22° average high👥 very busy💶 about €57 a day

May is warm and swimmable in Dubrovnik, at about 22°, and our guide notes the city isn’t yet overwhelmed. Walk the walls at eight in the morning and it’s unforgettable. It is still busy and expensive, at about €57 a day on a shoestring.

📍 Sarandë, Albania

☀️ 23° average high👥 very busy💶 about €26 a day

The Albanian Riviera in May is warm, affordable and quiet, says our guide, at about 23°. Sarandë looks across at Corfu, with the ruined UNESCO city of Butrint down the coast. At about €26 a day on a shoestring, it’s the cheapest beach pick of the month.

📍 Tbilisi, Georgia

☀️ 24° average high👥 very busy💶 about €19 a day

May is excellent in Tbilisi: warm, at about 24°, and everything open. Sulphur baths under brick domes, wooden balconies and the best food and nightlife in the Caucasus cost a fraction of European prices, about €19 a day on a shoestring.

📍 Goreme, Türkiye

☀️ 21° average high👥 busy💶 about €31 a day

Cappadocia’s valleys are excellent in May, at about 21°. Sleep in a cave room, walk among the fairy chimneys and painted rock churches, and get up at dawn for a hundred hot-air balloons. A shoestring day is about €31.

🏖️ Best places for a beach trip in May

Our guides with a beach and a beach-weather high in May, the most hostels first.

1. 1PhuketThailand32°, quiet
2. 2Hoi AnVietnam33°, busy
3. 3GoaIndia33°, quiet
4. 4Koh TaoThailand32°, busy
5. 5CangguIndonesia31°, busy
6. 6Koh SamuiThailand32°, busy

💸 Cheapest places to travel in May

Good weather in May and the lowest shoestring budget.

1. 1HanoiVietnam€15 a day
2. 2VientianeLaos€15 a day
3. 3DarjeelingIndia€15 a day
4. 4Nong KhiawLaos€15 a day
5. 5Lake TobaIndonesia€15 a day
6. 6Da NangVietnam€16 a day

🤫 Quietest places to visit in May

Good weather and quiet or very quiet in May, from each guide’s month-by-month table.

1. 1ChamonixFrance17°, very quiet
2. 2BanskoBulgaria19°, very quiet
3. 3La MassanaAndorra16°, very quiet
4. 4CanilloAndorra15°, very quiet
5. 5PhuketThailand32°, quiet
6. 6GoaIndia33°, quiet