diff --git a/geoviews/tests/test_util.py b/geoviews/tests/test_util.py
index 5e02f9f9..217d9311 100644
--- a/geoviews/tests/test_util.py
+++ b/geoviews/tests/test_util.py
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ def test_outside_extents():
 
     msg = (
         "Could not project data from .+? projection to .+? projection\. "
-        "Ensure the coordinate reference system \(crs\) matches your data and the kdims\."
+        "Ensure the coordinate reference system \(crs\) matches your data and the kdims, "
+        "and the data is inside the projected bounds of the crs."
     )
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=msg):
         project_extents(extents, src_proj, dest_proj)
diff --git a/geoviews/util.py b/geoviews/util.py
index 4e13debc..99a0b646 100644
--- a/geoviews/util.py
+++ b/geoviews/util.py
@@ -100,13 +100,14 @@ def project_extents(extents, src_proj, dest_proj, tol=1e-6):
         try:
             geom_in_crs = dest_proj.project_geometry(geom_in_src_proj, src_proj)
         except (ValueError, IndexError):
-            src_name =type(src_proj).__name__
-            dest_name =type(dest_proj).__name__
-            raise ValueError('Could not project data from %s projection '
-                             'to %s projection. Ensure the coordinate '
-                             'reference system (crs) matches your data '
-                             'and the kdims.' %
-                             (src_name, dest_name)) from None
+            src_name = type(src_proj).__name__
+            dest_name = type(dest_proj).__name__
+            raise ValueError(
+                f'Could not project data from {src_name} projection '
+                f'to {dest_name} projection. Ensure the coordinate '
+                'reference system (CRS) matches your data and the kdims, '
+                'and the data is in the projected bounds of the CRS.'
+            ) from None
     else:
         geom_in_crs = boundary_poly.intersection(domain_in_src_proj)
     return geom_in_crs.bounds