Oaxaca in November: Weather, Daylight, Crowds and Ruins Admission

OAXACA · NOVEMBER · 1,594 M

Oaxaca in November runs dry and warm by day, with an average high of 84.2°F and only 0.36 inches of rain across the whole month. Mornings start cool, the Zocalo is framed by the cathedral and the state government palace under its laurel trees, and the ruins above the valley open their gates at 8 a.m.

The date is the decision. October is far wetter and December a little colder at night, so November keeps December’s dry sky and gives up only some of October’s night warmth. The city itself, its neighborhoods and its food live in our Oaxaca guide, and other months are compared at where to go by month.

On this page

• Oaxaca weather in November84.2°F highs, 54.1°F lows, 0.36 inches of rain
• How warm is Oaxaca in November?Days against nights, Monte Alban against the valley city
• Oaxaca crowds and prices in NovemberLodging tax, booking and where extra spending pays
• Things to do in Oaxaca in NovemberMonte Alban, Mitla, Yagul and Hierve el Agua, with admission
• Oaxaca itinerary for NovemberTwo days set around a 6:30 a.m. sunrise and a 5:52 p.m. sunset
• Oaxaca in November vs October and DecemberLows of 58.1°F, 54.1°F and 51.8°F, and rain days of 12.0, 3.5 and 2.4
• Is November a good time to visit Oaxaca?Who it suits, and which month to pick instead

Every figure here comes from one place: the national weather service’s own station in Oaxaca de Juárez, at 1,594 meters. It represents the valley city. Villages in the Sierra sit higher and cooler, so a mountain overnight can read colder than the normals below.

Oaxaca weather in November

The normals are the 1991 to 2020 official averages from Mexico’s national weather service (the SMN, part of CONAGUA), measured at station 20079 in Oaxaca de Juárez. They give an average high of 84.2°F, an average low of 54.1°F and 0.36 inches of precipitation for the month. That is a thermometer reading taken in the city, not a satellite reanalysis of a grid cell.

In an average November the SMN counts 3.5 days of measurable rain, so a typical month has three or four wet days and a dry remainder. The station sheet does not publish the threshold behind that count. With only 0.36 inches for the whole month, a wet day here means a light shower on average, and a thin rain jacket in the daypack covers it.

Between the afternoon high of 84.2°F and the overnight low of 54.1°F sits a swing of 30.1 degrees. A typical day therefore takes two outfits: a t-shirt and a hat for midday, and a sweater or light jacket that goes on from late afternoon.

On November 15 the day lasts about 11 hours 22 minutes. Converted to Mexico City time, the sun rises at 6:30 a.m. and sets at 5:52 p.m., according to sunrise-sunset.org’s calculation. Monte Alban opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., so the sun sets shortly after the gates shut and the light is gone well before dinner.

How warm is Oaxaca in November?

November’s average high of 84.2°F is 0.5 degrees under October’s 84.7°F, and the average low of 54.1°F is 4.0 degrees under October’s 58.1°F. A traveler who knows October afternoons will find November’s nearly identical, with nights 4.0 degrees colder. Oaxaca city is inland, so no sea temperature belongs in this month’s numbers.

Monte Alban’s gates open at 8 a.m., an hour and a half after sunrise, with the night’s cool still in the air. The site crowns the Cerro del Jaguar above the valley, so expect it to feel cooler than the city station’s numbers. Wear the sweater at the gate and carry it once the sun is high. By early afternoon the valley is heading toward its 84.2°F average high.

Our sources give the monthly average low of 54.1°F and no count of frost nights, so we cannot say how often the valley nears freezing. Sierra villages sit higher and cooler than the station, so a night up there can be colder than 54.1°F. Ask a mountain host about heating and blankets before you book.

How busy is Oaxaca in November? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no monthly hotel-rate series for Oaxaca, so we place November on no price scale and crown no month cheap or expensive. What our sources do support is the weather calendar: a wet October with 12.0 rain days, then a dry November with 3.5 and a December with 2.4.

We have no booking-lead data either, so no number of weeks appears here. Fix flights and a room before you fix daily plans. If a festival is what draws you, confirm its dates with the local tourism office before paying for anything, because we could not verify a November event calendar.

We could not verify a lodging-tax rate for Oaxaca, so we give no percentage. Ask the hotel whether the quoted rate includes taxes before you compare two rooms.

The one line where spending more changes the month is transport between valley sites. Monte Alban, Yagul, Mitla and Hierve el Agua lie in different directions, and the sites close at 5 p.m. A private driver or a guided day (we have no price to quote) can link Yagul, Mitla and the Tlacolula market on one route and buy back hours of daylight.

Things to do in Oaxaca in November

November suits the open-air sites. October’s 2.48 inches of rain and 12.0 rain days fall to 0.36 inches and 3.5, so the stone stairs and plazas are likelier to be dry. That matters most at Monte Alban, the Zapotec capital for some 1,500 years and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

Monte Alban, Mitla, Yagul and the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca each charge 210 pesos general admission, and 105 pesos for Mexican nationals and foreign residents in Mexico. Monte Alban and Yagul are open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4 p.m. Mitla keeps the same hours with last entry at 4:30 p.m. The museum, in the former Santo Domingo convent, opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hierve el Agua, with its petrified waterfalls and mineral pools east of the city near San Lorenzo Albarradas, is managed by the local community, which collects its own entrance fee on site. We did not find the amount. A drier month means an easier road to these places than in October, when rain days run at 12.0.

The Zocalo, shaded by laurel trees, is a public square you can cross at any hour. Tlacolula’s Sunday market, in the valley near Mitla and Yagul, sells local food and crafts. Teotitlan del Valle, on the road to Mitla, is known for wool rugs woven and dyed by hand. Small mezcal palenques around the valley open their stills to visitors, so ask about any tasting charge when you book.

Oaxaca itinerary for November

Day one, Monte Alban and the city. Be at the gate for the 8 a.m. opening, since the sun has been up since 6:30 a.m. and the air is still cool. Spend the morning on the ruins and leave well ahead of the 4 p.m. last entry. Go to the Museo de las Culturas after lunch (Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), then walk the Zocalo at dusk. The sun sets at 5:52 p.m., so the sweater comes out there.

Day two, the eastern valley. Make it a Sunday if you can: start at Tlacolula’s market, continue to Yagul (last entry 4 p.m.) and reach Mitla before its 4:30 p.m. last entry. Stop in Teotitlan del Valle for the rugs on the way. Hierve el Agua is a longer detour east and needs its own morning. If rain lands on one of the 3.5 days, move the museum into that slot, since it is closed Mondays, and push the ruins to the next morning.

Oaxaca in November vs October and December

Across the three months the afternoon high stays within 0.7 degrees, from 84.7°F in October to 84.0°F in December. The lows step down from 58.1°F to 54.1°F to 51.8°F, a drop of 4.0 degrees and then 2.3 degrees. Rain changes most: October’s 2.48 inches shrinks to 0.36 in November and 0.35 in December, and rain days go from 12.0 to 3.5 to 2.4. All three columns use the same station and the same 1991 to 2020 period.

Shifting four weeks earlier buys nights 4.0 degrees warmer and afternoons 0.5 degrees warmer, and costs a rain-day count of 12.0 in place of 3.5. Shifting four weeks later trims 1.1 days of rain and costs 2.3 degrees on the overnight low. We have no price series, so we cannot say either month is cheaper. If you are still choosing, our month-by-month guides cover the alternatives.

Is November a good time to visit Oaxaca?

Yes, for anyone who wants dry days at the ruins and afternoons near 84.2°F and who is comfortable with nights at 54.1°F. It suits travelers who want to spend their mornings on stone stairs and their Sundays at a market. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico advisory of May 29, 2026 puts the state of Oaxaca at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, the same baseline as most of the country. Read the current version before you book.

If warm evenings matter more than dry days, October is the month to prefer, with lows of 58.1°F but also 2.48 inches of rain over 12.0 rain days. If a colder night is fine and you want less rain, December cuts rain days to 2.4 and lows to 51.8°F.

In our normals, November is the month where rain has dropped to 0.36 inches while nights are still 54.1°F, 2.3 degrees milder than December’s.

The last word

November in Oaxaca is a month of ruins in dry sun, and the day worth fixing first is a Sunday. Start at Tlacolula’s market, continue to Yagul just past town on the Panamerican Highway, reach Mitla before its 4:30 p.m. last entry, and pull the sweater from the daypack when the sun sets at 5:52 p.m.

Sources & data for this guide

• Temperature, precipitation and rain-day normals for November, October and December, 1991-2020 · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), station 20079, Oaxaca de Juárez · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on November 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted to Mexico City time · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Monte Alban admission, hours and UNESCO listing · INAH · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Mitla, Yagul and Museo de las Culturas (Santo Domingo) admission and hours · INAH · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Travel advisory, Level 2, issued May 29, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · checked Sep 29, 2026
• Descriptions of the Zocalo, Tlacolula market, Teotitlan rugs, mezcal palenques and Hierve el Agua are common knowledge, not sourced. We found no hotel-rate series, occupancy series, lodging-tax rate, Hierve el Agua fee or verified November event calendar, so none appears · check operators when you book.