fine, warm and not too busy in May on either Pacific and Caribbean coasts, with wonderful sights, tasty food and low prices. Lover's beach in Cabo San Lucas, pictured above is only accessible by boat and opens to the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Sea of Cortez on the other.
Red Sea beaches Red Sea beach resorts around Egypt's east coasts and Israel's dilapidated Eilat are great-value holiday destinations with endless sun, brilliant coral growth, warm seas and day trips to Luxor for a spot of ancient site-seeing.
The air temperature in this region is about 30°C in May (26°C at night) and water temperature is 24°C with close to zero humidity and no chance of rain.
- Datai Beach, Langkawi Island. One of the world's most secluded
and picture-perfect hideaways.
- Pantai Teluk Belanga (Emerald Bay), Pangkor Laut. A luxury resort
on the brilliant crescent bay of a tiny private island.
- Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort, a secluded, palm-fringed beach, or
Kampung Juara for
total serenity. Both on Tioman Island.
- Long Beach, Kecil Island, Perhentian Islands. A popular destination
for budget travelers.
- Puraran Beach, Catanduanes Island, one of the Philippines' major
surf venues with with white sand that demands a hug.
- Redang Island, Redang archipelago, with a superb marine park,
is excellent for scuba/snorkel addicts.
- Turtle Beach and Golden Beach, Similajau National Park, Sarawak.
Well worth the hassle to get there for some of Malaysia's finest
The Caribbean embraces dozens of picturesque beaches and superb, though pricey beach
resorts. However, May is the best low-cost month as mid-December to April is the high season but the weather remains fine through May, hopefully.
Our pick would be Dominican Republic for low cost, massive white powder beaches and abundant things to do.
Alternatively, down in the southern Caribe there's heavily forested and low-key Tobago encircled by lovely sandy bays, and the Dutch islands of Aruba, Bonaire (mainly for diving and windsurfing) and Curaçao are outside the hurricane belt anyway and deals should be sensational!
Budget Caribbean islands
- it's autumn and water is chilly in southern Australia, go north-east or north-west but don't expect much surf. Beyond Brisbane on the east coast, due to toxic jellies and the odd shark tourists tend to be either dressed in wetsuits or swim in free, attractive, salt-water lagoons. The north-west shores above Perth are home to the amazing Ningaloo Reef and massive stretches of dazzling, people-free sand.
Mediterranean probably good sunshine around the Med but the sea will still be
- Many fantastic Greece
beaches, see Greece
- Some good Turkey beaches,
beaches along the Côte d'Azur are perfect now, uncrowded and keen-to-please, though the sea is cool; St Tropez is reasonably accessible; Cannes is small, sandy and pretentious, as always; Nice's huge stony bay, while not comfortable offers great shoreside attractions; Corsica
beaches are superb if you can get there.
- Spain's beaches are perfect now, warm but relatively uncrowded but Spain's Balearic Islands - especially Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza are less expensive and enjoy the superb Mediterranean climate with plenty of sun, great beaches, superb hiking trails and lively nightlife.
- La Costa Verde, Sardinia island, and Lampedusa Island, Italy
beaches. A superb beach and less busy than Costa Smeralda, the
island's best-known area.
- Sidi Abdel Rahman or Marsa Matrouh, Egypt. Long stretches of brilliant white sand beaches
along the coast from Alexandria, but lacking in facilities. Egyptians don't go in for beaches much, they've seen enough sand in their lives.
USA: Florida's beaches, especially around Miami and the Keys are getting into gear now, tho' the water is still chilly.
- Many excellent beaches in Portugal, see Portugal
- Some great stretches of soft sand in the west coast of France, such as La Rochelle, Arcachon, Biarritz and St
Jean de Luz.
- Brazil is blessed with many massive, fine beaches, such as Rio's magnificent Copacabana - perhaps the world's best city beach, and life is lively and low cost though the seas are usually rough and cold.
- Spain's Canary Islands, enjoy endless sunshine and beaches of all types - activities, nudist, family, surfing, wild town sand, back-to-nature coves.
The southern sections of islands tend to be the warmest and Fuerteventura and Lanzarote the sunniest. La Palma is the wettest island.
- Muelle Bay, Puerto Galera, Mindoro Island. An ideal place to do
island-hopping on to pristine beaches.
- Puraran Beach, Catanduanes Island, one of the Philippines' major
surf venues with appealing white sand.
Beach between Da Nang and Hoi An is an endless white
strand, Mui Ne is breezy and quite undeveloped while Nha Trang on the 'Vietnamese Riviera' offers a splendid white sandy beach. Also Hon Chong Beach, Ha Tien, a seductive beach near the Cambodian
Bai Tam, Phu Quoc Island is a secret jewel of Southeast
Ocean beaches see also Pacific
- Many great beaches in Hawaii, see Hawaii
- Anakena beach, Easter
Island Pictures. Not a huge beach but soft sand, clear sea,
palm trees and six huge moai.
- Matira Beach, Bora
Bora beaches pictures, French Polynesia. One of South Pacific's
best beaches, beginning at the famous resort Hotel Bora Bora.
Islands beaches pictures, Fiji, a group of islands with small
sandy beaches and low cost backpacker resorts.
- One Foot Island Beach, islet of Aitutaki Island, the Cook
- South coast of Ofu Island, American Samoa. A wonderful landscape
with very few tourists.
- Lefaga Beaches and Aleipata Beach, Upolu island, Western Samoa.
Little known but one of the cutest beaches in the South
- Ha'apai Beach, Foa
island, Ha'apai islands, Tonga. Low cost with the friendliest locals.
- Mauritius: Flic en Flac, Trou aux Biches and Paradis beach. Less pricey than the Seychelles
but excellent beach resorts and more inner-island activities available.
- Madagascar: Ile Sainte Marie. An idyllic island resort fringed by peaceful beaches.
- India: Goa beaches. April, May is just after the best season but still a good time to be. A tourist magnet but still fun. The least crowded stretches are north of the Chapora River.
Beaches that are not a good idea in May
beaches: also see
Thailand beach pictures,
May - Oct is probably the worst time to go, especially on the Andaman
(west) Coast (heavy rains).
- Kenya: Diani or Serena beaches are good for families and great value
for money, but not from April to June, a long rainy season.
- Tanzania: A perfect holiday end after doing a Tanzania wildlife safari on Zanzibar's best beaches, though April and May are not a perfect time due to the wet season.
- Hawaii: Weatherwise May is a great time to go, but it is better to avoid 'Golden Week' between the last week of April and the first week of May as Japanese spring holiday makers invade Hawaii, especially Waikiki, so it is likely to be packed and pricy.