Puerto Penasco in November: Weather, Sea Temperature, Daylight and Things to Do

PUERTO PENASCO · NOVEMBER · SEA OF CORTEZ

November takes the fire out of Puerto Penasco and leaves the beach where it was. Afternoons reach 75.8°F, rain barely registers at 0.29 inches for the whole month, and the Sea of Cortez still sits at 72.1°F.

The month lands between October’s 84.7°F highs and December’s 67.4°F, which makes the date itself the decision. If you are still weighing destinations for November, our month-by-month guides line them up.

On this page

• Puerto Penasco weather in NovemberHighs of 75.8°F, lows of 60.6°F and 0.6 rain days
• Can you swim in November?Sea at 72.1°F, a mean of daily maxima
• Is November busy or expensive?What we could not verify on crowds and rates, plus the 3% Sonora lodging tax
• Things to do in Puerto Penasco in NovemberSandy Beach, Cholla Bay and the biosphere reserve edge
• Puerto Penasco itinerary for NovemberTwo days around a 7:00 a.m. sunrise and a 5:36 p.m. sunset
• November versus October and DecemberHighs of 84.7°F, 75.8°F and 67.4°F side by side
• Is November a good time to visit?Yes for mild days, with the Level 3 advisory read first

Most U.S. visitors reach Puerto Penasco by car through the Lukeville-Sonoyta border crossing. Mar de Cortes International Airport went more than five years without scheduled commercial flights, and a new scheduled route resumed service in mid-2026, so confirm current schedules with the carrier. Weighing other beach towns for the same trip? Our destination guides cover them.

Puerto Penasco weather in November

Every air figure here comes from Open-Meteo’s ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, normals for 1991-2020 computed for the model grid cell over Puerto Penasco. It is a model reading. None of the town’s three CONAGUA stations publishes a normals product, and a grid cell on this stretch of the Sea of Cortez may soften the desert coast’s sharp day-night swing. The result for November: an average high of 75.8°F, an average low of 60.6°F and 0.29 inches of precipitation.

Fewer than one day in a typical November records 0.10 inch or more (0.6 days). A day of an inch or more, at 0.1 day on average, turns up in roughly one November out of ten. Leave the umbrella at home and pack for the evening chill instead.

Between the afternoon high of 75.8°F and the average low of 60.6°F sits a gap of 15.2°F, and because the grid cell may soften the swing, the real coast could run sharper. A T-shirt covers the middle of the day. Bring a sweatshirt and long pants for after dark and for early mornings.

Daylight on November 15 lasts about 10 hours 36 minutes. Converted to local time (America/Hermosillo), the sun rises at 7:00 a.m. and sets at 5:36 p.m. Afternoon beach time ends early, so carry the sweatshirt down to the sand before the light starts to go.

Can you swim in Puerto Penasco in November? Sea temperature

Sea surface temperature off Puerto Penasco averages 72.1°F in November. The Open-Meteo Marine API figure is a mean of daily maxima over 2015-2024, a shade warmer than a 24-hour mean, so other sea-temperature tables may read a little lower for the same water.

In practice 72.1°F water is brisk. It sits 11.6°F below October’s 83.7°F (same API and period) and 3.7°F under the November afternoon high of 75.8°F. Plan short swims in the warm part of the afternoon and a quick dry-off.

Our sources carry no wind or swell figures for Puerto Penasco in November, so we cannot say what the surf does. Check a marine forecast the morning you plan to swim.

How busy is Puerto Penasco in November? Crowds and prices

We found no occupancy series and no monthly hotel-rate series for Puerto Penasco, so we place no month on a price ladder and say nothing about how full the beaches get. What we can date is the weather around the month: October brings 84.7°F highs and an 83.7°F sea, December 67.4°F and 65.4°F, and November sits between them.

Without a rate series we cannot say how many weeks ahead rooms tighten. Settle the way in first, whether the border crossing or the airport’s new route, then hold a room with a cancellation window and ask the property about November availability directly.

Sonora’s lodging tax is 3% of revenue under Article 122 of the state’s Ley de Hacienda (text published December 26, 2025). We could not verify whether a given hotel shows it as its own line or folds it into the nightly rate, so we give no dollar amount.

With afternoons at 75.8°F and a 72.1°F sea, a heated pool is the one line where paying more changes the month, since it turns a brisk swim into a long one. We could not verify which properties heat theirs, so ask before you book.

Things to do in Puerto Penasco in November

November fits a beach day and a long walk into the same afternoon: 75.8°F on the sand, rain on 0.6 days, water at 72.1°F. October’s 84.7°F highs make midday walking a chore, and December’s 67.4°F highs and 65.4°F sea shrink the swim to a wade.

Sandy Beach (Playa Mirador) and Cholla Bay are the two swimming beaches to know, both on the Sea of Cortez. The town also sits at the edge of the Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Rio Colorado Biosphere Reserve. We could not verify hours, fees or visitor access for any of them, so we quote none.

The sea gives up more than the air between seasons: highs fall 8.9°F from October while the water falls 11.6°F. In November the sea reads 3.7°F cooler than the afternoon air and 11.5°F warmer than the average low, so the chill arrives when you step out of the water. Bring the towel and the sweatshirt together.

We did not find a published entry fee for either beach, though we could not verify one way or the other. Check locally before assuming a beach costs nothing.

Puerto Penasco itinerary for November

Day one. Start at first light: sunrise is 7:00 a.m. and the air is near the 60.6°F average low, so coffee comes with a sweatshirt. Swim at Sandy Beach (Playa Mirador) around midday, when the air nears its 75.8°F high. Walk the shoreline in mid-afternoon and finish an hour before the 5:36 p.m. sunset with a layer on.

Day two. Give Cholla Bay the morning and keep the second swim for the warmest part of the afternoon. If the weather turns (rain is rare at 0.6 days, and we found no wind or swell data), check a marine forecast at breakfast and swap which beach gets the morning.

Puerto Penasco in November vs October and December

Highs fall 8.9°F from October to November and another 8.4°F into December. Lows drop 9.9°F, then 7.9°F. The sea sheds 11.6°F, then 6.7°F. Rain totals go from 0.26 to 0.29 to 0.58 inches, so December brings twice November’s precipitation and more than double its rain days at 1.3.

Moving back about four weeks to October buys 8.9°F of extra warmth and water at 83.7°F, with the same 0.6 rain days. Moving forward to December costs 8.4°F of air, 6.7°F of sea and a wetter record. We have no rate data to say whether either shift saves money.

Is November a good time to visit Puerto Penasco?

Yes, for anyone who wants a beach town with 75.8°F afternoons, under one rain day and water that still allows a swim. No, if you need bathwater seas: that means October, with the sea at 83.7°F. One caveat sits outside the weather. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico advisory, reissued May 29, 2026, lists the State of Sonora at Level 3, reconsider travel, due to terrorism and crime. Read the Sonora entry in full before you book.

If the answer is no because the water feels too cold, October is the month to prefer: highs of 84.7°F, a sea at 83.7°F and the same 0.6 rain days, so the swap adds no rain risk.

November pairs 75.8°F air and 72.1°F water with a rain record of 0.6 days, after October’s heat has gone and before December’s chill and 1.3 rain days arrive.

The last word

Choose November for 75.8°F afternoons and a 72.1°F sea, choose October if you want the water warmer, and read the Sonora advisory either way. One fact to carry onto the sand: the town sits at the edge of a biosphere reserve decreed on June 10, 1993, the critical refuge of the vaquita marina, the world’s most endangered marine mammal, and of the totoaba fish.

Sources & data for Puerto Penasco in November

• Air temperature, precipitation and rain days, 1991-2020 normals · Open-Meteo / ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis, computed for the model grid cell over Puerto Penasco (a model reading with no station record behind it; none of the town’s three CONAGUA stations publishes a normals product) · 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 Nov 15, converted to America/Hermosillo · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Biosphere reserve decree of June 10, 1993 · CONANP · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Airport service and border-crossing arrivals · local press (Codigo Rojo Cajeme, Ahora Noticias Penasco) · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Lodging tax · Congreso del Estado de Sonora, Ley 9 De Hacienda del Estado de Sonora, Article 122, published Dec 26, 2025 · checked Sep 30, 2026
• Travel advisory · U.S. Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory reissued May 29, 2026, State of Sonora · checked Sep 30, 2026
• We found no occupancy or hotel-rate series, no wind or swell data for November, and no published fees or hours for the beaches. Treat nothing here as a price or a schedule, and check operators when you book.