The best Caribbean island to visit in May

Curaçao returns to first in May with a perfect weather score and about 1.1 inches of rain, one of the three driest months of its year. Days are hot at 87°F (31°C), with an 82°F (28°C) sea. Its value score barely moves through the year, since the cheapest Willemstad room was $62 in both January and July. Go for the west-coast coves at Grote Knip and Playa Kalki, and start the Mount Christoffel climb at dawn. The catch is unchanged: you need a car, and the beaches are coves, not long strands.

Martinique is second, with 86°F days, an 83°F sea and a weather score of 9.8 as the dry season tails off. Its year-round profile is among the strongest here: things to do score 8.5, and it is less crowded than most rivals, with about 572,000 staying tourists in 2024. Rooms in Les Trois-Îlets were $82 in our July check. It loses ground on access, with a single US nonstop from Miami. May is a good month for the rum estates and the botanical garden at Balata.

Barbados has the warmest sea on this list in May, 84°F, with 85°F days and about 2.5 inches of rain. Its beaches score 8.5, and the west coast stays flat for swimming and turtle snorkeling in Carlisle Bay. It ranks third because rooms are mid-priced, $92 to $140 on our two dates, and the island is busy for its size. May is shoulder season here, so south-coast rates should be closer to the July figure. Nonstops run from eight US airports, none of them seasonal.

Grenada climbs to fourth with a 9.9 weather score, 85°F days and about 2.3 inches of rain, before its rainy season starts in June. It has the fewest visitors in this top eight, about 186,000 stay-overs in 2025. Rooms in the southwest cost $96 to $100 on our dates. It ranks below the top three because only four US airports fly nonstop. Combine Grand Anse with a dive on the Bianca C wreck or the Underwater Sculpture Park.

Puerto Rico slips to fifth because May is its wettest month on this list, about 3.8 inches, for a weather score of 9.2. Everything else is strong: things to do score 9, San Juan has nonstops from 41 US airports, and no passport is needed. Old San Juan's cruise traffic eases after the winter peak. Plan El Yunque and the beaches for mornings. The bio bays at Fajardo, Vieques and La Parguera work in any season; book a moonless night.

Antigua ties Puerto Rico on 8.75, with a 9.7 weather score, 84°F days and about 2.6 inches of rain. Its beach score of 9 is still the best on the page, and May is the shoulder season our Antigua page recommends: warm sea, fewer people. It ranks sixth on things to do (7) and value: in July, its cheapest town room was $155, dearer than January's $99. Dickenson Bay and Pigeon Point are the calm beaches for children.

St. Martin enters the list in May with a 9.9 weather score and the mildest days here, 81°F, with an 83°F sea and about 2.1 inches of rain. It has nonstops from 13 US airports, and its beaches and things to do both score 8: Orient Bay, Mullet Bay, Grand Case restaurants and ferry day trips to Anguilla. It ranks seventh because its crowd score is the lowest in our Caribbean data, with about 1.6 million cruise passengers in 2025. Simpson Bay rooms were $111 in our July check.

St. Lucia holds on at eighth with a 9.6 weather score, 85°F days and about 2.8 inches of rain, the wettest of the eight after Puerto Rico. Rain falls heavier in the mountains than on the coast, so do the Gros Piton climb early in the month if you can. Its things to do, 8.5, match the best here. Its beaches, 6.5, are the weakest. Rodney Bay rooms were $99 in our July check. Couples who come for the Piton views will not mind the beaches.