PLAYA DEL CARMEN · NOVEMBER · QUINTANA ROO
An average November afternoon in Playa del Carmen reaches 87.4°F, the sea sits at 84.3°F, and 5.9 days record measurable rain. It is also the last month of the Atlantic hurricane season, which closes on November 30. Those four facts decide most November trips here.
Playa began in 1937 as a small fishing settlement. The 2020 census counted 304,942 residents, which makes it the second-largest city in Quintana Roo after Cancun. Quinta Avenida, the pedestrian thoroughfare of shops, clubs and restaurants that runs parallel to the beach, is where most evenings end up.
PLAYA DEL CARMEN IN NOVEMBER · AT A GLANCE
November brings 84.3°F water and about half of October’s rain, but it is still hurricane season through November 30, so book refundable and look at December if the storm calendar worries you.
AVG HIGH 87.4°F · 5.9 RAIN DAYS · SEA 84.3°F · HURRICANE SEASON ENDS NOV 30
Go for: warm swimming water, rain days down from 10.3 in October to 5.9, and a Cozumel crossing or a full Xcaret day without October’s downpours.
Think twice before: booking a non-refundable room. The hurricane window runs to the last day of the month, and December falls outside it.
Climate: SMN/CONAGUA 1991-2020, station 23014 · Sea: Open-Meteo Marine API · Daylight: sunrise-sunset.org · Hurricanes: NOAA NHC
On this page
- Playa del Carmen weather in NovemberHighs of 87.4°F, lows of 66.6°F and 5.9 rain days
- Can you swim in November?Sea temperature of 84.3°F and how that number is built
- Crowds, prices and the Visitax fee in NovemberThe hurricane calendar, booking and the tourist fee
- Things to do in Playa del Carmen in NovemberXcaret hours, the Cozumel ferry and the cenotes
- A two-day November itineraryXcaret and Cozumel around a 6:08 p.m. sunset
- November vs October and DecemberHighs, rain and sea temperature for three months
- Is November a good time to go?Who should book it and who should shift a month
Cancun International Airport (CUN) lies about 68 kilometers from town, and Tulum International Airport, open since December 2023, is the closer option for the southern Riviera Maya. Other months are compared in Where to Go by Month, and the wider region sits under our destination guides.
Playa del Carmen weather in November: average highs, lows and rain days
| Measure | November | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 87.4°F | SMN normals 1991-2020, station 23014 |
| Average low | 66.6°F | SMN normals 1991-2020, station 23014 |
| Precipitation | 3.54 inches | SMN normals 1991-2020, station 23014 |
| Days with measurable rain | 5.9 days | SMN count, station 23014 |
| Sea surface | 84.3°F | Open-Meteo Marine API, 2015-2024 |
| Daylight on Nov 15 | 11 h 11 min | sunrise-sunset.org |
Every air figure below comes from Mexico’s national weather service, the Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), using its 1991-2020 normals. The thermometer is station 23014 at Leona Vicario, near Puerto Morelos and about 25 miles north of Playa. It is the nearest official normal on this stretch of coast, and Playa itself is not separately measured. November averages an 87.4°F high, a 66.6°F low and 3.54 inches of precipitation.
The 5.9 rain days are the service’s own count of days with measurable rain, roughly one November day in five. The SMN sheet does not publish its threshold for a rain day, so we cannot say how much falls on one. The monthly total is the better guide: 3.54 inches, about half of October’s 7.01. Leave one day in your plan loose enough to swap.
The average high and low sit 20.8 degrees apart. Afternoons are hot, and the 66.6°F average low means a light layer for early mornings and late evenings. Shorts and swimwear cover the middle of the day.
On November 15 the day lasts about 11 hours 11 minutes. Converted from UTC to Cancun time, the sun rises at 6:57 a.m. and sets at 6:08 p.m. Dinner on Quinta Avenida happens in the dark, and beach time is a morning and early-afternoon job.
Can you swim in Playa del Carmen in November? Sea temperature
The sea surface off Playa del Carmen averages 84.3°F in November. That number comes from the Open-Meteo Marine API, averaged over 2015-2024, and it is a mean of daily maxima. Each day contributes its warmest reading, so it runs a shade warmer than a 24-hour average would. Other sea-temperature tables may read slightly lower for the same reason.
Walking in at 84.3°F is easy. The water sits within 3.1 degrees of the 87.4°F average afternoon high, so the swim feels like a continuation of the air. It has cooled from October’s 86.2°F, and December’s 82.4°F is lower again.
We read no wind or swell series for this coast, so we quote no wave conditions for November. The hurricane season runs through November 30, so check the National Hurricane Center before you fly and again before any boat day.
How busy is Playa del Carmen in November? Crowds and prices
We found no occupancy or room-rate series for Playa del Carmen, so we rank no month cheap or expensive. The calendar fact we do have is that the Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks around September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. November sits inside that window, at its end. Hurricane Wilma struck this coast in October 2005 and stayed in the vicinity for about two days.
We have no booking-lead data for this coast, so we name no number of weeks. The window closes on the last day of the month, which makes a refundable rate the sensible way to book a November stay. General planning basics are in Travel 101.
Quintana Roo charges foreign tourists a mandatory environmental sanitation fee, the Derecho de Saneamiento Ambiental, known as Visitax, under Article 51 Octies of the state’s Law of Rights. It is payable online at visitax.gob.mx or through authorized companies. We could not confirm the current peso amount on the portal, so we give none.
Flexibility is the one place where paying more changes the month: a refundable room through November 30. Xcaret prices its tickets dynamically and we could not read a current price, so check the park’s own page on the day you buy. Ultramar’s Cozumel tickets stay valid for six months, so buying one early carries little risk.
Things to do in Playa del Carmen in November
With 3.54 inches of rain and 84.3°F water, November puts open-air and in-water plans back on the table after October’s 7.01 inches. The day is long enough for a full park visit: 11 hours 11 minutes of daylight on the 15th, and Xcaret stays open until 10:30 p.m.
Parque Xcaret, on the coast south of Playa del Carmen, is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. It advertises more than 50 natural and cultural attractions, among them underground rivers, an aviary, a butterfly pavilion and a coral reef aquarium. Its evening show, Xcaret Mexico Espectacular, features more than 300 performers.
Ultramar’s Cozumel ferry leaves from the Terminal Maritima NAVEGA on Avenida Benito Juarez. Passengers must arrive 30 minutes before departure. Xcaret Xpress also sails the crossing, but we could not confirm its fare or crossing time. Dos Ojos and Gran Cenote sit closer to Tulum, each run independently with its own posted price. We have no cenote water temperature, so we quote none. The air has changed since October, with an 87.4°F high against 90.0°F, and the sea has cooled from 86.2°F to 84.3°F.
Quinta Avenida costs nothing to walk. We read no fee schedule for beach access, so we call no beach free or paid.
Playa del Carmen itinerary for November
Day one, Xcaret. Sunrise is at 6:57 a.m., which leaves time for a beach walk while the air is still nearer the 66.6°F low than the 87.4°F high. Be at the gate for the 8:30 a.m. opening and stay past dusk at 6:08 p.m. for Xcaret Mexico Espectacular. The park closes at 10:30 p.m., and we did not read the show time, so ask at the gate.
Day two, Cozumel. Buy the Ultramar ticket ahead and reach the Terminal Maritima NAVEGA 30 minutes before the sailing. We did not read the timetable. Roughly one November day in five brings measurable rain. If it lands on this one, spend the day on Quinta Avenida’s shops and restaurants and move the ferry to another day, since the ticket stays valid for six months.
Playa del Carmen in November vs October and December
| Measure | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 90.0°F | 87.4°F | 87.1°F |
| Average low | 69.6°F | 66.6°F | 63.7°F |
| Precipitation | 7.01 inches | 3.54 inches | 2.02 inches |
| Days with measurable rain | 10.3 days | 5.9 days | 5.0 days |
| Sea surface (Marine API, mean of daily maxima) | 86.2°F | 84.3°F | 82.4°F |
| Atlantic hurricane season | Inside the window | Inside, ends Nov 30 | Over |
Air figures for all three months come from the same SMN station and period. Highs fall 2.6 degrees from October to November, then only 0.3 degrees into December. Lows keep dropping, from 69.6°F to 66.6°F to 63.7°F. Rain drops from 7.01 to 3.54 to 2.02 inches, and rain days from 10.3 to 5.9 to 5.0. The sea, from the Marine API, steps down from 86.2°F to 84.3°F to 82.4°F.
Moving to October buys the warmest sea, 86.2°F, and costs 10.3 rain days plus the mid-August to mid-October stretch when most storm activity falls. Moving to December buys 5.0 rain days, 2.02 inches of rain and the end of the season. It costs a cooler sea at 82.4°F and lows of 63.7°F.
Is November a good time to visit Playa del Carmen?
Yes for anyone who wants swimmable water and a drier month than October: 84.3°F sea, 3.54 inches of rain, 5.9 rain days. No for anyone who wants to be entirely clear of the hurricane window, which runs to November 30. The U.S. State Department’s advisory dated May 29, 2026 puts Quintana Roo at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution.” It advises staying on well-lit pedestrian streets and in tourist zones after dark. Tourist Assistance Modules operate in Playa del Carmen.
Choose December if the storm calendar is the sticking point. The season is over, rain falls to 5.0 days and 2.02 inches, and the sea is 82.4°F. Choose October only for the 86.2°F sea, and accept 10.3 rain days and 7.01 inches.
November puts 84.3°F water next to rain at about half of October’s total, in the season’s final month rather than its peak.
The last word
Book the room refundable, keep one day loose for the rain, and be on the sand before the light goes at 6:08 p.m. The hurricane season closes on the 30th, and the sea averages 84.3°F all month.
Sources & data for this guide
- Air normals, rain days · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), 1991-2020, station 23014 Leona Vicario, Puerto Morelos · checked Sep 30, 2026 · the SMN sheet does not publish its rain-day threshold
- Sea surface temperature · Open-Meteo Marine API, mean of daily maxima 2015-2024 · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Sunrise, sunset, daylight (Nov 15) · sunrise-sunset.org, converted from UTC to Cancun time · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Hurricane season · NOAA National Hurricane Center · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Safety advisory · U.S. Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory dated May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Xcaret hours and attractions · xcaret.com · checked Sep 30, 2026 · we could not read a current ticket price
- Cozumel ferry · Ultramar, ultramarsales.ultramarferry.com · checked Sep 30, 2026 · we could not confirm Xcaret Xpress fares or any crossing times
- Visitax · Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo, visitax.gob.mx · checked Sep 30, 2026 · we could not confirm the peso amount
- Town history, population, airport distance, Hurricane Wilma · Wikipedia, “Playa del Carmen” (secondary source) · checked Sep 30, 2026
- We found no occupancy, room-rate, booking-lead, wind or swell data, so the guide ranks no month on price and quotes no sea conditions. Cenote prices and Xcaret ticket prices change · check operators when you book.