Quintana Roo in November (2026): Dry Season Returns, Day of the Dead and Where Prices Are Lowest

⭐ Best November window: November 3 to 13. Day of the Dead is over, the Revolution Day long weekend and Thanksgiving are still ahead, the dry season is returning and sargassum is falling.

💰 November 2026 hotel rates in our November 9, 2026 check (US dollars per room per night, 2 adults, before taxes):
Cancún: ~$277/night (+3% vs typical) · Riviera Maya: ~$176/night (-5% vs typical) · Cozumel: ~$257/night (+11% vs typical) · Bacalar: ~$170/night (+2% vs typical)
Median of each area's basket for a 2-night stay from November 18, 2026; "vs typical" compares each hotel with its own median across twelve months. Full method in the prices section.

November suits travelers who want dry-season weather before the winter prices. The Riviera Maya, especially Tulum, was below its typical rate in our check, the water is clearing and sargassum is falling.

We'd lean toward Tulum and the Riviera Maya for value, and treat Cozumel's mid-November rates (11% above typical in our check) as a reason to look at early December there instead.

• Best dates: November 3 to 13, between Day of the Dead and the Revolution Day long weekend.
• Avoid if possible: Thanksgiving week if you want lower rates and fewer crowds.
• Best for: Value-minded couples, ruins and cenotes, and travelers who want the dry season before December.

November's weather improves everywhere, so the ranking follows price, which in our check differed more by area than in any other month.

The biggest difference was between Tulum, where mid-November hotels were the cheapest of any month we sampled, and Cozumel, where rates were 11% above typical.

Quintana Roo runs about 400 km from Holbox in the north to Chetumal on the Belize border, so we use six official stations rather than one. The table below gives each station's November averages: our averages of the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional's daily records as archived by NOAA (a rain day is at least 1 mm), and the SMN's own 1991 to 2020 normals for Chetumal, the nearest station to Bacalar.

Temperature and Humidity

Highs are 29 to 30°C and nights 17 to 22°C, cooler near Holbox.

Rain Pattern

Rain falls to about 6 to 10 days, with 80 to 136 mm. Tulum and the Holbox area are the driest stations; Cozumel and Cancún still see some wet days.

Sea and Outdoor Conditions

The sea is about 28°C and clearing. The first cold fronts of the season can arrive late in the month. Nortes are winter cold fronts from the north. The national water commission forecasts 56 cold fronts across Mexico for the 2026–27 season, and the strongest reach Quintana Roo as a day or two of wind, cloud and cooler nights. They can close ports to small boats, pausing the Cozumel and Isla Mujeres ferries, the Chiquilá crossing to Holbox, and reef trips.

November starts with Day of the Dead and ends with US Thanksgiving. Here is how mid-November rates compared with each hotel's typical rate in our check.

ℹ️ Our check on November 9, 2026 asked for the cheapest available rate for 2 adults and 2 nights from a mid-month Wednesday, for every month from November 2026 to October 2027, at hotels rated 8 or higher with enough reviews (500+ in Cancún, 300+ on the Riviera Maya, 150+ in Cozumel, 80+ in Bacalar). We kept only hotels that quoted every month and changed their rates across the year. Rates are before taxes and fees, and dates months ahead can still move.

• Day of the Dead: November 1 and 2.
• Revolution Day: Monday, November 16, 2026, an official rest day (PROFEDET), making November 14 to 16 a Mexican long weekend.
• US Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 26, 2026.
• Hurricane season ends: November 30.

Here is what the main costs looked like for November 2026 on November 9, 2026, all in US dollars.

Worked example: a couple spending 5 nights in Playa del Carmen at the November median ($142 × 5 = $710), with the Tulum ruins, Akumal and cenote day ($129 + $25 fee) (2 × $154 = $308) and the Puerto Morelos reef snorkel (2 × $45 = $90), would pay about $1,108 before flights, food, taxes and tips. In Tulum the same five nights would cost less: its mid-November median was $123 a night.

November's draws are the dry season returning and Day of the Dead (Hanal Pixán in the Maya tradition) on November 1 and 2.

The sargassum outlook is the other good news: the University of South Florida's October 31, 2026 outlook expected Caribbean amounts to keep falling until about the end of November or December.

Hurricanes: low and falling. The season ends on November 30.

Cold fronts: starting. Nortes are winter cold fronts from the north. The national water commission forecasts 56 cold fronts across Mexico for the 2026–27 season, and the strongest reach Quintana Roo as a day or two of wind, cloud and cooler nights. They can close ports to small boats, pausing the Cozumel and Isla Mujeres ferries, the Chiquilá crossing to Holbox, and reef trips.

Sargassum: falling. Where you stay matters more than the date. The open Caribbean beaches from Cancún's southern Hotel Zone to Tulum take the most weed. Cozumel's west coast, where its hotels and beach clubs are, faces the mainland and is largely sheltered (Cozumel sargassum guide). Isla Mujeres's Playa Norte faces north, Holbox faces the Gulf, and Bacalar is an inland freshwater lagoon that is not affected by the coastal sargassum at all.

November reopens the dry-season favourites: the ruins, the reef and Holbox's kite wind.

1. Tulum ruins, Akumal turtles and a cenote

$129 plus a $25 fee, with under 4s free.

2. Snorkel or dive Cozumel

The catamaran snorkel is $79.99 plus a $13 park fee.

3. Puerto Morelos reef snorkel

$45 including park fees, Monday to Saturday.

4. Cenotes and Rio Secreto

$89 plus a $20 dock fee.

5. Sian Ka'an to Punta Allen

$254 in small groups.

6. Sail Bacalar's lagoon

$45; the afternoon sail can catch the early sunset.

7. Holbox kitesurfing

The first nortes bring the wind back.

8. Day of the Dead

Altars and celebrations across the state.

• Base yourself in Tulum for value: its mid-November median was $123 a night in our check.
• Avoid Thanksgiving week for lower rates: November 26, 2026.
• Keep one flexible day: the first cold fronts can arrive late in the month.
• Check sargassum close to your dates: it is falling, but varies by beach.
• Quintana Roo month by month: every month has its own statewide guide with a destination ranking and measured hotel prices: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, December.
• Visiting at a different time of year? Our Quintana Roo in October guide covers the wettest weeks and low prices, and our Quintana Roo in December guide covers early-December value and the holiday peak. For the year at a glance, our best time to visit guides for Cancún, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Bacalar compare every month.