🇪🇸 SPAIN
Barcelona
Gaudí's fairy-tale buildings, a city beach and tapas for dinner.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🌼 HOLIDAY IDEAS
May half term holidays
Warm, long days before the summer crowds and prices arrive. Here's where to go on holiday at May half term, from beaches to cities and lakes.
May half term holidays: 18 guides
🇭🇺 HUNGARY
Budapest
Steaming outdoor thermal baths, chimney cakes at the Christmas markets and great value for a city break.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights£
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP, DEC
🇹🇷 TURKEY
Cappadocia
Hundreds of hot-air balloons drift over fairy chimneys and cave houses at dawn.
Adventure✈️ 5h3 to 4 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇩🇰 DENMARK
Copenhagen
Old-fashioned fairground rides, harbour swims and the home of Lego next door.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 4 nights£££
BEST TIMEMAY–AUG
🇬🇷 GREECE
Crete
Pink sand beaches, a palace from the legend of the Minotaur and long sunny days.
Beach✈️ 4h7 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇭🇷 CROATIA
Dubrovnik
Walk the old city walls, swim off the rocks and kayak to a sea cave.
Beach✈️ 3h4 to 7 nights£££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇲🇹 MALTA
Gozo
Malta's smaller, greener sister island, with salt pans, sea caves and sleepy villages.
Relax & spa✈️ 4h5 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇲🇪 MONTENEGRO
Kotor
A walled old town full of cats, a fjord-like bay and beaches nearby.
Beach✈️ 3h5 to 7 nights£
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇵🇱 POLAND
Kraków
A castle with a fire-breathing dragon, an underground salt mine and great value.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights£
BEST TIMEMAY–SEP
🇮🇹 ITALY
Lake Garda
Lake beaches, ferries between pretty towns and Italy's biggest theme park.
Nature & hiking✈️ 2h7 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇵🇹 PORTUGAL
Lisbon
Yellow trams, custard tarts and beaches a train ride away, with no time difference.
City break✈️ 3h4 to 6 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇸🇮 SLOVENIA
Ljubljana
A green, car-free old town, a castle on the hill and Lake Bled less than an hour away.
City break✈️ 3h4 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–SEP
🇲🇹 MALTA
Malta
Sunny, English-speaking islands with clear water, old forts and Popeye's village.
Beach✈️ 4h7 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇮🇹 ITALY
Matera
Whole neighbourhoods of cave houses carved into a gorge, glowing with lights at night.
Culture & history✈️ 3h2 to 3 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–MAY, SEP–OCT
🇵🇹 PORTUGAL
Porto
Riverside boats, a bookshop like Hogwarts and custard tarts for breakfast.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 5 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP
🇨🇿 CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague
A hilltop castle, a medieval clock that puts on a show and great-value food.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 4 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Valencia
City beaches, a giant Gulliver to climb and the home of paella.
City break✈️ 3h4 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇦🇹 AUSTRIA
Vienna
A giant Ferris wheel, the world's oldest zoo and cake in grand cafés.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
May half term holidays: common questions
When is May half term?
Usually the last week of May in England and Wales, around the spring bank holiday on the last Monday of May. Scotland and some councils differ, so check your school's dates.
Where is hot at May half term?
Crete, Malta and Gozo are usually warm, around 24 to 26°C, with the sea warming up. Barcelona, Valencia and Lisbon are in the low to mid twenties. For guaranteed heat, look further afield, as most of the Mediterranean is warm rather than hot.
Is May half term a good time for a city break?
Yes, it's one of the best. Cities like Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Kraków and Copenhagen are warm and green, with long evenings, and it's not yet too hot to walk around all day.
Is May half term cheaper than the summer holidays?
Usually, yes. Prices rise in half-term week, but they're normally well below July and August, and resorts are much quieter.
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