AIBU to ask where in Europe you've been in May that is hot/warm sea?

[Thelowquietsea]

Looking to go away in summer half term....want to be able to swim in a warm sea!

Canaries if you want it hot, elsewhere is just warm

Turkey or Cyrus will be lovely in May and the further south Greek islands should be a safe bet. Not everywhere in Greece will be reliably warm in May though. Anywhere else like Spain, France, Italy etc will just be a lottery. Could be boiling, could be pissing down.

Malta does. It is within the EU and is off the coast of Africa.

We went to Menorca at the end of May/beginning of June a couple of years ago and the sea was cold. The weather was unpredictable too, we had a few showery days.

We had a lovely trip to Sicily in May- totally glorious- hot enough to sunbathe and stunning. Sea was too cold for me though apart from a paddle

Impossible question, OP.

The sea takes much longer to respond to heat/cold than land. The Med is warm in September and October but cold until summer (unless you are very hardy).
There are plenty of places that will be warm/[pleasant on land in late May, prioritise them andn look for somewhere with a swimming pool? If you want warm water at that time of year you need the tropics of the Southern Hemisphere, not the Northern.

The sea won't be warm, but you could just go somewhere by the sea with a heated outdoor pool.

I'd go to the Algarve, southern Spain, Greece or Turkey.

I’ve been to Sicily in May, years ago, and it was distinctly chilly.

It rained constantly in Turkey in May 2 years ago.

A few years ago we went to vendee in France in May and it was nice and warm. Have also done spain in May, the east coast near Barcelona

Cyprus?
www.tui.co.uk/holidays/weather/europe/cyprus/may.html

Swimming in sea today in Lanzarote - would assume anywhere in Canary Islands would be good for MAU

Tel Aviv is nice in May and doesn’t cost much more than Cyprus. Turkey. Egypt. Dubai.

We're doing Turkey. It should be about 20c the sea so it depends how hardy you are. Refreshing but warmer than it ever gets in the UK. We did costa Blanca a couple of years ago and it was similar, couldn't get the dc out of the sea in comparison to Northumberland that we'd been previously they thought it was balmy! The weather where we're going has been pretty reliable last few years so fingers crossed (you can check historic weather online and I did). The pp obviously went elsewhere and was unlucky.

No idea why people are on about September - I'd love to go on holiday then but it isn't in the school holidays.

Don't forget it's also the end of May and that makes a difference from the start of the month.

I would imagine Turkey or Cyprus would be warmest. If I’m hoping for warm weather I tend to travel to Europe between end of June and beginning of September as otherwise it is far too unpredictable.

I've never found the sea to be warm in the canaries, it's the Atlantic. Same for Portugal.

Cyprus and Greece are too cold for me too. Towards the end of May is a bit more bearable but not pleasant enough for more than a very quick dip.

I hate cold water though, can never get more than knee deep in the UK. You might be hardier.

Im sure I went to Cyprus when I was a child in may and it was really warm weather.

I think it depends what people understand under warm sea.

For me the Med is warm but I swim in the North Sea and Baltic without a wet suit in Summer.

Others think they need the caribeean sea to swim in.

@reluctantbrit exactly. If the OP last swam st Bridlington she's going to have different expectations than if she's currently posting from Barbados 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

I've been swimming in the sea in Turkey in May with no wetsuit, it was ok

I wore a wetsuit in April in the canaries in the sea

Google water temperature for various places

Shallow sea water, will be warmer

Some swimming pools abroad are unheated

We went to the Venetial Riviera one May, the sea was lovely and warm, but I'm a hardened UK sea swimmer, so perhaps it was just me

• Venetian

Calpe is Spain and Madeira. Neither has much of a winter so the sea never cools down as much as most places.

Cape Verde.

I know it's still the Atlantic but a friend said it was warm a couple of weeks ago.