What is Marrakech like in May?

May is the warm, golden close of Marrakech's spring peak, and it is a month I happily recommend with one small caveat: the heat is building. Daytime highs climb to 28 to 30°C, noticeably warmer than April, and the middle of the day starts to feel genuinely hot. The mornings and late afternoons remain delightful, the evenings are warm and made for outdoor dining, and rainfall all but disappears — you can plan a May trip confident of near-unbroken sunshine.

The slightly higher temperatures change how I structure a day for May guests. I front-load the sightseeing into the cooler morning hours, build in a long lunch and a rooftop-pool break or a hammam through the hottest part of the afternoon, and save the medina wandering for the gentler early evening. With that rhythm, May is supremely enjoyable; ignore it and the midday sun can sap the fun out of a long souk crawl. A hat, sunscreen and plenty of water move firmly onto the packing list this month.

Crowds and prices ease a little once Easter and its school holidays have passed, which makes the second half of May something of a sweet spot — still gorgeous weather, but with marginally better availability and rates than April. The gardens are still lush before the summer dryness sets in, the bougainvillea is rampant, and the city has a relaxed, sun-drenched confidence to it. It is a lovely time to be on a rooftop with a cold drink as the call to prayer drifts across the medina.

For day trips and extensions, May is the last comfortable window before high summer. The Atlas valleys are warm and green and make a perfect cooler escape from the city heat. The desert, however, is reaching its limit: late May daytime temperatures in the Sahara start pushing into the high thirties, so if a dune night is on your list, aim for the start of the month rather than the end, and schedule activity for dawn and dusk. For Marrakech itself, May is warm, bright and a touch quieter than the April peak — a fine time to visit if you embrace the heat sensibly.