Recommendations for European travel destinations May 2025

Two cities new to us that we've enjoyed in the last couple of years are Gdańsk and Porto.

We also had our first taste of the Cotswolds and Lake Country in England, and would love to return to those areas.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/the-netherlands-belgium-april-2024-brought-the-rain-pants-needed-the-rain-pants

I'd say there's a lot more to the NL than Amsterdam. Ww found Belgium and the Netherlands to be friendly, safe, clean, and efficient (almost like Switzerland) but not nearly as expensive. We can't wait to return and explore further.
I do think you're a bit late for finding reasonably priced accommodations for May, especially for four people, so make a decision asap.
You're so fortunate to have a family trip and to be making forever memories. Enjoy! Safe travels.

May would be a great time for Iceland. If that interests you, you would need to get stuff booked asap as places there book out far in advance, but it is still doable. You would even have time for a ring road trip with 12 days. We have been many times, so if you decide to go and need any suggestions, just ask.

Montenegro

• Perast, https://youtu.be/q2nckBnc7_M?si=CohK_4nsI6l7chEB
• Stari Bar, https://youtu.be/OBU56OT78fw?si=tzF65lSmOXSEpWKZ
• Ulcinj, https://youtu.be/SBY7G9HHw5s?si=wjPy2V0P1mhua7Cs
• Tara River Canyon, (Motel Tara MB) https://youtu.be/9aGMZB8hB5Y?si=NFKsf6YtGAX2uVCa
• Ostrog Monastery, (Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline) https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=WML9Hs2hOQCsKZwE AND https://youtu.be/miNV1FVK7qI?si=iZC_lViMUEk6JGI
• Budva: https://youtu.be/GF7hyxB8Xq4?si=re2lmDTm5pRNpioH
• Kotor, https://youtu.be/G7QgBl7XNKU?si=pK1etsEr8UcAlofr

Since you're pretty much wide open on destination, I suggest starting with your flights. Determine the best transatlantic flights, which may or may not involve the same airport. What's best for you is very subjective. Direct flight? Cheap? Comfortable? Uses your mileage? Skyscanner.com has a feature where you can search from your preferred airport to "anywhere." This is a good way to find lower fares. Lots of folks use GoogleFlights, as well. Once you're over the ocean, connections by sea, land and air are relatively inexpensive (vs buying a connecting ticket), but not always.

I like the suggestion of Iceland. If you're able to stretch to 12 days, you could do a short stopover there and fly on to your final destination on the same ticket on Icelandair. Unless you're getting a crazy deal on flights, I wouldn't book them without ensuring that you can get reasonable accommodation.

We liked 4 nights in Copenhagen, Denmark and 4 nights in Stockholm, Sweden.

A very favorite area that we would recommend is Southern France flying to Nice, France and exploring the French Riviera - Villefranche sur Mer, Eze, Monaco, Menton, Antibes, and Cannes. These towns are easily accessible by regional train and buses and the scenery is spectacular!

In Italy you may enjoy flying into Venice for 3 or 4 nights, then going to Lake Maggiore or Lake Como in Northern Italy and flying home from Milan.

Happy planning!

trying to do what the locals do and soaking up as much of the culture and history as possible

Locals and culture are best to experience at national or local celebrations.

Basic idea:
Start in Hamburg with co-celebrating port anniversary on May 9-11 and end in Norway's Bergen incl. Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17 - so be there the full day. In between Copenhagen is an obvious destination. Do not miss to book a visit of Hamburg's famous Miniatur Wunderland. Of course you make a day trip from Hamburg to Lübeck as well to visit World Heritage old town and the Museum of the fascinating 500 year ruling Hanseatic League to finish in Bergen visiting the World Heritage Tyske Bryggen which was part of the Hanseatic League. A final visit to Flåm with ziplining, kayaking and / or a short cruise though World Heritage Naeroyfjord rounds up a fascinating journey. Or add up Oslo of you like.

Some more ideas around such a trip if you are interested.

My partner and I really enjoyed Ireland (including Northern Ireland) in May. We spent 3 weeks there in 2024. We normally prefer late Sept-Oct travel but May in Ireland was gorgeous.

Tracey,
I'm with Silas Marner. Ireland would be great, especially for your length of time (7-12 days). We went with our college aged kids and everyone loved it. We spent 4 days in Dublin, then drove south, then west, then north, then inland, and back to Dublin.
Our itinerary was (roughly) after Dublin...Glendalough, Waterford, Youghal, Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Dingle(and the peninsula), the Cliffs of Mohr, the Burren, the Rock of Cashel, Tralee, the Galarus Oratory, Galway, the National Stud, County Cavan, Newgrange.....distances were short, so we often saw more than one or two things in a day as we drove along.
We still didn't see everything we wanted, and we didn't even get to Northern ireland. And I haven't mentioned our time in Dublin!

You might want to investigate Ireland. Sometimes Aer Lingus has some good prices on flights also.
Go n-eiri leat!

Hi Tracey! I also agree that Ireland would be a great choice considering your length of time, time of year and age of "kids". I'd start or end in Dublin, where you can take day trips to Newgrange, Knowth and/or Howth. Also include Galway (a university town that your young adults will love as it's teaming with young adults.) You could visit Aran Islands and bike around, hike the cliffs of Moher, visit Ashford Castle and do the Hawk Walk with Ireland's School of Falconry (on the grounds of Ashford Castle.) Would be a great way to spend a week + as a family. And, it meets all your travel interest criteria! Happy travels whereever you decide to go.

Delta is adding 4 weekly seasonal Detroit direct flights to Dublin next May. This year Detroit also had seasonal Icelandair flights (4 per week) to Dublin option with a quick transfer in Reykjavík. I'm not sure if DTW would work for you. I agree with KimberleySEA about Ashford Castle - it was a great experience flying Wookie!

As an artist at heart I've never seen so many shades and nuances of green.

"...as well as more of Germany." Fantastic !

My suggestion is on spending the entire time max. 12 full days presumably in Germany. If you want to do that, then I recommend all this time in North Germany as well as in the eastern cities and towns. A lot of cultural history there and you most definitely will not be dodging crowds as these places are totally off the international , incl. US tourist, radar,

I recommend too Hamburg, the cultural center of North Germany plus a most convenient junction point for going north into Schleswig-Holstein, eastwards into Mecklenburg, ie here Schwerin, much easier than reaching it from Berlin, or westward towards the North Sea.

Tons of places to see, your main problem is deciding on which place.

I recommend Hamburg, Lübeck, Meissen, Erfurt, Jena, Naumburg an der Saale, Greifswald, Stralsund, Leipzig, Rheinsberg, Heide, Potsdam, Werder an der Havel, Husum, Eutin/Holstein, Schleswig, Lüneburg, Babelsberg, Halle, and so on.

Yes. Travel north. Fly into Copenhagen. Continue to Visby alt. Lübeck, then Tallinn. Ireland is rewarding but not that German.

Just 2 suggestions based on travels with slightly older uni kids and previous trips. As others have posted, Ireland including Northern Island, especially if you are comfortable renting a car. I think it ticks all boxes listed and there are great, affordable flight options from YYZ in May. Or Vienna, Prague, Budapest. Easy to do by train and offers a lot in the way of history and cultural experiences.

Budget: middle-class Canadian's w/ 2 kids in University (ouch) but
also don't want to restrict our experience either.

Nothing restrictive about Eastern European experiences and very budget friendly. 25% to 35% less expensive than most of the places listed so far. Save half of it and reinvest the other half for a fuller and richer experience.

Let me also mention Poland. It's a delightful country with many cultural and culinary attractions, and it's (by American standards) dirt cheap. I highly recommend Gdansk and Krakow.

Poland is a great idea.

30 years ago RS was looking for back doors to Italy and Western Europe. RS wrote: "When I first started traveling, back doors to me were Europe's undiscovered corners and untrampled towns that had, for various reasons, missed the modern parade (like Dingle, on Ireland's western edge, or Portugal's Salema, tucked away on the southern coast). But now, with more sophisticated travelers — and more travelers overall, now that so many more people around the world can afford to travel — worthwhile places rarely go undiscovered."

Well, by the defintion of 30 years ago, those doors dont exists (very much) today. Now, I think, for the same level of experience you have to find back doors to Europe and that means for the most part Eastern Europe. So where and for what?

I listed Montenegro up above. Sort of a back door version of Croatia now that Croatia has gone to the wolves. Other ideas:

Budapest of course. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Still a backdoor replacement for Paris or Vienna or Berlin. But not for much longer so move it up on the bucket list. Favorite Tourism Video of Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX Favorite Guide Book because its small and does the essentials DK Eyewitness Budapest Top 10 https://a.co/d/6JD82mf Sometimes I put other information here https://community.ricksteves.com/users/50322

Bosnia & Herzegovina Sarajevo really is a unique melting pot of cultures. Its not unusual to go to dinner and notice around you individuals from 3 or more fatiths sharing the evening together. Outside of Sarajevo, mostly still a rural experience and beautiful. https://youtu.be/uhVJkWrSm08?si=PFpg-hNs4i9ucoRu https://youtu.be/DSdlDqJTdT8?si=L1Z4yMgHWL9c4zVm

Slovakia, one of the best kept secrets of Europe, especially if you like castles. https://youtu.be/vajIoVdWsLc?si=79lRVTtwFHo-LuOH

Romania. City, villages, rural and nature at its best. Stunning and still accessible without being buried in tourists. For this one I leave you with the website of my favorite tour guide for any location, any place in the world: https://covinnus.com/ and the overview https://youtu.be/8bAi6sTiaho?si=bGngqakpQ1TuZps5

Bulgaria, one of my favorites. https://youtu.be/N1-Jmq7BLFE?si=0EmfSXye6Y4fgL1x

Then Albania, N. Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine ......... You can stay busy a long time in this part of the world.

I'd stay well clear of Ukraine, or as it will soon be known, Southwest Russia.