Galápagos in November
November is the month the dry season exhales. The Humboldt relaxes its grip, the sea lies down, and the first warm hints of the coming season show up in the water. On land, two stories run at once: sea lion pups at their most playful, and green turtles starting the courtship that will define the next three months.
Weather in November
Days average around 26 °C, nights about 21 °C. The garúa thins out, mornings clear earlier, and the highlands stay green without the constant mist. Rainfall remains low; the real rains wait for the new year.
It is the kind of month where you stop noticing the seasons changing and just notice that everything works.
The sea in November
The sea calms, and this matters more than any temperature number. Visibility improves for snorkeling as the chop and the upwelled murk settle. Water is back to around 22 °C by operator averages, with satellite surface readings at Puerto Ayora near 23.8 °C. Still wetsuit territory for most swimmers, but the difference from August is the difference between enduring a swim and enjoying it.
For the year as a whole, November through May is the calm-water stretch. November is where it opens.
Wildlife in November
Two headline events:
- Green turtles peak in courtship, a season that runs November through January. Head to the shallows off productive beaches and you may see pairs surface together, sometimes with a third male unceremoniously dumped off by the winner.
- Sea lion pups born since August are now confident in the water, and at rookeries like Champion islet they swim right up to snorkelers. It is as close to playing with wild animals as the park rules will ever let you get.
Also in the calendar:
- Brown pelicans are raising young.
- Storm petrels are in their second nesting round of the year.
- Fur seals continue their breeding season on the western islands.
- Blue-footed booby chicks from the September–October cohort are close to fledging on Española and Isabela.
Who November suits (and who it doesn’t)
November suits snorkelers and families. The water has warmed enough to be pleasant, the sea is calm enough for kids and nervous swimmers, and the wildlife is active on both sides of the season change. It also suits photographers: clearer water, calm surface, good light after the gray of September and October.
It is a less obvious choice if your priority is seabird breeding spectacle at its absolute peak (that is the middle dry season) or if you want the archipelago’s warmest air (that comes in February and March). Early November can coincide with a local holiday weekend around the Day of the Dead, when Ecuadorian travel bumps demand for a few days.
Booking advice for November
The calm-sea, good-visibility reputation makes November popular with people who know the islands’ rhythm, so the best boats’ peak cabins sell early even in a shoulder month. Book a couple of months out rather than gambling. Fixed costs on arrival: $200 park fee for foreign adults, $20 transit card; see our guide to entry fees for the full breakdown.
December opens the warm season; read Galápagos in December for how the transition plays out. October is the rough month November rescues you from; see Galápagos in October. For the other end of the turtle story, Galápagos in January covers nesting on the beaches.
Last verified: September 2026