May travel
Where to go on holiday in May?
Cancun scores 8.1 out of 10 in May: 32C days, a 28C sea you can swim in without flinching, and 110mm of rain that mostly falls in short afternoon bursts. Here is how the rest of the world stacks up this month.
Crowds. Pleasant shoulder season with space on the beach.
Prices. Good value, with all-inclusive rates well below peak.
Seaweed. Sargassum season is active on open-sea beaches. Book a hotel with a raked beach, or plan cenote and Isla Mujeres days.
Storms. Outside hurricane season entirely.
What is on in Cancun in May
- Travesia Sagrada Maya, the sacred Mayan canoe crossing to Cozumel
- Shoulder-season hotel rates drop sharply
- Cenotes are at their best when the coast gets seaweed
Book Cancun for May
- Check Cancun hotel ratesLive all-inclusive and boutique pricesOpen
- Browse Cancun toursChichen Itza, cenotes, Isla Mujeres and moreOpen
- Get an airport transfer quoteFixed price, 20 minutes to the Hotel ZoneOpen
Prefer a plan first? Build a free day-by-day Cancun itinerary.
May rivals, ranked and compared
- Cancun or Antalya in May26C, 35mm rain8.1 v 9.1
- Cancun or Curacao in May31C, 20mm rain8.1 v 8.6
- Cancun or Cape Verde in May26C, 0mm rain8.1 v 8.6
- Cancun or Crete in May25C, 15mm rain8.1 v 8.6
- Cancun or Aruba in May32C, 15mm rain8.1 v 8.5
- Cancun or Bali in May31C, 80mm rain8.1 v 8.3
- Cancun or Hurghada and the Red Sea in May33C, 0mm rain8.1 v 8.3
- Cancun or Da Nang in May33C, 60mm rain8.1 v 8.3
- Cancun or Puerto Vallarta in May31C, 10mm rain8.1 v 8.2
- Cancun or Varadero and Havana in May30C, 110mm rain8.1 v 8.2
- Cancun or Rio de Janeiro in May26C, 70mm rain8.1 v 8.2
- Cancun or Punta Cana in May30C, 150mm rain8.1 v 8.1
- Cancun or Mallorca in May24C, 30mm rain8.1 v 8.1
- Cancun or The Algarve in May23C, 25mm rain8.1 v 8.1
- Cancun or Hawaii in May29C, 25mm rain8.1 v 8
- Cancun or Goa in May33C, 60mm rain8.1 v 7.9
- Cancun or Jamaica in May31C, 100mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Barbados in May31C, 60mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Playa del Carmen in May32C, 110mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Cozumel in May32C, 110mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Los Cabos in May30C, 0mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Belize in May32C, 110mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Tenerife and the Canaries in May24C, 5mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Montego Bay in May31C, 105mm rain8.1 v 7.7
- Cancun or Nassau and the Bahamas in May29C, 105mm rain8.1 v 7.6
- Cancun or Marrakech in May29C, 15mm rain8.1 v 7.5
- Cancun or Cartagena in May32C, 95mm rain8.1 v 7.4
- Cancun or The Florida Keys in May30C, 90mm rain8.1 v 7.3
- Cancun or Panama in May30C, 205mm rain8.1 v 7.3
- Cancun or Tulum in May32C, 110mm rain8.1 v 7.2
- Cancun or Miami in May31C, 150mm rain8.1 v 7.2
- Cancun or Puerto Rico in May30C, 160mm rain8.1 v 7.2
- Cancun or Mexico City in May26C, 55mm rain8.1 v 7.1
- Cancun or Zanzibar in May30C, 240mm rain8.1 v 7.1
- Cancun or Las Vegas in May32C, 3mm rain8.1 v 7
- Cancun or Maldives in May32C, 215mm rain8.1 v 6.6
- Cancun or Phuket in May33C, 240mm rain8.1 v 6.4
- Cancun or Costa Rica in May30C, 240mm rain8.1 v 6.3
- Cancun or Orlando in May31C, 85mm rain8.1 v 6.1
- Cancun or Dubai in May39C, 1mm rain8.1 v 5.6