When to go · Macau
Macau in May
Mixed month. Labour Day week is packed; the Drunken Dragon and Fátima processions; heavy showers start.
Key facts
- Verdict
- Mixed
- Crowds
- High
- Macau
- Prices
- High
- Macau
Verdict
Labour Day week is packed; the Drunken Dragon and Fátima processions; heavy showers start.
Is another month better than May?
May is rated mixed. These months rate higher:
- NovemberGreatDry and clear, 18–25 °C: the best month, except Grand Prix week when rates rise and roads close.
- DecemberGreatCool, clear and sunny; Christmas lights; weekends busy with Hong Kong visitors.
- JanuaryGoodCool and dry, 12–18 °C; bring a jacket — older hotels and restaurants have no heating.
- MarchGoodMild with fog and drizzle; ferries can slow in thick fog. Lent processions.
Weather in May
- Macau (Peninsula, Taipa, Cotai, Coloane) · The whole SARrainy
Subtropical monsoon. Oct–Dec is dry, clear and 18–26 °C (64–79 °F); Jan–Feb cool and grey (can drop to 8–10 °C (46–50 °F) with no indoor heating in older buildings). Mar–Apr brings fog and drizzle that can delay ferries. May–Sep is 28–33 °C (82–91 °F) with 80%+ humidity, heavy showers and the typhoon peak Jul–Sep.Subtropical monsoon. Oct–Dec is dry, clear and 64–79 °F (18–26 °C); Jan–Feb cool and grey (can drop to 46–50 °F (8–10 °C) with no indoor heating in older buildings). Mar–Apr brings fog and drizzle that can delay ferries. May–Sep is 82–91 °F (28–33 °C) with 80%+ humidity, heavy showers and the typhoon peak Jul–Sep.
- Pearl River Delta neighbours · Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Hengqin, Shenzhenrainy
Same weather system: a typhoon that stops Macau ferries also stops the bridge buses and Hong Kong's harbour. Winter haze from the mainland is possible Dec–Feb.
- Macau Peninsula29 °C (84 °F) / 24 °C (75 °F), 15 rain days84 °F (29 °C) / 75 °F (24 °C), 15 rain days
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
A-Ma Festival
Apr–May (23rd day of the 3rd lunar month — check)
Crowds and Chinese opera at A-Ma Temple.
Labour Day and mainland May holiday big impact
1–5 May
Mainland tour groups; old town and ferries at capacity.
Buddha's Birthday and Feast of the Drunken Dragon
About 13 May 2027 (8th day of 4th lunar month — check)
Fishmongers' dragon dance around the Inner Harbour and Red Market; public holiday.
Procession of Our Lady of Fátima
13 May
Evening candlelit procession from St Dominic's Church to Penha Hill.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Macau
- High
- Prices · Macau
- High
High-price month: see what to book ahead.
Compare two months
Weather, crowds and prices for any two months in Macau, side by side.
Verdict
May: Mixed
Nov: Great (better)
Crowds
May: High
Nov: Medium
Prices
May: High
Nov: High
Festivals listed
May: 4
Nov: 3
May: Labour Day week is packed; the Drunken Dragon and Fátima processions; heavy showers start.
November: Dry and clear, 18–25 °C: the best month, except Grand Prix week when rates rise and roads close.
Macau: figures are long-term averages from this guide, not a forecast.
What to pack
- A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast