Malta in May runs highs of around 23°C at the start climbing to 25–26°C by the end, night lows near 15–17°C, and only 3–4 wet days carrying roughly 10–12 mm of rain in total. Add about 10 hours of sun a day and you have one of the most dependable months on the calendar for planning anything outdoors.
The sea is the variable that decides your trip. It starts at roughly 18–19°C, which is brisk enough to make an early-May swim a decision rather than a pleasure, and reaches around 20°C by the end of the month. That single number is why the first and last fortnights of May are close to different holidays. Below: the split, the comparison with June, and what it costs.
What is the weather like in Malta in May?
Warm, dry and getting steadily better. May starts as late spring and ends as something almost indistinguishable from early summer, and unlike the autumn shoulder the change runs in your favour as the month goes on.
| Measure | Early May | End of May |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime high | ~23°C | ~25–26°C |
| Night low | ~15°C | ~17°C |
| Sea temperature | ~18–19°C | ~20°C |
| Countryside | Green from the spring rain | Drying towards gold |
Rain is close to a non-event: roughly 10–12 mm across 3–4 wet days. In practice that means you can commit to a boat trip, a long walk or an outdoor dinner three weeks out and expect the weather to hold. Our Malta temperature by month page sets May against the rest of the year.
The other thing May has, briefly, is colour. The countryside still carries the green of the winter and spring rains through the first half of the month before the summer bleaches it. If a walking or photography trip is the point, that is a genuine argument for going early rather than late.
Can you swim in Malta in May?
By the end of the month, comfortably. At the start, only if you are the sort of person who swims in the North Sea and enjoys mentioning it.
The water sits at around 18–19°C in early May and climbs to about 20°C by the end. The sea always lags the air here because water gains heat far more slowly, which is why a 25°C afternoon in late May can still sit above a sea that feels sharp for the first minute.
- Early May: brisk. Fine for a quick dip, uncomfortable for a long swim without a wetsuit.
- Late May: around 20°C, which most people find genuinely swimmable.
- Beach facilities: opening up through the month rather than fully running.
- Boat trips: operating, with far fewer boats than the summer schedule.
If swimming is the whole point of the trip, that argues for late May at the earliest, and the best beaches in Malta are quietest in exactly this window.
Is early or late May better?
They are close to different months, and the answer depends entirely on what you are here for.
Early May is the walking and sightseeing half. Highs around 23°C, a green countryside, and the coolest, quietest conditions of the shoulder season. Valletta, Mdina and the temples are a pleasure at midday, which is not true again until October.
Late May is the beach half. The sea has reached about 20°C, highs are touching 26°C, and the days are long enough to do a morning of sightseeing and an afternoon in the water without rushing either.
If your dates are flexible and you want both halves at once, the last week of May is the crossover point: warm enough to swim, not yet hot enough to make the towns hard work.
May or June: which is the better trip?
May and June are the two halves of Malta's summer run-up, and the gap between them is wider than four weeks suggests, especially in the water.
| Measure | May | June |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime high | ~23–26°C | ~28–30°C |
| Night low | ~15–17°C | ~18°C |
| Sea temperature | ~18–20°C | ~22–23°C |
| Wet days | ~3–4 | ~1 |
| Sunshine | ~10 hrs/day | ~11–12 hrs/day |
| Prices and crowds | Shoulder season | Rising towards the peak |
May wins on price, crowds and walking comfort; June wins on the sea. If the trip is built around swimming, June is worth the extra money because 22–23°C water is a different experience from 20°C. If it is built around towns, temples and coastline, May is both cheaper and physically easier.
Is Malta worth visiting in May?
For a first trip, yes, and for a sightseeing-led trip it is one of the two best months of the year. You get near-summer warmth, almost no rain and long days, at prices and crowd levels that summer never matches.
The honest caveat is the water. A May trip sold to you as a beach holiday will disappoint if you book the first week, because 18°C is not what most people picture when they book a Mediterranean island. Book late May, or accept that the swimming is a bonus rather than the plan.
One thing to know if you are working from older guides: the Malta International Fireworks Festival moved to April in 2026, running across 18, 20, 25 and 30 April for its 25th-anniversary edition. It is no longer a May fixture, and several guides still say otherwise. The village festa season, meanwhile, is only just beginning in May – it does not hit its stride until high summer.
Our best time to visit Malta guide sets May against the autumn shoulder, which is its real competition.
What is there to do in Malta in May?
Nearly everything, and comfortably. May's pitch is not a packed events calendar; it is that the conditions suit every kind of day without penalising any of them.
- Valletta, Mdina and the temples – walkable at any hour, including the middle of the day
- Coastal and countryside walks – at their best in the first fortnight while the landscape is still green
- Boat trips and Comino – running on lighter schedules, with a fraction of the summer traffic
- Beaches – open and near-empty, with swimming realistic from the second half of the month
- Village festi – the season is starting rather than running, so treat any you catch as luck
The full things to do in Malta guide has the opening hours and entry prices. The scheduling note that dominates every summer month simply does not apply here: in May you can walk a city at 14:00 without regretting it.
What does May cost, and what should you pack?
May sits in true shoulder-season pricing, below the July and August peak and below late June. Rates climb noticeably in the last week as the school half-terms and the warming sea pull demand forward, so early May is the cheapest fortnight of the three shoulder months.
Booking ahead matters less in May than in any summer month, with one exception: the boat operators run reduced schedules early in the season, so there are fewer sailings to choose from even though there are fewer people wanting them.
Packing is late spring with a summer bias:
- Light clothes and a warmer layer – nights drop to 15–17°C, which is cool enough to notice
- Proper walking shoes – May is the month you will actually use them
- Swimwear – worth packing even for early May, for the one warm afternoon
- Sun protection – the spring sun is stronger than 23°C suggests, particularly on the water
- A packable waterproof – 3–4 wet days across the month, so low odds but cheap insurance
Featured image: Frank Vincentz / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0