Early May 1 May
64°F
Typical afternoon high
35% historical wet-day frequency
Poland · Countryside
Kraków & Lesser Poland
in May.
Is May a good time?
Mild days.
A steady visitor season.
May averages 67°F afternoons, with about 12 rain days. Later May is typically warmer.
- Afternoons
- 67°F
- Rain days
- 12
- Visitor demand
- 66%of August peak
Historical Małopolskie regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Kraków, Zakopane and Wieliczka; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
7.4/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#5 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather7.9/10Very good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, typical for Europe this month
CostModeratefor Europe; Poland-wide price level
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your May
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 67°F (19°C): light layers; nights around 46°F (8°C): a warm coat. Bring rain gear: about 12 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 15 hours of daylight.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 15 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 04:54 and sets about 20:15 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 46°F (8°C); afternoons reach about 67°F (19°C). Expect rain on about 12 days in a typical May.
Typical afternoon
67°F (19°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Mays
Night low
46°F (8°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
15h 21m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late May?
Late May is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 64°F on the 1st, versus 71°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency rises from 35% to 38% between those dates.
Mid May 15 May
66°F
Typical afternoon high
34% historical wet-day frequency
Late May 31 May
71°F
Typical afternoon high
38% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2027: 1 May Labour Day; 3 May Constitution Day; 16 May Pentecost; 27 May Corpus Christi.
Daily calendar & holiday datesMay 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
May 2027 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 164° | 264° | |||||
| 365° | 465° | 566° | 666° | 765° | 865° | 965° |
| 1065° | 1164° | 1265° | 1365° | 1466° | 1566° | 1667° |
| 1767° | 1867° | 1967° | 2067° | 2167° | 2268° | 2368° |
| 2469° | 2569° | 2670° | 2770° | 2870° | 2970° | 3071° |
| 3171° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons warm from about 65°F (18°C) in the first week to 70°F (21°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 31–41%.
School-holiday dates for May 2027 aren't available in our data yet. A day without a school marker doesn't mean schools are open. Public holidays: 1 May Labour Day; 3 May Constitution Day; 16 May Pentecost; 27 May Corpus Christi. Elsewhere in May 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 13%, Greece 29%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Steady all year. May averages 66% of August's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.
Overnight stays across Małopolskie do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, typical for Europe this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
About usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Poland as a whole
Below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 92 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Year-to-year variation
How much does May vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 62°F (17°C) and 74°F (23°C); in 10 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 67°F (19°C). Rain days ranged from 7 to 17; half the years had 8–15.
Rain days in each May
Rain days
12
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 16 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
5 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no May in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
20 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded MayHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 67°F | 9 |
| 2012 | 69°F | 7 |
| 2013 | 67°F | 12 |
| 2014 | 66°F | 17 |
| 2015 | 65°F | 12 |
| 2016 | 68°F | 10 |
| 2017 | 67°F | 13 |
| 2018 | 74°F | 8 |
| 2019 | 62°F | 17 |
| 2020 | 62°F | 16 |
| 2021 | 64°F | 15 |
| 2022 | 69°F | 7 |
| 2023 | 65°F | 10 |
| 2024 | 72°F | 7 |
| 2025 | 62°F | 13 |
Checked against official climate averages for Krakow-Balice. How we check
Compare dates
April, May
or June?
| Typical conditions | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 59°F | 67°F | 75°F |
| Rain days | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| Overnight demand | 54% | 66% | 72% |
April: Cooler afternoons and fewer rain days than May. April guide →
June: Warmer afternoons and fewer rain days than May. June guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with May Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. May stays as your reference.
Hotel stays vary little through the year. No other scored month has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than May.
Your comparison
May or April?
Overnight stays vary little through the year.
National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Read the April guide →| Typical conditions | May | April |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 67°F | 59°F |
| Nights | 46°F | 39°F |
| Rain days | 12 | 10 |
| Visitor season | Steady all year | Steady all year |
| Overall / 10 | 7.4 | 7.0 |
| Month rank | #5 | #6 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.5 | #12 | 37°F | 25°F | 12 | 4.0 | Steady all year |
| February | 5.7 | #10 | 41°F | 26°F | 10 | 4.4 | Steady all year |
| March | 6.4 | #8 | 50°F | 31°F | 9 | 5.7 | Steady all year |
| April | 7.0 | #6 | 59°F | 39°F | 10 | 6.9 | Steady all year |
| May | 7.4 | #5 | 67°F | 46°F | 12 | 7.9 | Steady all year |
| June | 7.8 | #1 | 75°F | 55°F | 9 | 8.7 | Steady all year |
| July | 7.7 | #3 | 77°F | 57°F | 12 | 8.3 | Steady all year |
| August | 7.8 | #2 | 78°F | 56°F | 9 | 8.6 | Steady all year |
| September | 7.6 | #4 | 69°F | 50°F | 9 | 8.3 | Steady all year |
| October | 6.8 | #7 | 58°F | 42°F | 8 | 6.7 | Steady all year |
| November | 6.0 | #9 | 47°F | 34°F | 9 | 5.1 | Steady all year |
| December | 5.6 | #11 | 40°F | 29°F | 10 | 4.3 | Steady all year |
Near here
Nearby places in May
Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.
SilesiaPoland · about 70 miles
Balanced Overall 7.5 · Very good weather, 67°F (19°C) · Steady all year · Cost moderate
Holy CrossŚwiętokrzyskie · Poland · about 70 miles
Balanced Overall 7.5 · Very good weather, 67°F (20°C) · Steady all year · Cost moderate
Central Slovakiaabout 80 miles
Balanced Overall 8.0 · Very good weather, 67°F (19°C) · Moderate season · Cost moderate
WarsawPoland · about 170 miles
Balanced Overall 7.7 · Very good weather, 68°F (20°C) · Steady all year · Cost moderate
BudapestHungary · about 170 miles
Balanced Overall 8.0 · Excellent weather, 72°F (22°C) · Steady all year · Cost moderate
Elsewhere in Europe
Better May weather than Kraków & Lesser Poland
Kraków & Lesser Poland's weather ranks 99 of 117 countryside regions this month. These countryside regions outside Poland have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Kraków & Lesser Poland.
Northern Hungaryabout 130 miles
Very good weather (8.9): 6°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, cheaper
Northern Great PlainHungary · about 160 miles
Excellent weather (9.0): 7°F warmer afternoons, 2 fewer rain days, cheaper
Around BudapestPest county · Hungary · about 170 miles
Excellent weather (9.0): 6°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, cheaper
Southern Great PlainHungary · about 230 miles
Excellent weather (9.0): 7°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, cheaper
Novi Sad & VojvodinaSerbia · about 310 miles
Excellent weather (9.0): 8°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, cheaper
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 66% of the busiest and about average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are. That means about 43,000 overnight visitors on a typical May night across the region, 69% of them from Poland itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 24,000 more: 56 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100) | 74 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Krakow-Balice from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.5°C), night lows within 2°F (0.8°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 13 |
| Busiest month here | August · 19 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 1.3% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 43rd percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 69% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 56 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 2.0% |
| National hotel-price season | Poland historical 2024–2025 index: About usual (0% vs its average month). Not a local room quote. |
| Population used | 3.3 million |
| Statistical region | PL21 · Małopolskie |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.