Matsuri Travel

Festivals in May 2027

8 festivals worth traveling for this May, soonest first. Multi-week festivals show up in every month they run.

← AprilJune →Filter May by region or budget
A drummer riding a festival cart through the streets of Asakusa during Sanja Matsuri
May 14–16, 2027

Sanja Matsuri

Asakusa's rowdy shrine festival, with a hundred mikoshi bouncing through old Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan$$$$
The Sydney Opera House lit with green projections during Vivid Sydney
May 28 – Jun 19, 2027

Vivid Sydney

Light art on the Opera House sails, drone shows and a harbour-side walk of installations

Sydney, Australia$$$$
Villagers with spears gathered in the forest on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu
Apr 3 – Jun 26, 2027est.

Naghol (Land Diving)

Men leap from wooden towers with vines tied to their ankles on Vanuatu's Pentecost Island

Pentecost Island, Vanuatu$$$$
Crowds pack a Corfu Town street beneath balconies hung with red cloths during Orthodox Easter celebrations
Apr 30 – May 2, 2027est.

Orthodox Easter in Corfu

Philharmonic bands, candlelit processions and clay pots smashed from Venetian balconies

Corfu Town, Greece$$$$
A monk carrying a glowing lantern through Seoul during the Lotus Lantern Festival
May 8–9, 2027est.

Yeon Deung Hoe (Lotus Lantern Festival)

A river of glowing lotus lanterns flows through downtown Seoul for Buddha's Birthday

Seoul, South Korea$$$$
Bearers in happi coats carrying a portable shrine through the streets at Kanda Matsuri
May 11–17, 2027est.

Kanda Matsuri

Tokyo's great Edo-era festival sends portable shrines through Akihabara and Nihonbashi

Tokyo, Japan$$$$
Lit-up stage and decorated shrine crowds during the Da Jiu festival on Cheung Chau
May 13–14, 2027est.

Cheung Chau Bun Festival

Floating children, towers of buns and a midnight climbing race on a Hong Kong island

Hong Kong, Hong Kong$$$$
Thousands of glowing lanterns released into the night sky for Waisak
May 19–20, 2027est.

Waisak at Borobudur

Monks process to the world's largest Buddhist temple and lanterns rise under the full moon

Magelang, Indonesia$$$$