There are few buildings anywhere in the world that conjure up the romance and majesty of the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur. The palace shimmers in the heat of the sun, rising serenely above Lake Pichola, its gleaming white walls reflected in the still water. Lazy speedboats chauffer guests to the palace steps and into the tranquillity of its 18^th century courtyard.

Hugh McMillan may have been a late starter when it came to wanderlust, having first left Australia at 22, but he’s more than made up for it since. With a decade of travel industry experience to his name, he has immersed himself in the Balkans for the past few years as a Tour Director with Insight Vacations. Having fallen for the region as a whole (Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular), he’s a fan of its wilderness, brave bridge-jumpers and welcoming locals. Spades of enthusiasm and a vast accumulation of local knowledge make Hugh the supreme guide to an area so stunning that several sites feature in the TV series, Game of Thrones.

May means different things for the two hemispheres. In the northern half, spring melts into summer, and in the southern, autumn, with all its virtues, gets into full swing. The Far East has its own climatic system, while in North America the weather becomes more clement. From the sun-baked streets of Santorini to vast expanses of untamed wilderness in Canada and the historic isles of the Inner Hebrides, here are some of our favourite locations for travellers wondering where to visit in May.