Vacations 2025: where Russians will go for May vacations

The beginning of May every year becomes the time when Russians can go on small vacations and take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Many people prepare for this in advance by buying transportation tickets and booking accommodation. In May 2025, Russians who work on the classic schedule from Monday to Friday will be able to travel to other cities twice. Read more about the weekend on May holidays, as well as on where it is better to go on vacation - in the material "Izvestia".

When we rest in May 2025

As in previous years, there will be two long weekends in May 2025. The first of them in honor of May 1, the holiday of Spring and Labor, and the second - in honor of May 9, Victory Day. Thus. the first long weekend will begin on Thursday, May 1, and will end on Sunday, May 4. The second time Russians will rest a week later - from 8 to 11.

Where will Russians go on vacation in May 2025 within the country

Because of the long weekends, May every year becomes extremely attractive for Russians to travel out of town. Someone just goes away for the long weekend, while others take a vacation for a few days to make the vacation longer.

So, according to a study by hotel booking company OneTwoTrip, in 2025, the number of hotel room reservations for May holidays has increased four times compared to the previous year.

More than half of the respondents, namely 59% of people, plan to travel to Russia for the May holidays. St. Petersburg became the most popular destination. Travel there is reportedly booked by 18.7% of respondents. Last year travel to the northern capital was in second place in popularity. Next is Sochi, where 11.7% of respondents go. And in third place among Russians was Moscow (8.7%).

In 2024, in the Top 5 at Russians were:

- Krasnodar region, namely Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik and Krasnaya Polyana;

- St. Petersburg;

- Caucasian Mineral Waters, which includes such cities as Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk and Kislovodsk;

- Kaliningrad Oblast;

- Dagestan.

Moscow in 2024 was the sixth most popular destination for Russians on May holidays.

It is important to note that in Russia the cost of accommodation in hotels during the holidays will be about 9 thousand rubles.

Also, many Russians traditionally on May holidays will go to the dacha.

Popular foreign destinations among Russians for May holidays 2025

According to the study, some also plan to spend May holidays abroad, namely:

- Istanbul (Turkey; 5.3%);

- Minsk (Belarus; 4.2%);

- Paris (France; 3.9%);

- Seoul (South Korea; 3.6%);

- Tokyo (Japan; 3.4%);

- Beijing (China; 3.1%).

In 2024, the most popular outbound tourism destinations were Turkey, UAE, Abkhazia, Egypt and Thailand.

Where to have a budget vacation in May

Since the May holidays are fast approaching, Russians are planning their vacation in advance to find the most profitable tour or destination. "Izvestia" found out where to go in Russia and abroad, while not losing a lot of money.

In Russia, the leaders were:

- Petrozavodsk (Karelia; one-way ticket about 8 thousand rubles, hotel - 4 thousand rubles per night);

- Cherepovets (Vologda region; one way ticket 8,5 thousand rubles, hotel - 2 thousand rubles);

- Moscow (the cost of a flight - 9 thousand rubles, and the hotel - 3 thousand rubles per night).

Among foreign destinations, the most favorable will be Minsk, where a ticket costs about 9 thousand rubles, and a hotel room - about 6 thousand rubles. In addition, you can rest in Astana (Kazakhstan). A flight there will cost about Br10 thousand, and a hotel - Br3.5 thousand per day. Slightly more expensive is the flight to Yerevan (Armenia) - 12 thousand rubles, but the cost of the room can be only 3 thousand rubles per night.

Is it profitable to take a vacation in May

May is traditionally not a profitable month for vacation from a financial point of view. This is due to the fact that vacation payments to those working on a five-day week will be higher in those months in which there were more workers.

The amount of vacation pay depends on the ratio of working and non-working days in the month. Thus the most favorable months for vacation in 2025 are July and October because they will have 23 working days. There will be 22 in April, September and December. And the most disadvantageous are traditionally January and May.