Turkey weather in May
May is when the coast starts to feel like a holiday: longer days, the sea warming, resorts opening fully. The interior is finally mild. It is busy but not the crush of high summer, which is why people who have done July once often come back in May.
You can swim in the Mediterranean without making it the whole trip. You can walk ruins without getting up at dawn. Cappadocia is in its sweet spot. Istanbul is pleasant. That combination does not last.
Of the twelve months in Turkey, May is the fifth warmest, the wettest and the fifth sunniest.
- Average temp
- 17°C (62°F)
11–23°C · 51–74°F
- Rainfall
- 49 mm
Not much rain
- Sunshine
- 8 h
hours per day
What is Turkey like in May?
Daytime
Warm on the Aegean and Mediterranean, pleasant inland. Shade starts to matter at midday in the south. A hat is no longer optional on the Antalya coast if you are out between lunch and four.
Evenings are the prize: still warm enough to eat outside on the harbour, cool enough inland that a shirt over the shoulders is enough. This is the month where a coast-plus-Cappadocia itinerary does not fight itself.
Rain
A drier month for most of the country. The Mediterranean and Aegean are in the stretch where you stop planning around showers.
The Black Sea is the exception that still sees them. If your Turkey is Trabzon and the green northeast, May is not the dry-season story the south is telling. For Antalya and Bodrum, pack for sun.
Evening
Evenings are cooler. A layer helps after sunset.
What should I pack for Turkey in May?
High-factor sun cream
With 8 hours of sun a day, burn time is short even in shade.
Sunglasses and a brimmed hat
Midday glare is the part people underpack for, not the heat itself.
A warm mid-layer
Nights drop to around 11°C (51°F).
May compared with April and June
May in Turkey is 5.2°C warmer than April and about as wet as it, which averages 12°C (53°F).
May in Turkey is 4°C cooler than June and 13 mm wetter than it, which averages 21°C (69°F).
Daylight in Turkey in May
On 15 May the sun is up for 14 hours 24 minutes in Turkey, rising about 05:33 and setting about 19:57 local time.
May ends 53 minutes longer than it begins, so the last week of the month is a different length of day from the first.
That is 36 minutes short of June, the longest-lit month here.
Turkey weather by month
TemperatureRainfall
How May compares with the rest of the year
May is highlighted. Every other month links to its own page.
| Month | Average | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C / 35°F | 36 mm |
| February | 3°C / 37°F | 37 mm |
| March | 7°C / 45°F | 44 mm |
| April | 12°C / 53°F | 49 mm |
| May | 17°C / 62°F | 49 mm |
| June | 21°C / 69°F | 36 mm |
| July | 24°C / 76°F | 15 mm |
| August | 24°C / 76°F | 13 mm |
| September | 20°C / 67°F | 19 mm |
| October | 14°C / 58°F | 33 mm |
| November | 8°C / 47°F | 33 mm |
| December | 4°C / 38°F | 42 mm |
Similar weather in May
Other destinations whose May averages sit close to this one.
Check another month
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FAQs about Turkey in May
May climate averages for Turkey, 1991–2020.
Turkey averages 17°C (62°F) in May, ranging from about 11°C (51°F) at night to 23°C (74°F) in the afternoon. That is a 1991–2020 average, so an individual week can run either side of it.
Barely. May sees only about 49 mm, so rain is unlikely to affect your plans.
No. May averages 17°C (62°F) against 21°C (69°F) in June — 4°C cooler.
May is 5.2°C warmer than April, and about as wet.
Yes. May falls inside the most comfortable stretch of the year here, May to October, on temperature and rainfall together.
About 8 hours of sun a day on the 1991–2020 average — among the brighter months anywhere.
This page does not show today's weather. It is a 1991–2020 climate normal from Meteostat — a long-run average of what May is usually like, which is what you want when booking months ahead. For today or the coming week, check a live forecast.
About 14 hours 24 minutes of daylight in mid-May, against 15 hours in June and 9 hours 21 minutes in December.
On 15 May, sunrise is about 05:33 and sunset about 19:57 local time. Both shift across the month — the month ends 53 minutes longer than it starts.
