Where to go in May: the short answer
Go to Tokyo, Scotland and Portugal in May; add Croatia, Turkey and Fiji if you have the time. May is the best-value month of the northern year: summer weather is arriving, the school holidays have not, and the sea is not yet warm enough to charge for it.
We chose from the 28 destinations whose month bar marks May as a sweet spot (the best balance of weather, crowds and price), then spread the picks across regions. Prices are our own mid-range estimates per person per day, flights excluded, as of October 2026. May has short bank-holiday weekends and rains that arrive without warning, so a flexible itinerary matters more than the date.
Five places to go to in May
Tokyo (about $150 (≈ €135 / £120) a day, crowds 4 out of 5). March to May is comfortable, and May sits before the wet June. Visit Senso-ji early, then Shinjuku by evening. Clear Mount Fuji views are most likely on winter mornings, so treat a May view as luck.
Scotland (about $170 (≈ €150 / £135) a day, crowds 3 out of 5). Long evenings, and the midges have not yet hatched in force. Skye's Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr reward early starts; the Fairy Pools are busy. Weather turns quickly, even in late spring.
Portugal (about $120 (≈ €105 / £95) a day, crowds 4 out of 5). Warm, with the Algarve's Benagil cave and Lagos cliffs quieter than in July and August. Take the scenic Douro train from Porto. May is also good for Lisbon's miradouros before the summer crowds.
Croatia (about $140 (≈ €125 / £110) a day, crowds 4 out of 5). May and June are the sweet spot: warm enough for the coast, before Dubrovnik and Hvar swamp in July and August. Visit Plitvice in the early morning, and book ferries ahead. Beaches are rocky rather than sandy.
Turkey (about $100 (≈ €90 / £80) a day, crowds 4 out of 5). Istanbul's mosques and bazaars, then Ephesus and Pamukkale, before the coast heats up. July and August are hot and crowded. Shop touts and carpet-sellers are persistent, and distances between regions are long.
Fiji (about $230 (≈ €210 / £180) a day, crowds 3 out of 5). May starts the dry season, which runs to October: sunny, drier, and peak season. Sail between the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands, and snorkel with a local operator. The catch is the long flight and the resort prices.
May at a glance
The table sets the 6 picks side by side. Crowd and safety scores are our own estimates on a 1 to 5 scale, where 5 for crowds means overtourism at peak and 5 for safety means the lowest risk.
| Destination | Mid-range per day | Crowds (1 to 5) | Safety (1 to 5) | All best months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | $150 (≈ €135 / £120) | 4 | 5 | Mar–May & Oct–Nov |
| Scotland | $170 (≈ €150 / £135) | 3 | 5 | May–Sep |
| Portugal | $120 (≈ €105 / £95) | 4 | 5 | Apr–Jun & Sep–Oct |
| Croatia | $140 (≈ €125 / £110) | 4 | 5 | May–Jun & Sep |
| Turkey | $100 (≈ €90 / £80) | 4 | 3 | Apr–Jun & Sep–Oct |
| Fiji | $230 (≈ €210 / £180) | 3 | 4 | May–Oct |
Where May is harder work
Our month bars mark Swiss Alps, Cape Town, Mexico City, Tulum, Lofoten, Singapore and Palawan as peak season in May, meaning busiest, dearest or hottest. The Maldives, Dubai, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Egypt, Patagonia and Banff and others sit in the off-peak band: quieter, but check weather and closures before you commit.
Safety scores for every place are on its destination page, with links to the UK FCDO, US State Department, Smartraveller, Japan MOFA and South Korea 0404 pages. We do not quote levels because they change; read the agencies before you book. To see two picks side by side, compare Scotland and Croatia, or browse the rest of the month-by-month guides.
May travel: frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest place to go in May?
Of our May picks, Turkey at about $100 (≈ €90 / £80) a day mid-range per person, against about $230 (≈ €210 / £180) for Fiji. Flights are excluded, and these are estimates as of October 2026.
Where will I find the fewest crowds in May?
Scotland and Fiji score lowest for crowds among our picks, at 3 out of 5. Scores are our estimate of how busy each place gets at its peak, so a sweet-spot month is usually quieter than the number suggests.
Is May peak season anywhere?
Yes. Our bars mark Swiss Alps, Cape Town, Mexico City, Tulum, Lofoten, Singapore and Palawan as peak in May. Book 4 to 6 months ahead for peak months and 2 to 3 months ahead for sweet-spot months.
Is the weather the same in all these places in May?
No. The picks are spread across hemispheres and altitudes, so check each destination page for its weather notes and live temperature before you pack.