Montego Bay in November: Weather, Sea Temperature, Rain Days and What It Costs

MONTEGO BAY · NOVEMBER · 18.5° N

October drops 7.28 inches of rain on this stretch of coast. November drops 3.55, and the count of wet days falls from 18.4 to 9.1. The water hardly reacts: the sea surface still averages 85.1°F, barely three degrees off October’s 88.2. Air temperatures give up very little, with average highs of 82.4°F and lows of 74.0°F.

What the month takes back is light and certainty. November 15 runs 11 hours 18 minutes from sunrise to sunset, with the sun down at 5:35 pm, and the Atlantic hurricane season does not close until November 30. Most of that season’s activity falls between mid-August and mid-October, but the window is still open, and that shapes how you book more than what you pack.

On this page

• Montego Bay weather in November82.4°F highs, 3.55 inches, 9.1 wet days
• Sea temperature in November85.1°F, measured as daily maxima
• How busy November is, and what the taxes addRoom tax, arrival fee, booking
• Things to do in NovemberDoctor’s Cave, Rose Hall, the Martha Brae
• A two-day plan around the November lightTwo days, hour by hour
• November vs October and DecemberHow the three months compare
• Is November a good time to go?Who should go, who should shift

Two of November’s constraints come from outside the weather. The trip starts at Sangster International, where only JUTA and JCAL are authorised to run taxis and both share one desk outside the Customs exit, a detail our transfer guide takes further. And the month sits inside the storm window, which is a country-level call rather than a city one: the hurricane season page carries the monthly risk, and the twelve-month verdict ranks the rest of the calendar.

Montego Bay weather in November: average highs, lows and rain days

Every figure here comes from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis served through Open-Meteo, averaged over 1991 to 2020 for the grid cell at 18.4762° N, 77.8939° W. That is a model rebuilding the atmosphere over a square of coast, not a thermometer reading from the airport station, and the two can differ by a couple of degrees on the overnight low. What it gives November is an average high of 82.4°F, an average low of 74.0°F and 3.55 inches of rain across the month.

Measurable rain falls on 9.1 days in an average November, roughly one day in three. Only 0.2 of a day reaches a full inch, so a real soaking turns up in about one November out of five. Day to day that means a wet hour to sit out rather than a lost week, and it argues for putting the outdoor plan in the morning and keeping a roofed option in reserve for the afternoon.

Between the 82.4°F high and the 74.0°F low sits 8.4 degrees, a narrow spread by American standards. Nobody needs a sweater. A light layer is still worth carrying for over-cooled dining rooms and for wind on a boat, and a rain shell does more work than an umbrella across those 9.1 wet days. Our packing list handles the rest of the suitcase.

On November 15 the sun rises at 6:17 am and sets at 5:35 pm local time, since Jamaica holds UTC-5 all year and changes no clocks. That is 11 hours 18 minutes of daylight. Full dark lands shortly after six, which pulls the last useful swim back to around 4:30 pm and puts every dinner under lights.

Can you swim in Montego Bay in November? Sea temperature and what it feels like

The sea off Montego Bay averages 85.1°F in November, taken from the Open-Meteo Marine record for 2015 to 2024. The number is a mean of daily maxima, not a mean over 24 hours, so it sits a shade warmer than the water you meet at seven in the morning. Other tables published for this coast run cooler for exactly that reason, and we would rather name the method than pick a winner.

At that temperature there is no gasp on entry and no hurry to get out. An hour in the water costs nothing in body heat, which matters for snorkeling more than for swimming. Doctor’s Cave Beach on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard charges US$8 for visitors aged 12 and over and US$4 for children under 12, with customer service running Monday to Sunday from 08:30 to 17:30, so the paid part of the day ends two hours before the sun does.

We found no wave-height or wind series we could read for this bay in November, so we give no swell figure and no windward-side claim. What we can date is the storm calendar: NOAA runs the Atlantic season from June 1 to November 30, with the September 10 peak well behind you and most activity concentrated between mid-August and mid-October.

How busy is Montego Bay in November? Crowds, prices and the demand peak

November falls in the gap between the close of the hurricane season on November 30 and the holiday weeks that follow it, which is the classic Caribbean shoulder position on the calendar. We found no occupancy series and no monthly room-rate series for Montego Bay, so we crown no month cheapest and no month most expensive. What can be stated with a date attached is the shape of the season, not the size of the discount.

We could not verify booking lead times for November either, so take the fixed calendars instead. Rose Hall’s evening tour runs Wednesday to Saturday only, which can put it out of reach on a three-night trip that lands on a Sunday. Rafting the Martha Brae processes guests in order of arrival and says booking ahead does not move you up the line. Since the month sits inside the storm window, a refundable rate and a flexible fare from the US are the two things worth paying for early.

Jamaica’s Guest Accommodation Room Tax is billed per night on each occupied room and scaled to the property, not to the traveler: US$1 at a place of 1 to 51 rooms, US$2 from 51 to 100, US$4 at 101 rooms and above, complimentary rooms included. Next to European city taxes charged per person, that is small. There is also a fee on arriving passengers whose trip starts abroad, announced at US$20 with effect from August 1, 2012, and we could not reconfirm the current amount on a government page.

The one line where spending more changes the month is ground transport. With the light gone at 5:35 pm, a shared shuttle that waits for a full van eats the part of the day you came for. Sangster publishes no fare table for JUTA or JCAL, so the rate is quoted at the Authorised Airport Taxi desk and that is where to ask. For anything after the hotel, the Transport Authority lists five marks of a licensed vehicle, among them a red PPV plate, a roof globe reading Taxi and a driver wearing an identification badge, as our transport guide sets out.

Things to do in Montego Bay in November

The difference November makes is the return of the open-air middle of the day. October runs 18.4 days with measurable rain and 7.28 inches to distribute; November runs 9.1 days and 3.55 inches, while the sea gives up only three degrees, from 88.2°F to 85.1. Plans that involve a river, a garden or a boardwalk stop being a coin toss without the water turning cold.

Rose Hall Great House runs its Day and Garden Tour at US$30 per adult, Monday to Saturday from 09:15 to 16:00, and a Haunted Night Tour at US$35, Wednesday to Saturday from 18:30 to 20:30, each lasting 45 minutes to an hour. Rafting the Martha Brae costs US$99 for visitors and J$13,000 for Jamaicans with local ID, covering three miles of river in about an hour and a quarter, open daily from 09:00 to 16:00. At Rocklands Bird Sanctuary in Anchovy, where red-billed streamertails feed from a hand-held bottle, no price was readable at source and reseller quotes contradict each other, so carry cash and ask at the gate.

November changes the air around those places rather than the places themselves. The raft leaves at 82.4°F instead of October’s 84.7, and the operator ties the length of the ride to the state of the water, which in November follows the wettest month of the three. At Rose Hall, the 18:30 night tour now begins just under an hour after a 5:35 pm sunset, so it starts in full dark rather than in dusk.

On the free side we have little to report. None of these three operators publishes a November free-admission day, and none posts a November rate different from the one we read on September 8, so US$8, US$30 and US$99 are what the gates ask this month.

Montego Bay in November: a two-day itinerary

Day one starts with the 6:17 am sunrise and a slow breakfast, then Doctor’s Cave at 08:30 when service opens, US$8 in hand, for two hours in 85.1°F water before the heat builds. Drive east for the Rose Hall Day and Garden Tour, booked into the 09:15 to 16:00 window and finished inside an hour. Back on the sand by 15:30, out of the water at 16:30, and the light is gone by six.

Day two heads to the Martha Brae for the 09:00 opening, since guests go in order of arrival, which puts the three-mile float and its hour and a quarter behind you before midday. Wednesday to Saturday, the 18:30 haunted tour at US$35 closes the day. If the sky turns, and it does on roughly one day in three, flip the order: the great house interior takes the wet hour, and the beach takes whatever the afternoon gives back.

Montego Bay in November vs October and December

All three columns come from the same ERA5 reanalysis and the same marine record, so they can be read against each other. Across eight weeks the high slides 3.5 degrees, from 84.7°F to 81.2, and the sea slides 5.4, from 88.2°F to 82.8. Rain does the dramatic part: 7.28 inches and 18.4 wet days in October, 3.55 inches and 9.1 in November, 2.12 inches and 4.9 in December.

Shift four weeks earlier and you buy the warmest water of the three at the cost of twice as many wet days and a month inside the season’s most active stretch. Shift four weeks later and you buy the driest sky, paying with a sea 2.3 degrees cooler, a high 1.2 degrees lower and the holiday weeks arriving behind it. November sits between the two without being the extreme of either.

Is November a good time to visit Montego Bay?

Yes for swimmers and snorkelers, who get 85.1°F water with half of October’s rain, and yes for anyone whose plan runs on rivers, gardens and boats. No for travelers who need dry certainty for a short trip, and no for anyone locked into non-refundable dates, because the storm season is open until November 30 even at its quiet end.

If the answer is no, December is the month to take. It cuts rainfall to 2.12 inches and wet days to 4.9, which is a genuine change in odds rather than a rounding difference. The bill comes as a sea at 82.8°F, daytime highs at 81.2, and a calendar that runs into the holiday weeks.

Of the three months, November is the only one that puts a sea above 85°F and rainfall under four inches in the same column.

The last word

Book the room you can cancel, then treat those 9.1 wet days as scheduling rather than bad luck, with the outdoor half of each day loaded before noon and a roof chosen in advance for the rest. One practical detail for the river morning: Rafting the Martha Brae takes all major credit and debit cards, so the US$99 need not travel as cash, and the gate opens every single day of November, public holidays included.

Sources & data for this guide

• November normals, rain days and the October and December columns · Open-Meteo / ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, 1991–2020, grid cell 18.4762° N, 77.8939° W · a model reanalysis, not an airport station record · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Sea surface 85.1°F, and 88.2°F / 82.8°F for the neighboring months · Open-Meteo Marine API, mean of daily maxima 2015–2024 · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Sunrise 6:17 am, sunset 5:35 pm and 11 h 18 min of daylight on Nov 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted to America/Jamaica · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Hurricane season dates and the September 10 peak · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Doctor’s Cave admission US$8 / US$4 and 08:30–17:30 service · Doctor’s Cave Bathing Club, General Admission page · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Rose Hall US$30 day tour (Mon–Sat 09:15–16:00) and US$35 night tour (Wed–Sat 18:30–20:30) · rosehall.com · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Martha Brae US$99 / J$13,000, three miles, 09:00–16:00 daily, cards accepted, arrival order · jamaicarafting.com FAQ · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Guest Accommodation Room Tax US$1 / US$2 / US$4 per night by property size · Tax Administration Jamaica · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Arrival passenger fee · Jamaica Information Service, announced at US$20 effective Aug 1, 2012 · we could not reconfirm the current amount on a government page · checked Sep 20, 2026
• JUTA and JCAL as the authorised airport taxis · MBJ Airports Limited · the airport publishes no fare table, so we quote none · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Licensed vehicle marks, including the red PPV plate · Transport Authority of Jamaica, Licence Types · the regulator prints no letter prefix, so we do not repeat one · checked Sep 20, 2026
• Rocklands Bird Sanctuary admission · no primary source we could read; three resellers quote US$35, US$30 and US$25, so we publish none · checked Sep 20, 2026
• We found no occupancy or room-rate series for Montego Bay, so no month here is called cheap or expensive.

To plan your stay

• Things to Do in Montego Bay: Reef Snorkeling, Rose Hall, Rafting and the Free Beaches
• Where to Stay in Montego Bay: Neighborhoods, Resort Belts and the Walk to the Sand
• Montego Bay Airport to the City: Shuttles, Licensed Taxis and Departure-Day Timing
• Things to Know Before Going to Montego Bay: Red-Plate Taxis, the Hip Strip and Jerk Pits

Nearby places

• Luminous Lagoon Jamaica: Tickets, Sunset Departures and the Moonless-Night Rule
• Negril, Jamaica: Seven Mile Beach, the West End Cliffs and Where to Stay
• The South Coast and Treasure Beach, Jamaica: YS Falls, Pelican Bar and What Has Reopened