Dominican Republic · Dominican Republic
May
Low season opens — prices drop significantly and rain becomes a daily factor on the north coast.
Best match
#4 of 12 months
There are better months for Dominican Republic — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
31°C
Low
23°C
Rain
115mm
Sun
7.5hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How May scores in Dominican Republic
Weather
Good
Value
Very good
Crowds
Excellent
Events
Above average
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in May
- ↑May marks the start of low season pricing — all-inclusive resort rates drop 30–50% from peak season, and direct flights from North America and Europe soften significantly; May offers the same Caribbean beach experience as January at a fraction of the cost for flexible travellers
- ↑Lush landscape at its most vibrant: the rains of May–October create the extraordinarily green interior of the DR — the coffee and cacao highlands around Jarabacoa and Constanza, the Samaná Peninsula's coconut forest, and the Los Haitises National Park mangrove system are at their most photogenic in the rainy months
- ↑The Punta Cana coast (southeast) receives significantly less rainfall than the north coast — the Coral Coast and Punta Cana remain largely sunny even in the rainy season due to their leeward position, and resort guests often experience better weather than the all-island statistics suggest
What you sacrifice
- ↓Rain is now a regular feature across most of the island — the north coast (Cabarete, Sosúa, Puerto Plata) receives disproportionate rain in May as trade winds push moisture against the mountainous north shore; kiteboarding in Cabarete is possible but wind patterns become less predictable
- ↓Hurricane season officially begins June 1 but tropical system activity can start as early as May — while the DR sits on the southern edge of the primary hurricane belt, tropical storms can affect weather patterns in May particularly on the north coast
- ↓Some seasonal operations and excursion companies reduce schedules in May; whale watching tours have ended for the year and some Samaná-based activities scale back for the low season
How May compares to February (best month)
| Factor | May | February ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 6 | 9 |
| Value | 7 | 4 |
| Crowds | 8 | 4 |
May in other destinations
Lisbon (20.7°C)Barcelona (20.8°C)Tokyo (23.8°C)Bali (31.2°C)Santorini (19.8°C)Paris (18.1°C)New York (20.4°C)Marrakech (26.4°C)Amsterdam (16.4°C)Maldives (31.5°C)Rome (21.7°C)Bangkok (32.6°C)Istanbul (20.7°C)Vienna (19.7°C)Seoul (21.4°C)Dubrovnik (20.9°C)Rio de Janeiro (26.2°C)Kyoto (25.2°C)Phuket (32.6°C)Cape Town (18.9°C)Prague (21°C)Amalfi Coast (23°C)Mexico City (27°C)Medellín (27°C)Fiji (28°C)London (18°C)Sydney (19°C)Iceland (10°C)Tulum (32°C)Dubai (38°C)Singapore (33°C)Hoi An (33°C)Chiang Mai (33°C)Miami (30.6°C)Florence (23.1°C)Queenstown (11°C)Madrid (21.7°C)Porto (21°C)Edinburgh (15°C)Copenhagen (16°C)Budapest (22°C)Kraków (20°C)Tbilisi (23°C)Palawan (32°C)Hanoi (31°C)Osaka (25°C)Goa (33°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (19°C)Mykonos (23°C)Zanzibar (28°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (27°C)Cancun (32°C)Krabi (33°C)Athens (25°C)Seville (27°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (34°C)Havana (30°C)Split (22°C)Taipei (30°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (24°C)Ho Chi Minh City (34°C)Hawaii (29°C)Cappadocia (22°C)Jamaica (31°C)Tanzania (23°C)Seychelles (28°C)Nepal (28°C)Jordan (28°C)Azores (21°C)Bora Bora (28°C)Los Angeles (22.8°C)Cairo (34.8°C)Kenya (26.1°C)Jaipur (40.2°C)Las Vegas (33.8°C)San Francisco (17.5°C)Madeira (23°C)Vancouver (17.8°C)Muscat (40.1°C)Lima (20.5°C)Cinque Terre (21°C)Kotor (22°C)Tel Aviv (27°C)Santiago (17°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (17.8°C)Penang (33.2°C)Lombok (31.5°C)Cape Verde (27.8°C)Fez (27.8°C)Kerala (33°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (28°C)Oslo (17°C)Auckland (17°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Dominican Republic, not across destinations. Methodology →