LA PAZ · BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR · NOVEMBER
By November, La Paz has let go of October’s 93.2°F afternoons. Highs average 85.6°F, the sea off the city still averages 79.8°F, and the whole month brings 0.24 inches of rain. That is warm enough to swim every day and mild enough to walk the waterfront in the afternoon. Slide the trip a month in either direction and the daily high moves 7.6 to 7.7°F, while the sea moves 5.6 to 5.8°F.
November also falls inside the federal whale shark season for the Bahía de La Paz refuge: the 2026-2027 season runs from October 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. In the same bay, Isla Espíritu Santo has been a national park since 2007 and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California” since 2005.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · LA PAZ · NOVEMBER
November in La Paz means 85.6°F afternoons, 63.0°F nights, a quarter inch of rain, a 79.8°F sea and whale shark season open through April 30, 2027.
SMN NORMALS 1991–2020 · SEA 2015–2024 · WHALE SHARK SEASON OPEN
Go for: afternoons well under October’s 93.2°F, a sea still near 80°F, and the lowest rainfall of the three months around it.
Think twice before: expecting October’s water. The sea is 5.8°F cooler than October’s 85.6°F, and dawn temperatures average 63.0°F.
Air: SMN (CONAGUA) station 03074 · Sea: Open-Meteo Marine API · Whale sharks: SEMARNAT · full sources below
On this page
- La Paz weather in November85.6°F highs, 63.0°F lows, 0.24 inches of rain, 11 hours of daylight
- Can you swim in La Paz in November?A 79.8°F sea and what that average leaves out
- How busy and how expensive is La Paz in November?The 4% lodging tax and the prices we could not find
- Things to do in La Paz in NovemberIsla Espíritu Santo, the whale shark refuge and the malecón
- A two-day La Paz itinerary for NovemberSunrise 6:35 a.m., sunset 5:36 p.m., a town day and a boat day
- La Paz in November vs October and DecemberHighs, rain and sea temperature for three months
- Is November a good time to visit La Paz?Who should go, who should shift, and the State Department level for Baja California Sur
Flights land at La Paz International Airport (LAP, Manuel Márquez de León), which Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico runs and which recorded 1,337,600 passengers in 2025. That is a yearly total. We found no monthly split, so November’s share of it stays unknown.
La Paz weather in November: average highs, lows and rain days
| Measure | November average | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 85.6°F | SMN station 03074, 1991-2020 |
| Average low | 63.0°F | SMN station 03074, 1991-2020 |
| Precipitation | 0.24 inches | SMN station 03074, 1991-2020 |
| Days with measurable rain | 1.2 days (SMN’s own count) | SMN station 03074, 1991-2020 |
| Daylight on November 15 | About 11 hours, sunrise 6:35 a.m., sunset 5:36 p.m. | sunrise-sunset.org calculation, local time |
The air normals below come from Mexico’s national weather service, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (CONAGUA), which publishes 1991-2020 normals for station 03074, La Paz (DGE). It is an official thermometer in town, not a reanalysis of a grid cell, and it speaks for the malecón and the bay. Our sources hold no reading from the water or from the island. November averages 85.6°F for the high, 63.0°F for the low and 0.24 inches of precipitation.
The SMN counts 1.2 days of measurable rain in an average November, roughly one day in twenty-five. A boat departure or a swim rarely needs a rain backup, and the quarter inch that falls across the month would not soak a trip. The SMN does not publish the threshold behind that count, so it should not be lined up against a US tally of days over a tenth of an inch.
Between the 85.6°F afternoon and the 63.0°F low sits a 22.6°F swing. Pack a light layer for dawn and evening, since a boat leaving at first light will feel closer to the low than the high. Everything else can be afternoon gear: thin shirts, shorts, a swimsuit and sun protection.
November 15 gives about 11 hours of daylight, with sunrise at 6:35 a.m. and sunset at 5:36 p.m. local time (converted from the UTC times in the sunrise-sunset.org calculation). After 5:36 the sun is down, so a boat return, a snorkel stop or the last stroll along the malecón needs to fit inside that window. Dinner starts after dark.
Can you swim in La Paz in November? Sea temperature
Yes. The sea off La Paz averages 79.8°F in November. That figure is the mean of daily maxima over 2015-2024 from the Open-Meteo Marine API, so it runs a shade warmer than a 24-hour mean would. It also comes from a different source and period than the air normals above, which is why we attribute it separately.
Water in the high 70s is comfortable for most swimmers without a wetsuit, and the early-morning reading sits a little under the maxima figure. On a long snorkel or a whale shark swim, where you stay in the water for a while without moving much, ask the operator whether suits are provided.
Our sources carry no wind or swell figures for November, so none appear here. Whether a given crossing to Isla Espíritu Santo runs on a given morning is the operator’s call, so ask the evening before.
How busy is La Paz in November? Crowds and prices
We found no hotel-rate or occupancy series for La Paz, so we cannot say where November sits in the year’s price cycle and we crown no month cheapest or busiest. What the calendar does fix is regulatory. The federal whale shark management plan covers three seasons between 2026 and 2029, so the same plan governs the next two seasons too.
We found no booking-lead-time data either, so we give no number of weeks. SEMARNAT published the 2026-2027 season in an official notice dated September 17, 2026. Book the flight and the room first, then keep the boat day loose until the forecast that week, and get the operator’s dates in writing.
Baja California Sur’s lodging tax (Impuesto sobre la Prestación de Servicios de Hospedaje) is 4% in 2026, under article 13 of the state’s Ley de Hacienda. We could not confirm how each hotel shows it, whether added at checkout or folded into the quoted rate. Check that line before comparing two bookings.
If one line of the budget flexes with the month, it is the boat: a whale shark outing inside the federal season, or the crossing to Isla Espíritu Santo. We found no fares for either, so confirm the price with the operator. Our sources also carry no sighting rates.
Things to do in La Paz in November
November lines up three things at once: the regulated whale shark window is open, the sea still averages 79.8°F, and the afternoon air is at 85.6°F instead of October’s 93.2°F. That combination makes a day on the water and an afternoon on land equally workable.
Isla Espíritu Santo sits in the Bay of La Paz. It has been a national park since 2007 and part of the UNESCO site “Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California” since 2005. The whale shark refuge covers the Bahía de La Paz, and swimming there follows the federal plan. The third stop is the malecón, the waterfront the town’s weather station stands for. We found no admission fee or opening hours for any of the three, so we quote none. For neighborhoods and the rest of the city, see our La Paz guide.
The bay does the seasonal work here. Sea temperature falls 5.8°F from October’s 85.6°F to 79.8°F, and the daily high falls 7.6°F. A boat day in November therefore starts in cooler air over water that still feels like a swim. We hold no wind reading for the island itself.
Which of these cost nothing this month we could not verify. No fee schedule for the malecón, the beaches or the island landing reached us, so ask the operator or the local tourism office before you go.
La Paz itinerary for November
Day one, in town. Sunrise is at 6:35 a.m. and lows average 63.0°F, the coolest hour for a walk along the malecón. From noon to mid-afternoon, with highs near 85.6°F, take the swim: the sea averages 79.8°F. The sun sets at 5:36 p.m., and dinner comes after dark.
Day two, on the water. Book the boat to Isla Espíritu Santo or a whale shark outing, leave in the morning and plan to be back before the 5:36 p.m. sunset. With 1.2 rainy days in an average month, a wet forecast is the exception. If the weather turns, swap the two days, since the town plan needs no boat. Confirm departure time and price with the operator, as our sources carry neither.
La Paz in November vs October and December
| Measure | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 93.2°F | 85.6°F | 77.9°F |
| Average low | 70.2°F | 63.0°F | 57.0°F |
| Precipitation | 0.68 inches | 0.24 inches | 0.27 inches |
| Days with measurable rain (SMN count) | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Sea surface (mean of daily maxima, Open-Meteo Marine API, 2015-2024) | 85.6°F | 79.8°F | 74.2°F |
Air figures for all three months come from the same SMN station and the same 1991-2020 period. From October to November the high drops 7.6°F and the low 7.2°F. From November to December the high drops 7.7°F and the low 6.0°F. The sea steps down 5.8°F and then 5.6°F. November is the driest of the three at 0.24 inches, against 0.68 in October and 0.27 in December.
Moving to October gains the warmest water, 85.6°F, and costs 93.2°F highs plus 0.68 inches of rain over 1.8 days. Moving to December gains the coolest air, with 77.9°F highs and 57.0°F lows, and costs a sea of 74.2°F. The whale shark season is open in all three months, so it does not decide between them.
Is November a good time to visit La Paz?
Yes, if you want to swim and still walk the waterfront in the afternoon: 85.6°F highs, a 79.8°F sea and 0.24 inches of rain. Travelers chasing the peak of sea warmth, or who dislike 63.0°F dawns, should look elsewhere on the calendar. For safety planning, the U.S. State Department rates Baja California Sur at Level 2, exercise increased caution due to terrorism and crime, in the advisory reissued May 29, 2026. It sets no specific restrictions on U.S. government employees in that state.
Choose October for the warmest water, 85.6°F, and accept 93.2°F highs and 0.68 inches of rain. Choose December for the coolest air, 77.9°F highs and 57.0°F lows, and accept a 74.2°F sea. If neither fits, our where-to-go-by-month guides compare other places by date.
Among the three months compared, only November pairs highs under 90°F with a sea above 79°F, and it does so with the fewest rainy days, 1.2.
The last word
Book the flight and the room first, then leave the boat day loose for the forecast that week, with a sweatshirt in the bag for the 63.0°F dawns. If you leave La Paz by sea, Baja Ferries sails to Topolobampo Monday through Friday: check-in at 12:00, departure at 13:30, arrival at 20:30. The Saturday sailing means a night on the water, with check-in at 21:30, departure at 23:00 and arrival at 08:00 the next morning.
Sources & data for this guide
- Air normals (high, low, precipitation, rain days), station 03074 La Paz (DGE) · Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (CONAGUA), 1991-2020 · checked Sep 29, 2026
- October and December normals · same station and period · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Sea surface temperature for October, November and December, mean of daily maxima 2015-2024 · Open-Meteo Marine API · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Sunrise, sunset and daylight on November 15, converted to America/Mazatlan time · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Whale shark refuge, 2026-2027 season · SEMARNAT official notice of Sep 17, 2026, gob.mx · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Isla Espíritu Santo status · CONANP and UNESCO, corroborated by El Sol de México (Aug 10, 2024) · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Airport traffic, 2025 · Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Ferry schedule · Baja Ferries, Rutas y Horarios · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Lodging tax · Ley de Hacienda del Estado de Baja California Sur, art. 13, with the 2026 rate confirmed by El Contribuyente · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Travel advisory · U.S. Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory reissued May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 29, 2026
- Itinerary and packing advice are editorial. We found no hotel-rate or occupancy series, no sighting rates, no wind or swell data and no admission fees, so none appear · check operators when you book.