Tasmania May — the dock area of Hobart city with moored boats in autumn

Tasmania · Australia

May

Deep autumn — the island empties, prices drop further, and Hobart feels genuinely local.

Strong option

#10 of 12 months

There are better months for Tasmania — see the full ranking below.

See when to go instead →

Climate

High

14°C

Low

7°C

Rain

65mm

Sun

4hrs/day

30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5

How May scores in Tasmania

Weather
Above average
Value
Very good
Crowds
Excellent
Events
Above average
Atmosphere
Good

What you gain in May

  • May is the best month to experience Hobart as a local rather than as a tourist destination. The Saturday Salamanca Market has its most authentic vendor mix, the waterfront restaurants are booking-free, and the Battery Point colonial village — cobbled lanes, heritage cottages, and the Arthur's Circus green — is quiet enough to photograph without crowds.
  • Whisky distillery visits come into their own in May: Lark Distillery, Nant, Sullivans Cove, and Hellyers Road all run uncrowded tastings and the Derwent Valley distillery drive is as good a food-and-drink day out as Tasmania offers outside of summer festival season.

What you sacrifice

  • May weather is properly cool: 14°C days, 7°C nights, and 65mm of rainfall. Outdoor activities in the wilderness are still possible but require preparation for sudden weather changes. Cradle Mountain and the central highlands can see light snow at altitude.
  • The Overland Track is closed for the season from May 1 and many wilderness-focused tour operators reduce frequency. The island's outdoor draw is significantly diminished compared to the summer months.

How May compares to February (best month)

FactorMayFebruary
Weather
5
9
Value
7
5
Crowds
8
5

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)Dominican Republic (31°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)Beijing (27°C)Delhi (39°C)Mumbai (33°C)Victoria Falls (26°C)Stockholm (17°C)Oaxaca (32°C)Bhutan (25°C)Da Nang (34°C)Nashville (25°C)Nice (22°C)Mallorca (23°C)Tuscany (24°C)Namibia (24°C)Crete (25°C)Komodo (33°C)Montréal (19°C)Melbourne (17°C)Cairns (28°C)Venice (22°C)Dublin (16°C)Tenerife (24°C)Ibiza (23°C)Sardinia (22°C)Sicily (23°C)Rhodes (24°C)Corfu (23°C)Zakynthos (23°C)Algarve (24°C)Naples (22°C)Antalya (26°C)Barbados (30°C)St Lucia (30°C)Aruba (32°C)Turks and Caicos (30°C)Puerto Rico (30°C)Okinawa (27°C)Hokkaido (17°C)Varanasi (42°C)Langkawi (32°C)Lake Bled (21°C)Salzburg (19°C)Lake Como (22°C)Tallinn (15°C)Iguazu Falls (23°C)Luxor (39°C)Gran Canaria (24°C)Lanzarote (23°C)Fuerteventura (24°C)Menorca (22°C)Capri (21°C)Milos (23°C)Paros (23°C)Hvar (22°C)Bodrum (24°C)Malaga (25°C)San Sebastián (18°C)Bordeaux (21°C)Corsica (21°C)Abu Dhabi (38°C)Hurghada (34°C)Essaouira (21°C)Kruger National Park (26°C)Shanghai (25°C)Chengdu (26°C)Jeju (20°C)Banff (14°C)Toronto (19°C)Québec City (16°C)Lofoten (9°C)Bergen (14°C)Gold Coast (23°C)Whitsundays (26°C)Perth (23°C)Nha Trang (32°C)Koh Phi Phi (32°C)Luang Prabang (34°C)Raja Ampat (31°C)Agra (41°C)Udaipur (41°C)Hiroshima (25°C)Naxos (23°C)Thessaloniki (24°C)Helsinki (14°C)Riga (17°C)Zurich (19°C)Monaco (21°C)Doha (39°C)Siargao (31°C)Bohol (32°C)Lake Atitlán (25°C)Sarajevo (21°C)Batumi (20°C)Chicago (20°C)Boston (19°C)Gdańsk (16°C)Berlin (19.4°C)Milan (21.9°C)New Orleans (29.6°C)Galápagos Islands (27°C)Patagonia (5.5°C)Koh Samui (32.1°C)Nusa Penida (30.8°C)Jerusalem (25°C)Busan (21°C)San Miguel de Allende (28°C)Yogyakarta (31°C)Hue (32.5°C)Nara (26.4°C)Chiang Rai (33.5°C)Lyon (19°C)Lalibela (25°C)Phnom Penh (34°C)Kota Kinabalu (32°C)Phu Quoc (33°C)Hakone (22°C)Kanazawa (23°C)Pai (30°C)Plovdiv (24°C)AlUla (40°C)Guanajuato (28°C)Bologna (23°C)Seattle (18°C)Cook Islands (24°C)Koh Lanta (32°C)Montevideo (16°C)Diani Beach (28°C)Austin (30°C)Washington DC (24°C)Warsaw (19°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Tasmania, not across destinations. Methodology →