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When to go · Brazil

Brazil in May

Good month. Good value: pleasant Rio, Iguaçu and São Paulo; Amazon high water.

Key facts

Verdict
Good
Crowds
Low
Brazil
Prices
Low
Brazil

Verdict

GoodVoykit month rating for Brazil

Good value: pleasant Rio, Iguaçu and São Paulo; Amazon high water.

Weather in May

  • Rio and the Southeast coast · Rio de Janeiro, Paraty, Ilha Grande, São Paulobest weather

    Hot, humid summers with heavy downpours and floods (December–March); dry, sunny, 20–26 °C winters are the sightseeing season. São Paulo is cooler and rainier.

  • Northeast coast · Salvador, Recife, Olinda, Maceió, Porto de Galinhasrainy

    Warm all year (26–30 °C); the rainy season is roughly April–July on the Salvador–Recife coast.

  • North coast and dunes · Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Lençóis Maranhensesrainy

    Rain February–May fills the Lençóis lagoons, best to swim June–September; kitesurf wind July–January.

  • Amazon · Manaus, Amazon lodges, Belémrainy

    Hot and humid all year; high water around May–July lets canoes enter flooded forest; low water August–November exposes beaches. Fire smoke can haze the sky in September–October.

  • Pantanal · Cuiabá, Poconé, Transpantaneira, Bonitofine

    Dry season (June–October) concentrates wildlife around waterholes: the jaguar season; the wet season floods roads. Fires and smoke have hit August–October in recent years.

  • South and Iguaçu · Foz do Iguaçu, Florianópolis, Gramadobest weather

    Hot summers, cool winters with frost in the highlands; the falls are fullest after rains, most often in summer.

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.

  • Labour Day

    1 May

    Offices closed.

  • Corpus Christi

    May or June (Thursday)

    Long weekend in many cities; carpets of sawdust in colonial towns.

Crowds and prices

Crowds · Brazil
Low
Prices · Brazil
Low

What to pack

  • A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast

Build the full packing list for your trip →

Where to go in May

Rated best or good this month

  • Rio and the Southeast coast

    Best weather of the year (Rio de Janeiro, Paraty, Ilha Grande, São Paulo)

  • South and Iguaçu

    Best weather of the year (Foz do Iguaçu, Florianópolis, Gramado)

  • Rio de Janeiro

    Dry and mild; clearer views.