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Best places to travel in May

The best month of the year in half of Europe: warm, long evenings, and the summer crowds still weeks away.

Find your own
386
cities with good weather
53
warm enough for the beach
€15
a day, the cheapest on a shoestring

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

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.

Read the full Lisbon guide

📍 Athens, Greece

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.

Read the full Athens guide

📍 Rome, Italy

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.

Read the full Rome guide

📍 Kraków, Poland

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.

Read the full Kraków guide

📍 Dubrovnik, Croatia

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.

Read the full Dubrovnik guide

📍 Sarandë, Albania

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.

Read the full Sarandë guide

📍 Tbilisi, Georgia

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.

Read the full Tbilisi guide

📍 Goreme, Türkiye

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.

Read the full Goreme guide

🏖️ 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

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All the best places to travel in May

Every city here has good weather in May. Narrow it down by budget and kind of trip.

What's your daily budget?
Any budgetUnder €40€40–70€70+
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Any tripCity breakAdventureBeachLakes & riversNightlifeFoodCultureRoad trip

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Questions travellers ask

Where is warm in May?
Most of southern Europe is in the low to mid 20s: Athens and Málaga about 25°, Lisbon and Dubrovnik about 22°, Seville about 28°. Bali and the Gili Islands start their dry season.
Is May a good time to visit Europe?
It's one of the best. Our guides call May the best month in Lisbon, Rome, Athens and Kraków, and excellent in Dubrovnik, Tbilisi and Sarandë.
Where can I go for a beach holiday in May?
Sarandë, Dubrovnik and Málaga in Europe, and Bali and the Gili Islands in Asia, where the dry season starts in May.
Where is cheap to travel in May?
Tbilisi (about €19 a day on a shoestring), Sarandë (€26), Kraków (€28) and Goreme (€31) are the cheapest picks this month.
Is May a good time to visit Southeast Asia?
The mainland is hot and the rains begin in many places. Indonesia is the exception: our Bali guides mark May as the start of the dry season.
Is May a good time to visit Japan?
Early May is Golden Week, which is busy. Our Kyoto and Tokyo guides call May good, at about 23 to 25°, before the rainy season in June.
Where should I travel solo in May?
Lisbon, Kraków and Athens have big hostel scenes and are at their best in May. Hostelworld's Social Pass works without a booking in more than 180 cities, so you can meet people before you arrive.
How do you choose the best places to travel in May?
Every pick comes from one of our city guides, using its month-by-month table and shoestring budget. The finder below uses the same data for every guide.
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