The best countries to visit in May wrap right around the Northern Hemisphere as the days deliver tantalising glimpses of early summer, while late spring revels in its floral pomp.
Whether you’re keen to taste yakitori in Tokyo, hike to Norway’s Pulpit Rock, or swim with sea turtles in the Bahamas, the fifth month offers perfect weather and fewer crowds ahead of high season.
Japan
Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan
Spring is unequivocally one of the best seasons in which to visit Japan. However, it has to be timed carefully. With the country’s devotion to horticulture, the islands are looking their best. Naturally, it’s a window in the year that attracts many visitors.
The flower frenzy peaks during the period of the sakura—the two-week window when the delicate blooms of the cherry trees roll like a pink-white weather front across Japan. Fortunately for those eyeing a May visit, this stunning display and the rush it brings are usually over by early April.
Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan
As May begins, temperatures in Japan’s central regions have risen to between 73°F to 77°F (23°C to 25°C). Again, try not to jump too soon. Early May welcomes the so-called Golden Week, when the Japanese celebrate a string of national holidays.
After the staycationers have returned to their day-jobs, Japan in the spring is yours to enjoy. Urban bike tours, rooftop cocktails, and hikes through the bamboo forest should all be on your itinerary during this period. Meanwhile, the major heritage sites like Tokyo’s Imperial Palace or Kyoto’s Kinkakuji Temple are far less crowded.
The Bahamas
Blue Lagoon, Bahamas
During May, the balmy Bahamas are an enticing archipelago for those with a keen interest in powdery beaches, crystalline seas, and sunny days encouraging the mercury up to 79°F (26°C).
At this time, the water temperature is a delicious 81°F (27°C). And whether you’re visiting the white sands of Bimini or Paradise Island’s Blue Lagoon, you can expect to find the islands wreathed in floral fragrance. In May, the islands pop with frangipani, bougainvillea, and yellow elder, all in blissful bloom.
With the dry season coming to a close by mid-May, the optimum time to travel is the first half of the month. This slight risk of a rain shower means low season for the Bahamas. However, this is still a perfect time for spotting turtles and dolphins.
South Korea
Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan, South Korea
One of the best countries to visit in May, South Korea is ideal for visits to temples, white sand beaches, and sophisticated cities.
This time of year sees the Lotus Lantern Festival take place in Seoul—a celebration of the Buddha’s birthday that has the city streets awash in softly glowing lanterns.
Travel south to Busan, South Korea’s beachy second city, and you’ll enjoy 68°F (20°C) days with the strong sun warming Haeundae Beach’s white sands underfoot. However, sea water temperatures at this time are still a little low for pleasure dips.
With visitor numbers dropping like the petals following cherry blossom season, May is the perfect time to enjoy peaceful hikes around the national parks or the Boseong tea fields. And with South Korea’s azaleas and hydrangeas exuberantly splashing color around, it’s a good time to see and photograph the dramatic coastal temple of Haedong Yonggungsa.
The Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
With the Netherlands being a flower-obsessed country, spring is definitely one of the best times to visit. The 79 acres of its Keukenhof Gardens explode with seductive scents and variegated variety, as seven million bulbs push their blooms through the soil at Europe’s largest flower garden.
Half an hour’s drive away, Amsterdam is ornamented with countless window boxes bristling with tulips. With daytime highs reaching 62°F (17°C), a light jacket is all you need while exploring trendy neighborhoods like Jordaan.
Canal Ring in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spot the historic gable stones as you explore, warm your hands on a steaming mug of cocoa, and browse for samples of aged Gouda at the Lindengracht market.
The spring sunshine bathes the Canal Ring’s waterfront merchant houses, with the racemes of lilac wisteria adding a frilly lace border around the front doors. Arrive early in the month and you can throw yourself into the citywide festivities that accompany Remembrance and Liberation Days.
Greece
Mykonos, Greece
With average daytime highs hovering between 73°F to 77°F (23°C to 25°C), Greece is one of the best countries to visit in May. While the sea is still a little cool for a prolonged swim at 66°F (19°C), you can warm yourself afterwards by basking beneath the Mediterranean rays.
Its glorious archipelagos are aglow with a haze of poppies and daisies, while bushels of bougainvillea brighten the uncrowded alleyways of islands like Mykonos. Still ahead of high season, there’s plenty of life. Wend your way through the capillary streets of Santorini’s villages with ease, and linger over the sunsets without unwanted distractions.
The cooler mornings of May also make exploration of the country’s fascinating historic sites more tolerable. Popular spots like the Acropolis and Crete’s Old Town of Chania, without the high season crowds, are at their most atmospheric.
Turkey
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey is a wonderful country to visit in late spring. Throughout Istanbul, tulips are lingering from April, and the sixth century Hagia Sophia is luminous in the sunshine.
There’s still plenty of hustle in the Grand Bazaar with less of the bustle. And you can make easy progress through the alleys of Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar, inhaling the fragrance of sumac and mint and setting your stomach rumbling for a street stall lahmacun flatbread.
Library of Celsus in Ephesus, Turkey
The weather at this time is perfect, with daytime highs of 73°F (23°C). These temperatures are much better than the soaring summer highs for lingering over the intricate carvings and restored columns of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus, once one of the ancient world’s largest repositories of scrolls.
Throughout the country, roses are in bloom and the Judas trees are beginning to carpet the streets with purple-pink petals. Take an outdoor café seat with your cup of potent Turkish coffee and breathe it all in.
Ireland
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Its glens shining emerald beneath the late spring sunshine, Ireland looks glorious in May.
Strewn with magnificent stately homes such as Curraghmore House or Mount Stewart, May is the best month to explore how the cream of Irish society live, and to see their elaborate gardens garbed in stunning spring color.
With May highs of 15°C (59°F) and reduced rainfall, the weather lends itself to scenic hikes into the national parks. Lace up your boots and discover the McGillycuddy’s Reeks—Ireland’s highest mountains—or walk the towering Cliffs of Moher, feeling the Atlantic’s bracing breeze as waves pound in the rocks far below.
And if the heavens open, you can just pop into a Victorian-era pub like Belfast’s Crown Bar—the ornate interior a colorful stand-in for the flower gardens enjoying a brief wash beyond the stained-glass windows.
Spain
La Caleta in Cadiz, Spain
Spain is a powerhouse of a destination offering flamenco and festivals, beaches and mountains, and sophisticated cities each with distinct personalities.
By the time May hits, the sandy stretches of Spain’s 3,000 plus miles of coast have begun to attract sun worshippers. Ahead of peak season in late June and July, popular spots like lovely La Caleta in Cadiz offer a good balance between nice weather and just the right amount of personal beach space to feel completely at ease.
After you’ve showered and siesta-ed, it’s on to outdoor dining in the warm evenings. At this time of the year, you have a triple A produce situation—artichokes, asparagus, and aubergines, aka eggplants, are in season, served stir-fried, grilled, or stuffed with mushrooms and bechamel respectively.
Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain
The reduced visitor numbers of the shoulder season also play very well with visits to some of Spain’s most beautiful sights such as Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, or the Royal Alcázar of orange-fragranced Seville.
Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
With average temperatures in Portugal reaching 72°F (22°C), it’s a wonderful time of year to ride the yellow trams of Lisbon.
The perfect strolling weather makes it tolerable to hike up to Lisbon’s lofty St. George’s Castle and gaze down upon the city’s jigsaw of terracotta roofs. Or simply idle in Rossio Square eating a crispy, buttery pastel de nata and being entertained by the street performers.
Sintra, Portugal
Travel out of the cities for the UNESCO-listed gardens and ostentatious palaces of inland Sintra. At the coast, laid-back towns such as Cascais and their spacious strips of sand are only just beginning to get busy.
For wine-lovers, the roads of the Douro Valley are uncorked of summer traffic, and the tasting rooms are yours to enjoy.
Italy
Venice, Italy
Italy is the best country to visit in May. The Italians have resettled into their al fresco way of life, and the warm evenings encourage outdoor dining in Rome or rooftop negroni sipping in Florence.
In the north, the reliable sun of the Italian Riviera probes the swaying seagrass depths of the Portofino Marine Park. It’s a good time to visit the park’s namesake fishing village, with the pastels of the Ligurian tower houses popping in the sunshine and more space on the quay to soak up the uber-chic atmosphere.
With bucket list Italian cities like Venice, Rome, and Florence, there are distinctly shorter lines for everything from the Uffizi Gallery to a double scoop of cioccolato gelato. Florence’s Boboli Gardens are immersed in floral scent, while further south, the crystal clear Tyrrhenian waves washing the Amalfi Coast are just warm enough for a prolonged dip.
France
Marseille, France
There’s a reason the Cannes Film Festival takes place in May. The Côte d’Azur is showered in sunshine and its palm-lined promenades are threaded with balmy breezes.
From yacht parties in Cannes to the sun-warmed yellow stone and serenity of hilltop villages in Provence, late spring is welcomed in a multitude of ways across this southern region. And with the roses in bloom, they’re a constant visual reminder to order another glass of Provencal rosé.
Of course, Paris is only a few degrees cooler with daytime highs of 68°F (20°C), but it’s hard to resist the south of France in the spring. The café seating lining Marseille’s Vieux Port, as well as the bars overlooking the city’s Vallon des Auffes, are lively with aperitif drinkers enjoying the vermillion sunset melting into the horizon.
Croatia
Old Town Dubrovnik, Croatia
May is a wonderful month in which to explore the picturesque Adriatic coast of Croatia. Daytime highs rise to 75°F (24°C) and Dubrovnik’s stone streets and seafood spots are yet to be clogged with the summer crowds.
The same is true for the waterfront town of Šibenik, where you can appreciate the UNESCO-protected St. James Cathedral in peace, and find seats at the sea view cafés.
Krka National Park
Beyond the cities, the hilly hinterland is lush and green. In Krka National Park, the rivers still brim with the early spring rains. Hikes meander through carpets of spring blooms and there’s birdsong in the air in the woodlands around Skradinski Buk falls.
Meanwhile, outside of the often searing heat of high summer, it’s possible to linger for longer over the history and wonderful panoramas of Klis Fortress, near Split.
Norway
Geirangerfjord, Norway
Norway’s landscape always offers high drama. This is one of the best countries to visit in May as the remains of the intense winter are woven into the early hints of summer.
Along the spectacular Geirangerfjord, this transitional season brings a stunning cascade over the 1,000 foot Seven Sisters waterfall as it hits peak flow. Daytime averages of 59°F (15°C), as well as lengthening days, make conditions brilliant for hiking the vertical landscape.
Pulpit Rock, Norway
One of the best things to do in Norway is to hike to Pulpit Rock, where you’ll be rewarded with an eagle-eye view of the Lysefjord. Or ascend the 418 stone steps to the equally delightful, but much less strenuous, Aksla Viewpoint overlooking the Art Nouveau architecture of Ålesund.
For one of the ultimate winter-meets-spring experiences, walk the trails from the Jostedalsbreen National Park Center for wildflowers close to the eponymous glacier, the largest in mainland Europe.
Alesund, Norway
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