Early May 1 May
67°F
Typical afternoon high
36% historical wet-day frequency
Portugal · Beach
Azores
in May.
Is May a good time?
Mild days.
More overnight stays than April.
May averages 69°F afternoons and 64°F seas, with about 9 rain days.
- Afternoons
- 69°F
- Sea
- 64°F
- Visitor demand
- 67%of August peak
Historical Região Autónoma dos Açores regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers São Miguel, Ponta Delgada and Pico; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
6.7/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#7 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather6.4/10Good
CrowdsBusy seasonvs its own year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, one of Europe's busiest this month
CostModeratefor Europe
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 69°F (20°C): light layers; nights around 58°F (14°C): a sweater and a light jacket. Bring rain gear: about 9 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 14 hours of daylight.
Can I swim in May?
The sea averages 64°F. Our swimming guide: fresh: fine once you are in. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 14 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 06:38 and sets about 20:52 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 58°F (14°C); afternoons reach about 69°F (20°C). Expect rain on about 9 days in a typical May.
Typical afternoon
69°F (20°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Mays
Night low
58°F (14°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
64°F (18°C)
fresh; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
14h 13m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late May?
Early and late May have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 67°F on the 1st, versus 71°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 36% to 22% between those dates.
Mid May 15 May
69°F
Typical afternoon high
23% historical wet-day frequency
Late May 31 May
71°F
Typical afternoon high
22% 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 Labor Day; 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 167° | 267° | |||||
| 367° | 467° | 567° | 668° | 768° | 868° | 968° |
| 1068° | 1168° | 1268° | 1368° | 1469° | 1569° | 1669° |
| 1769° | 1869° | 1969° | 2069° | 2169° | 2269° | 2369° |
| 2469° | 2570° | 2670° | 2770° | 2870° | 2970° | 3071° |
| 3171° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons warm from about 67°F (20°C) in the first week to 70°F (21°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 17–37%.
No school holidays here in May 2027. Public holidays: 1 May Labor Day; 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, cost and getting there
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Busy season. May averages 67% of August's overnight stays per day. More overnight stays than April.
Overnight stays across Região Autónoma dos Açores do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, one of Europe's busiest this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
Well above usual. Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €65 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Historical hotel average
€65
2024–2025 monthly average; hotel revenue per guest-night; not a current booking quote. +12% vs this region's usual month.
Portugal as a whole
Well below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 76 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Recorded US nonstop flights · 2024
Recorded this month
from Boston and New York JFK; 2024 schedule, Eurostat
The historical regional amount comes from INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night; the country price level is national. Hotel averages are not live booking quotes.
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 67°F (19°C) and 71°F (22°C); in 15 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 69°F (20°C). Rain days ranged from 1 to 15; half the years had 6–11.
Rain days in each May
Rain days
9
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 14 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
2 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
14 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 | 3 |
| 2012 | 69°F | 15 |
| 2013 | 67°F | 6 |
| 2014 | 69°F | 2 |
| 2015 | 68°F | 9 |
| 2016 | 68°F | 11 |
| 2017 | 68°F | 15 |
| 2018 | 69°F | 1 |
| 2019 | 70°F | 7 |
| 2020 | 69°F | 9 |
| 2021 | 70°F | 7 |
| 2022 | 68°F | 10 |
| 2023 | 70°F | 8 |
| 2024 | 71°F | 11 |
| 2025 | 69°F | 9 |
Checked against official climate averages for Ponta Delgada (Observatorio Afonso Chaves). How we check
Compare dates
April, May
or June?
| Typical conditions | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 66°F | 69°F | 73°F |
| Sea | 62°F | 64°F | 67°F |
| Rain days | 10 | 9 | 4 |
| Overnight demand | 56% | 67% | 77% |
April: Cooler afternoons and cooler sea than May. Less overnight demand. April guide →
June: Warmer afternoons, warmer sea and fewer rain days than May. More overnight demand. June guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
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.
November has fewer overnight stays than May, with a similar or higher Weather score.
Your comparison
May or April?
Overnight stays are 56% of the busiest month.
Historical regional hotel revenue (2024–2025 monthly average): €55 per guest-night. An average, not a booking quote.
Read the April guide →| Typical conditions | May | April |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 69°F | 66°F |
| Nights | 58°F | 55°F |
| Sea | 64°F | 62°F |
| Rain days | 9 | 10 |
| Visitor season | Busy season | Moderate season |
| Overall / 10 | 6.7 | 6.5 |
| Month rank | #7 | #9 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.5 | #10 | 64°F | 54°F | 62°F | 14 | 4.5 | Low season |
| February | 6.4 | #11 | 63°F | 53°F | 61°F | 10 | 4.4 | Low season |
| March | 6.7 | #8 | 64°F | 54°F | 61°F | 10 | 4.7 | Moderate season |
| April | 6.5 | #9 | 66°F | 55°F | 62°F | 10 | 5.3 | Moderate season |
| May | 6.7 | #7 | 69°F | 58°F | 64°F | 9 | 6.4 | Busy season |
| June | 7.2 | #5 | 73°F | 62°F | 67°F | 4 | 8.2 | Busy season |
| July | 7.6 | #1 | 78°F | 66°F | 72°F | 2 | 9.8 | Peak season |
| August | 7.5 | #2 | 80°F | 68°F | 75°F | 5 | 10.0 | Peak season |
| September | 7.4 | #3 | 77°F | 66°F | 74°F | 8 | 8.8 | Busy season |
| October | 7.2 | #6 | 73°F | 62°F | 71°F | 12 | 6.9 | Moderate season |
| November | 7.4 | #4 | 68°F | 58°F | 67°F | 12 | 5.7 | Low season |
| December | 6.4 | #12 | 65°F | 55°F | 64°F | 14 | 4.4 | Low season |
Elsewhere in Europe
Better May weather than Azores
Azores' weather ranks 45 of 77 beach regions this month. These beach regions outside Portugal have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Azores.
Canary IslandsSpain · about 960 miles
Excellent weather (9.7): 5°F warmer afternoons, pricier
CeutaSpain · about 1220 miles
Excellent weather (9.5): 4°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days
AndalusiaSpain · about 1230 miles
Excellent weather (9.7): 12°F warmer afternoons, 6 fewer rain days, pricier
MelillaSpain · about 1360 miles
Excellent weather (10.0): 12°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days
MurciaSpain · about 1400 miles
Excellent weather (9.9): 12°F warmer afternoons, 7 fewer rain days, cheaper
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's busy season, 67% of the busiest month and 19% above its average month. That means about 10,000 overnight visitors on a typical May night across the region, 35% of them from Portugal itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 5,900 more: 58 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 67 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Ponta Delgada (Observatorio Afonso Chaves) from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.6°C), night lows within 1°F (0.2°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 42 |
| Busiest month here | August · 62 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 4.0% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 92nd percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 35% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 58 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 6.2% |
| Population used | 242,000 |
| Statistical region | PT20 · Região Autónoma dos Açores |
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; the first figure is regional (INE Portugal, Inquérito à Permanência de Hóspedes: hotel room revenue per guest-night). Full method · this region's data.