Isla Mujeres in November: Weather, Sea Temperature, Rain Days and Hurricane Season

ISLA MUJERES · MEXICO · NOVEMBER

Isla Mujeres in November is a swim-ready island. The sea averages 84.0°F, afternoons top out near 86.5°F, and the whole commute from the Cancun side is one ferry crossing.

The date question is narrow. October is hotter and far wetter, with 10.91 inches of rain and 17.6 days of measurable rain. December is cooler and drier, at 3.80 inches and 11.7 days. November lands between them with 12.9 rain days, and it is the last month of the Atlantic hurricane season.

On this page

• Isla Mujeres weather in November86.5°F highs, 72.1°F lows and 12.9 rain days
• Can you swim in Isla Mujeres in November?Sea at 84.0°F, and what the number means
• How busy and how expensive is Isla Mujeres in November?Lodging tax, Visitax and ferry ticket rules
• Things to do in Isla Mujeres in NovemberPlaya Norte, Punta Sur, Isla Contoy and Garrafon
• Isla Mujeres itinerary for NovemberTwo days built around a 6:56 a.m. sunrise
• Isla Mujeres in November or October or December?Highs, rain and sea temperature for all three months
• Is November a good time to visit Isla Mujeres?Who should go, and who should shift a month

Isla Mujeres sits a short ferry ride off Cancun and Puerto Juarez, so the November question is mostly about weather on the water and the last weeks of storm season. If you are still weighing destinations, our month-by-month guides compare places, and Travel 101 covers the planning basics.

Isla Mujeres weather in November

Every air figure here comes from Mexico’s national weather service (SMN, part of CONAGUA): the 1991-2020 normals at its Cancun station, number 23155. That station is on the mainland, about 8 miles across the channel from the island. It holds the nearest official normals, because no station on Isla Mujeres itself has published any. November averages a high of 86.5°F, a low of 72.1°F and 5.17 inches of precipitation.

SMN counts 12.9 days of measurable rain in an average November, and it does not publish its threshold. That is a bit over two days in five. In a seven-day trip it works out to rain on about three days, in the sense SMN counts them: any measurable amount, whether a passing shower or a soaking. The count cannot tell you which.

The average high and low sit 14.4 degrees apart. Pack for 86.5°F afternoons, add one light layer for the 72.1°F end of the day, and keep a compact rain jacket in the bag for the wet days.

On November 15 the island gets about 11 hours 09 minutes of daylight. The sun rises at 6:56 a.m. and sets at 6:06 p.m., Cancun time. Anything you want in full light, like a lighthouse visit or a snorkel, belongs before mid-afternoon.

Can you swim in Isla Mujeres in November? Sea temperature

Sea surface off Isla Mujeres averages 84.0°F in November, according to the Open-Meteo Marine API over 2015-2024. That number is a mean of daily maxima, so it runs a shade warmer than a 24-hour average would. It also comes from a different source and period than the station normals above, which is why we attribute it separately.

At 84.0°F most people swim without a wetsuit. The water sits 2.5 degrees below the average afternoon air, so getting in feels like stepping into a bath rather than a shock. Playa Norte is the easiest place to test it.

We found no wind or swell series for November, so we state none. Geography gives one useful pointer: Playa Norte faces the north tip of the island, where the current running along the east side breaks, and that is why it is the calm beach.

How busy is Isla Mujeres in November? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no monthly hotel-rate data for the island, so we crown no month cheap or expensive and quote no room price. The calendar fact we can give is that November is the final month of the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on November 30.

We have no data on how many weeks ahead rooms fill in November, so we give no lead time. The ferry is easier to pin down. Ultramar sails to the Terminal Maritima APIQROO on the island from Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas (kilometer 6.5 of Boulevard Kukulcan) and Playa Caracol (kilometer 9.5). Tickets are valid for six months and non-refundable, and passengers should arrive 30 minutes before departure. We did not read the fare.

Quintana Roo’s lodging tax, the Impuesto Sobre Hospedaje, is 5% of the billed accommodation value, or 6% when a host or booking platform collects payment for a short-term rental. Separately, every foreign visitor entering Quintana Roo owes the state’s Visitax fee: 2.50 UMA, about 293 pesos at the UMA’s 2026 daily value.

The one line where paying more changes the month is the room’s cancellation terms. With the hurricane season open until November 30 and the ferry ticket already non-refundable, a flexible rate is the only piece of the trip you can still hedge.

Things to do in Isla Mujeres in November

November allows a long day outdoors without October’s rain: 5.17 inches instead of 10.91, and 12.9 rain days instead of 17.6. The sea is still 84.0°F, so every water plan stays in play, from Playa Norte to a reef snorkel to a boat trip north. The hurricane season’s most active weeks, mid-August to mid-October, are behind you.

Playa Norte is the island’s calmest beach. It faces the north tip, where the current along the east side breaks. Punta Sur, at the southern tip, is a clifftop park with a sculpture garden and a lighthouse overlooking open water.

Playa Norte’s water runs 84.0°F in November against 85.9°F in October and 82.2°F in December. On the Punta Sur clifftop the mainland normals give an afternoon 3.5 degrees cooler than October’s (86.5°F against 90.0°F), and the sun is down by 6:06 p.m.

Boat trips to Isla Contoy, a national park and bird sanctuary north of the island, are commonly sold from Isla Mujeres. CONANP’s own page did not load when we checked, so we state no visitor limits or fees. Garrafon, a private reef park on the south end, is commonly sold as a snorkeling and activities pass. Its site did not load either, so no admission price appears. We also could not confirm which of these places are free, so ask before you go.

Isla Mujeres itinerary for November

Day one, the island. Take an early Ultramar ferry from Puerto Juarez, Playa Tortugas or Playa Caracol, and be at the dock 30 minutes ahead. Sunrise is at 6:56 a.m., so a morning crossing lands in full light. Rent a golf cart, scooter or bicycle, which is how most visitors get around this small, walkable island. Swim at Playa Norte in the cool morning, eat in town at midday, then drive south to Punta Sur in the afternoon. Be there before the sun is down at 6:06 p.m.

Day two, the water. Spend it on a boat trip to Isla Contoy or on Garrafon’s reef, and confirm fees and limits when you book, since we could not read either. With 12.9 wet days in an average November, hold a backup: if the weather turns, swap the boat day for the town and Playa Norte, and try the water again the next morning.

Isla Mujeres in November vs October and December

From October to November the average high falls 3.5 degrees and rainfall drops from 10.91 to 5.17 inches. Rain days go from 17.6 to 12.9. December takes the high down another 1.6 degrees, to 84.9°F, and rainfall to 3.80 inches. The sea cools by 1.9 degrees into November and by 1.8 degrees into December. Air figures are SMN normals for 1991-2020, and sea figures come from a separate marine series.

Shifting four weeks earlier buys the warmest water of the three (85.9°F) and costs almost twice November’s rain days’ worth of wet weather, with mid-October still inside the most active hurricane weeks. Shifting four weeks later ends the hurricane season, trims rain to 11.7 days, and gives up 1.8 degrees of sea warmth. We have no price data, so we cannot say whether either month is cheaper. Other places compare in our month-by-month guides.

Is November a good time to visit Isla Mujeres?

Yes for swimmers and beach-and-cart travelers: 84.0°F water, 86.5°F afternoons and about half of October’s rain. No for anyone who needs a dry week guaranteed, or who wants the hurricane season fully behind them. Before booking, read the U.S. State Department’s Mexico advisory, which rates Quintana Roo Level 2, ‘Exercise increased caution,’ as reissued May 29, 2026.

If the answer is no, choose December. The Atlantic season has ended, rain falls to 3.80 inches over 11.7 days, and highs of 84.9°F are still summery. The cost is a sea 1.8 degrees cooler at 82.2°F.

November keeps 84.0°F water and roughly halves October’s rain, with the hurricane season’s most active weeks already past.

The last word

The decision that matters for November is the room’s cancellation policy. The month itself is warm, 86.5°F on land and 84.0°F in the water, and the storm season closes on the 30th. Once the room is settled, the day begins at the ferry dock, where children under 1.20 meters ride at a reduced fare and infants under 12 months travel free with a boarding pass.

Sources & data for this guide

• Air temperature, rainfall and rain days · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), normales climatologicas 1991-2020, Cancun station 23155 (mainland, about 8 miles from the island; no island station publishes normals) · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Sea surface temperature (mean of daily maxima, 2015-2024) · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Daylight, sunrise and sunset on November 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted to Cancun time · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Hurricane season dates · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Ferry terminals, ticket validity and boarding rules · Ultramar · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Lodging tax and Visitax · Congreso del Estado de Quintana Roo, Ley del Impuesto al Hospedaje (art. 8) and Ley de Derechos (art. 51-Octies) · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Travel advisory · U.S. Department of State, Mexico advisory reissued May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Descriptions of Playa Norte, Punta Sur, Isla Contoy, Garrafon and island transport are general knowledge. CONANP’s Isla Contoy page and Garrafon’s own site did not load when we checked, so we give no fees, limits or admission prices for them. We found no occupancy series and no hotel-rate data, so no month is ranked on price.