Getaway calendar - May

May 11 - May 13: St Lucia Jazz Festival, St Lucia
Sway to the smooth sounds of new age jazz and soulful rhythm and blues at one of the top music events in the Caribbean: The St Lucia Jazz Festival. Taking place at different picturesque locations around the island, the event will feature well-known artists including Al Jarreau, George Benson, John Legend, Blue Mango, Tania Maria and David Murray. There’s also a tea time jazz that will take place at La Place Carenage where Phase 5 and the Tabernacle Gospel Jazz band will be performing.

Getting there: There are connecting flights from the UK to St. Lucia on American Airlines, Air Canada, BA and US Airways.

May 8 - May 12: Sante: The Bloor-Yorkville Wine Festival, Canada
If you consider yourself a wine virtuoso or would like to become one then the 9th Annual Santé: The Bloor-Yorkville Wine Festival in Toronto is the wine festival to attend. This year around 90 international wineries will be present and 14 countries will be showcasing their best wines.

For five days vintners will unveil their prized vintages, expert wine-tasting seminars will be held while celebrity chefs prepare mouthwatering meals to complement the wine. The final day is celebrated with a special jazz performance straight from New Orleans.

Getting there: Fly direct to Toronto from the UK with Air Canada or BA. Alternatively, stopover in the US with Continental or United Airlines.

14 May -15 May: Pulilan Carabao Festival, Philippines
Watch a carabao (water buffalo) get primped and pampered at the bizarre Pulilan Carabao Festival in the town of Pulilan. During the two day festival families gather round and scrub all the mud off a carabao, shave its hair and give it a rigorous massage with aromatic oils. After it’s groomed to a T and dressed in crowns of frangipani and hibiscus the proud carabao is whisked off to the church square and paraded around in an extravagant procession of colourful floats and trucks. At some point during the festival the buffalo kneels in front of a priest and is blessed with good health and vitality for the coming year.

Getting there: The easiest way to get to Pulilan, in the province of Bulacan, is to fly to Manila on Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Gulf Air or Qatar Airways. Once there, Bulacan is a short 7 km drive from Manila.

May 18 – May 20: Sanja Matsure, Japan
For three days the streets of downtown Asakusa in Tokyo are filled with more than two million people gathered for the Sanja Matsure festival, the biggest of the “Three Grand Festivals”. This symbolic event takes place at the well-known Asakusa Shrine and involves hardy kami (shrine bearers) carrying large, elaborate mikoshi or portable shrines in a procession through the neighbourhood.
The purpose of these processions is to bring luck and prosperity to the area and its people, and the more difficult the kami journey to the shrine, the more blessings the neighbourhood will receive.

Getting there: Fly direct to Tokyo from the UK with BA or Virgin Atlantic. There are also connecting flights on Alitalia, Air France and Cathay Pacific.

May 25: FetAfrik, Seychelles
Celebrate national Africa Day in a tropical paradise – the Seychelles- off the coast of east Africa. Each May the country holds the FetAfrik, a vibrant festival of music, dance, art and cuisine, embracing its African and Kreol culture.

Since 1999 this highly anticipated event has been taking place on the island of Mahe, one of more than 100 islands that make up the Seychelles. People from all over the world attend the festival which includes performances and exhibits by local and world-renowned musicians, dancers, artists and photographers.

Getting there: Take a connecting flight from the UK on Air France, Air Seychelles, BA or bmi.

© Cheapflights Ltd Seema Salaam