The Best Vacation Ideas for a May Trip

May is the sweet spot for those planning a visit to Yellowstone. Not only is the weather pleasant, it’s just before the start of summer tourist season. The animals emerge from hibernation and begin foraging for food. Plus: bison are typically born in April. Come May, the newborns will be tottering about and cuter than ever.  

The city of Newport gets back outside in May. Sailors get their boats back in the water; restaurants re-open their al fresco patios, and musicians begin adding their tunes to the atmosphere. May is a particularly tasty time to visit as the city hosts its annual oyster festival on Bowen’s Wharf in the middle of the month.

Spring doesn’t exist in the traditional sense in the Lofoten Islands. It seems that the area transforms from gray winter to green spring almost overnight. But your best chance of getting to see Lofoten “wake up,” comes in April. There may still be snow on the ground, but the days will end with almost impossibly-long twilights with gorgeous colors, some of which can last all night (in the leadup to June’s midnight sun).

Those who think of the desert as an unforgiving environment have not seen it in May. Come this month, the Tucson desert is in full bloom. Wildflowers and cactuses erupt in a kaleidoscope of color. Visit quickly, though. It will all wither away with the heat of the summer.

Pentecost Island becomes a unique destination every Saturday in May. Before there was bungee jumping, in Vanuatu, there was Nagol—or land diving. The annual festival sees local men build a 100-foot tower from the forest and then tie a vine to their ankles and jump off it. Otherwise, there isn’t any other safety equipment.

If you travel for the local spirits, there is no better month to visit Prague than May. The city hosts the Czech Beer Fest for 17 days every year. Be warned: the Czech boast that they drink more beer per capita than any other country in the world. Glasses will be poured liberally.

Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday—except in Puebla. The Mexican city is one of the only places in the country that celebrates the famous 1862 battle against the French. Take part in the gigantic parade (which typically receives more than 20,000 people) and stick around for the city’s famous mole festival.

On the evening of the first full moon in May, thousands of Buddhist monks gather at Borobudur temple, considered by UNESCO to be the largest Buddhist temple in the world. The monks wear orange gowns and gather around the temple with paper lanterns and flowers, painting a marvelous and spiritual scene of color and light.