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Nineteen US beach towns we cover average 75°F or better in November, five in Hawaii, thirteen in Florida and South Padre Island in Texas. Warm afternoons are the easy part. Warm water is not, and by Thanksgiving week the sea is still at 75°F only in Hawaii, the Keys and the Miami to Fort Lauderdale coast, while the Gulf side of Florida has cooled to 70.6°F to 73.0°F. We travel slowly with kids, one plan a day and most of the afternoon in the water, so we read the sea column before anything else. Below you will find which towns are warm in November, which ones you can still swim in at Thanksgiving, and what the weeks around it cost.
The 19 Towns That Clear 75°F in November
Our cost index uses 70°F as its beach-weather line all year. In November 32 of the beach towns we cover clear it, most of the Gulf and Southeast coast included, which tells a family very little. So this list uses 75°F in the air and 75°F in the water, a stricter line that keeps only the towns where the afternoon and the sea are both warm. Both numbers are printed, so you can apply your own line.
The sea columns are the November average and the November 20 to 30 average from the NOAA sensor nearest each town, 2019 to 2025. Bold means 75°F or warmer.
| Town | November average high | November sea, nearest NOAA sensor | Sea, Thanksgiving week | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kihei, HI | 85.8°F | 78.5°F | 78.0°F | Check rates |
| Kailua-Kona, HI | 84.4°F | 80.6°F | 80.1°F | Check rates |
| Honolulu, HI | 84.1°F | 80.1°F | 79.5°F | Check rates |
| Key Largo, FL | 81.4°F | 79.1°F | 77.6°F | Check rates |
| Fort Myers Beach, FL | 81.3°F | 75.8°F | 73.0°F | Check rates |
| Sanibel Island, FL | 81.3°F | 75.8°F | 73.0°F | Check rates |
| Hollywood, FL | 81.0°F | 79.1°F | 77.6°F | Check rates |
| Key West, FL | 81.0°F | 79.0°F | 77.6°F | Check rates |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | 80.8°F | 79.1°F | 77.6°F | Check rates |
| Marco Island, FL | 80.5°F | 75.8°F | 73.0°F | Check rates |
| Kaanapali, HI | 80.4°F | 78.5°F | 78.0°F | Check rates |
| Princeville, HI | 80.1°F | 82.3°F | 81.7°F | Check rates |
| Sarasota, FL | 80.0°F | 74.4°F | 72.0°F | Check rates |
| Siesta Key, FL | 80.0°F | 74.4°F | 72.0°F | Check rates |
| South Padre Island, TX | 78.3°F | 73.7°F | 71.5°F | Check rates |
| Cocoa Beach, FL | 77.3°F | 76.6°F | 74.5°F | Check rates |
| Clearwater Beach, FL | 77.2°F | 72.9°F | 70.6°F | Check rates |
| St. Pete Beach, FL | 77.2°F | 72.9°F | 70.6°F | Check rates |
| Daytona Beach, FL | 76.1°F | 69.9°F | 67.0°F | Check rates |
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Warm Air, Then Cooler Water by Thanksgiving
Thirteen of the nineteen warm towns have a sea that averages 75°F or better across November. The other six, Sarasota, Siesta Key, South Padre Island, Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach and Daytona Beach, have warm afternoons and water in the low seventies or high sixties.
The month average hides a slide. The Gulf cools quickly once the first fronts arrive, and the three Gulf sensors on this list lose between 2.3°F and 2.8°F from the November average to the last ten days of the month. That drops Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Marco Island under 75°F by Thanksgiving week, and Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic slips to 74.5°F as well. Hawaii, the Keys and the southeast Florida coast lose 1.5°F or less, because they sit next to deep, warm water.
| NOAA sensor | October | November | Nov 20-30 | December | Stands in for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nawiliwili harbor, Kauai (harbor) | 84.1°F | 82.3°F | 81.7°F | 80.9°F | Princeville, 20 mi |
| Kawaihae harbor, Big Island (harbor) | 81.8°F | 80.6°F | 80.1°F | 79.3°F | Kailua-Kona, 30 mi |
| Honolulu harbor (harbor) | 81.5°F | 80.1°F | 79.5°F | 78.6°F | Honolulu, 3 mi |
| Kahului harbor, Maui (harbor) | 80.3°F | 78.5°F | 78.0°F | 77.3°F | Kihei, 9 mi Kaanapali, 15 mi |
| Virginia Key, Miami (bay) | 83.5°F | 79.1°F | 77.6°F | 75.7°F | Key Largo, 48 mi Hollywood, 20 mi Fort Lauderdale, 27 mi |
| Key West (harbor) | 83.8°F | 79.0°F | 77.6°F | 75.2°F | Key West, 2 mi |
| Trident Pier, Port Canaveral (ocean pier) | 82.4°F | 76.6°F | 74.5°F | 71.5°F | Cocoa Beach, 7 mi |
| Naples pier (Gulf pier) | 83.1°F | 75.8°F | 73.0°F | 71.0°F | Fort Myers Beach, 24 mi Sanibel Island, 29 mi Marco Island, 14 mi |
| Venice pier (Gulf pier) | 81.1°F | 74.4°F | 72.0°F | 68.5°F | Sarasota, 19 mi Siesta Key, 15 mi |
| Port Isabel, Laguna Madre (bay) | 81.8°F | 73.7°F | 71.5°F | 68.3°F | South Padre Island, 5 mi |
| Clearwater Beach (Gulf-side marina) | 80.1°F | 72.9°F | 70.6°F | 67.6°F | Clearwater Beach, 0 mi St. Pete Beach, 18 mi |
| St. Augustine (ocean) | 78.0°F | 69.9°F | 67.0°F | 64.3°F | Daytona Beach, 47 mi |
Each figure comes from a sensor on a pier, a harbor or a bay, so read it as the water near the town rather than at your towel. Our Florida winter guide carries the same sensors on to March.
Hawaii, the Warmest Water by Thanksgiving
Kihei, Kailua-Kona, Honolulu, Kaanapali and Princeville are the only towns where the sea cools by less than a degree between the November average and Thanksgiving week. November afternoons run 80.1°F to 85.8°F, and the harbor sensors read 78.5°F to 82.3°F for the month and 78.0°F to 81.7°F in Thanksgiving week, when every Hawaii sensor is warmer than any on the mainland. Kihei is the warmest at 85.8°F, read from the Kahului station on the same island because Kihei keeps no temperature record of its own.
We have not priced a Hawaii week in late October, so the only Hawaii rates we hold are for late January, where Honolulu’s median three-star room is $178 a night, the lowest of any warm-sea town in that week. The flight is the part of a Hawaii trip this index does not price. November is also the start of the big-surf season on north-facing shores, so check each beach before swimming. We leave Lahaina out even though it averages 80.4°F in November, because much of the town burned in August 2023 and we have not verified what has reopened.
South Florida and the Keys, the Mainland Answer
Key Largo has the warmest November afternoon outside Hawaii at 81.4°F. For swimming, Key West and the Atlantic coast from Key Largo up to Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale are the safe bets. The Key West harbor sensor averages 79.0°F in November and 77.6°F in Thanksgiving week, and Virginia Key in Miami 79.1°F and 77.6°F.
The southwest Gulf towns, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island and Marco Island, are as warm in the air and read 75.8°F at the Naples pier for the month, which is warm enough early in November and falls to 73.0°F by Thanksgiving. Siesta Key, Sarasota, St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach run cooler again, 74.4°F at the Venice pier and 72.9°F at Clearwater for the month. Cocoa Beach on the Space Coast reads 76.6°F at the Port Canaveral pier.
Eight of the Florida towns here, Key Largo, Fort Myers Beach, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Marco Island, Sarasota, Cocoa Beach and St. Pete Beach, are not in our price index yet, so they have temperatures on this page and no rates.
South Padre Island, a Coin Toss by Thanksgiving
South Padre Island averages 78.3°F in November, the warmest town outside Hawaii and Florida, and its late-October rate is the lowest of the warm towns we price at $113 a night. The sea is the gamble. The NOAA sensor in the Laguna Madre, 5 miles away, averages 73.7°F for the month, but its Thanksgiving-week average has ranged from 60.8°F to 79.7°F across the seven years we checked. A cold front decides the week. Plan it as a sunny beach for kites and sandcastles, and treat a warm swim as a bonus.
Warm Afternoons, Cool Water
Thirteen more beach towns average between 70 and 75 degrees in November. The afternoons are pleasant for walking, biking and playgrounds. The water is not. Near the Gulf and Atlantic towns the NOAA sensors read 62.4°F to 68.4°F in the last ten days of November, and the San Diego Bay sensor, the nearest we hold for the California towns, averages 64.8°F for November. Every one of them drops under 70 in December, which our December list covers.
| Town | November average high | December average high |
|---|---|---|
| St. Augustine, FL | 74.9°F | 68.9°F |
| Panama City Beach, FL | 73.3°F | 66.5°F |
| St. George Island, FL | 72.5°F | 66.0°F |
| Galveston, TX | 72.4°F | 65.5°F |
| Amelia Island, FL | 72.4°F | 66.3°F |
| Laguna Beach, CA | 72.2°F | 67.3°F |
| Destin, FL | 72.1°F | 65.6°F |
| Pensacola Beach, FL | 71.8°F | 65.1°F |
| Santa Barbara, CA | 71.0°F | 66.2°F |
| Coronado, CA | 70.7°F | 66.0°F |
| San Diego, CA | 70.7°F | 66.0°F |
| Gulf Shores, AL | 70.2°F | 64.0°F |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | 70.1°F | 62.0°F |
What the Weeks Around November Cost
We have not priced a November week. The nearest weeks we did price are October 24 to 31, 2026, the week before November starts, and January 23 to 30, 2027. The table shows the warm towns that have enough three-star rates in either week to publish a median.
| Town | October 24-31, 2026, median night | January 23-30, 2027, median night |
|---|---|---|
| South Padre Island, TX | $113 | $127 |
| Clearwater Beach, FL | $203 | $254 |
| Sanibel Island, FL | $229 | $338 |
| Key West, FL | $319 | $387 |
| Kailua-Kona, HI | too few rates | $285 |
| Honolulu, HI | too few rates | $178 |
| Daytona Beach, FL | too few rates | $218 |
South Padre Island is the lowest late-October rate at $113 and Key West the highest at $319. Thanksgiving week, November 21 to 29 in 2026, is a school holiday in much of the country. We have not priced it, and holiday weeks usually cost more than the weeks around them, so take the order from this table and the actual price from the booking links.
What These Numbers Cannot Tell You
Averages hide weather. November is the first month of cold fronts on the Gulf and in Texas, and a front can pull an afternoon into the sixties for two or three days and the shallow water with it. The Atlantic hurricane season runs through November 30, and late storms are rare but not unheard of.
The sea figures come from sensors in harbors, bays and on piers, some of them tens of miles from the town they stand in for, and the table says which and how far. Seven of the warm towns have no weather station of their own and read the air from the nearest official one, Kihei from Kahului, Fort Myers Beach from Fort Myers, Sanibel Island from Fort Myers, Siesta Key from Sarasota, Cocoa Beach from Melbourne, Clearwater Beach from St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach from St. Petersburg.
How We Got These Numbers
Air temperatures are NOAA monthly normals for November, 1991 to 2020, read from each town’s Wikipedia weather box where that box cites NOAA, and straight from NOAA’s own normals for the nearest station where it does not. Sea temperatures are NOAA National Data Buoy Center records for each sensor. The November figure averages every November from 2019 to 2025 with at least half its hours recorded, and the Thanksgiving-week figure does the same for November 20 to 30.
Prices are 128 three-star nightly rates collected from Booking.com for October 24 to 31, 2026 and January 23 to 30, 2027, for two adults, with vacation rentals removed. We publish the median so one resort cannot drag a town upward. The December, January and February lists continue the series, and the cost index has the full picture by season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the warmest beach in the US in November?
Kihei on Maui, at an average November high of 85.8°F, with Kailua-Kona at 84.4°F and Honolulu at 84.1°F. Outside Hawaii it is Key Largo, Florida, at 81.4°F.
Where is the ocean warm enough to swim in November?
Hawaii, the Florida Keys and the southeast Florida coast. The sea near every Hawaii town on our list averages 78.5°F to 82.3°F in November, near Key West 79.0°F, and at Virginia Key in Miami 79.1°F. The southwest Gulf coast is warm enough early in the month and cools to about 73°F by Thanksgiving.
Where is it warm at the beach for Thanksgiving?
For warm water as well as warm air, Hawaii, Key West and the Miami to Fort Lauderdale coast. Their sensors average 77.6°F to 81.7°F from November 20 to 30. The Florida Gulf coast still has afternoons in the high seventies, with a sea around 70.6°F to 73.0°F.
Is Florida warm in November?
The southern two thirds is. Thirteen Florida beach towns on our list average 75°F or better in November, from 81.4°F in Key Largo to 76.1°F in Daytona Beach. North Florida and the Panhandle, Destin and Pensacola Beach among them, average about 72.
Is South Padre Island warm in November?
In the air, yes, at 78.3°F. In the water it depends on the year. The nearest NOAA sensor averages 73.7°F for the month, and Thanksgiving week has ranged from 60.8°F to 79.7°F.