There’s something you only really notice when you work in the port: in November, the sea around Mallorca is often warmer than the air on many mornings. In the Bay of Palma it sits at around 19-20 °C at the start of the month, practically the same as at the end of May. And yet the excursion boats are already moored up or out of the water in the boatyard. The berths have emptied and the sailing season is over.
That picture, with the water still mild and the harbour gone quiet, sums up the idea behind this guide: November in Mallorca is best enjoyed from land, and anyone who accepts that, instead of chasing a summer that has already gone, finds one of the island’s best sides. Fewer people, lower prices and a different kind of light. It isn’t a milder summer; it’s a month with a character of its own.
If your trip runs beyond November, our guide to Mallorca in winter tells you what to expect in December and January.
November splits into two halves with different personalities. The first fortnight still feels like a gentle autumn; the second is getting close to what most people would call winter. According to the climate normals of AEMET, Spain’s state weather agency, for Palma Port (1981-2010), the average maximum for the month is 19.3 °C and the average minimum 12.3 °C, with around 6 rainy days and 161 hours of sunshine. AEMET publishes monthly averages, so the split by fortnight in the table is a guide, and the sea temperature is an approximate historical average, not a guarantee.
| First half of November | Second half of November | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperature | ~20 °C | ~18 °C |
| Minimum temperature | ~13 °C | ~11 °C |
| Rainy days | ~3 | ~3 |
| Sea temperature | ~19-20 °C | ~17-18 °C |
| Sunset | ~5.50 pm (1st) | ~5.25 pm (30th) |
| Daylight | ~10 h 20 min | ~9 h 35 min |
In practice, during the first fortnight you can wear short sleeves at midday when the sun is out, although mornings call for a light jacket. For the second half, the sensible combination is a light coat and a packable rain jacket in your daypack.
Autumn storms are what worry people who don’t know the month, and they deserve some nuance: they arrive in short spells of one or two days, with heavy rain and northerly or easterly winds. Afterwards the sky clears and the light that’s left is some of the clearest of the year. One rainy day won’t ruin a week, and if you get one, our guide to what to do in Mallorca on a rainy day will save you from improvising.
The honest answer: it depends on the day and on the fortnight.
Early in the month, on a sunny, windless morning, swimming in the sheltered coves of the south and the Bay of Palma is perfectly doable. The water is around 19-20 °C, which is fine if you’re used to it. It isn’t a summer swim, but it isn’t an act of heroism either.
By the end of November, with the water at 17-18 °C and chilly mornings, only the brave go in without thinking twice. The water is still swimmable, but the wind and the feeling when you get out change the experience a lot.
This is where a nuance comes in that we know first-hand at Attraction Catamarans: warm water doesn’t mean the sea is right for going out by boat. In autumn, wind and swell can change a day completely, even when temperatures are pleasant. When we take you to the best coves in Mallorca to visit by boat in summer, it’s because the sea allows it. In November those coves are just as beautiful, but you get there over land.
It’s the question that matters most when planning your trip, and the answer depends on where you want to go.
Palma is open all year round. Hotels in every category, restaurants, bars, museums, the Mercat de l’Olivar, the Born promenade, Santa Catalina. The capital doesn’t shut down in the low season because it’s a city with a life of its own beyond tourism.
The resort towns of the north and east, such as Alcúdia, Cala Millor, Cala Ratjada or Port de Pollença, are a different story. Many of their hotels and most tourist restaurants close from early November, and those that stay open cut their hours. Staying there isn’t impossible, but it is awkward if you don’t check first.
As for boat trips, most have already finished for the season. At Attraction Catamarans we don’t sail in November: no Sunset Tour, no Sea Day Tour and no private charters. We’re back in February. We’d rather say so clearly than let you arrive with the wrong expectations.
Our accommodation advice is simple: make Palma your base. From there it’s easy to reach the Tramuntana, the inland villages and the coves of the south, and everything is open when you get back.
November is one of the best months to explore Palma without dodging tour groups. The cathedral, Bellver Castle, Es Baluard, the old town and Santa Catalina can all be visited without queues and at your own pace.
The month’s own highlight is 11 November, the Festival of Light (Festa de la Llum). At around 8.30 am, shortly after sunrise and only if the sky is clear, the sun shines through the cathedral’s great rose window and projects its image onto the opposite wall, just below the rose window of the main façade. For a few minutes you see two rose windows, one above the other, forming an «8». It doesn’t happen in summer, so it’s one of those sights high-season visitors never get to see. In previous years the cathedral has opened earlier than usual, with free entry until capacity is reached; check the time on the Mallorca Cathedral website the day before. If the morning is cloudy, there’s no «8».
Anyone who knows the bay will recognise the light on the cathedral at half past five in the afternoon: it’s the same light you see from the sea at sunset in summer, only now you enjoy it from the seafront promenade, without excursion boats in the way. For more ideas in the capital, our guide to what to do in Palma de Mallorca is organised by area.
The Serra de Tramuntana is demanding in summer: heat, direct sun and little shade on the higher stages. In November, with highs of 17-20 °C and the countryside already green after the first rains, the temperature is exactly what walkers want. The GR 221, the Dry Stone Route that crosses the range from Andratx to Pollença, is at its best. If you’re after calm, our quiet places in Mallorca will give you ideas for lesser-known spots to round off your itinerary.
All Saints’ Day on 1 November opens the month at the table: rosaris ensucrats, sugar-coated sweets shaped like rosaries, and bunyols, Mallorcan doughnuts, fill the cake shops of Palma and the villages. From then on the first pig slaughters, the matances, begin in country houses inland, a tradition still alive in many Mallorcan families; the olive presses start turning out the new season’s oil, and the markets begin to fill with mushrooms, above all esclata-sangs (saffron milk caps), which in years with early rain already appear in October.
Dijous Bo in Inca, Mallorca’s biggest fair, takes place in the middle of the month: in 2026 it falls on Thursday 19 November, with Dimecres Bo the evening before. It’s a day of traditional market stalls, livestock, local produce and village atmosphere with no equivalent in high season. Throughout the month, several towns in the Pla and Raiguer areas also hold their own olive oil and autumn fairs.
At the end of November Palma switches on its Christmas lights, which transform the city centre and lead naturally into the December long weekend in Mallorca if your trip, or someone else’s, stretches that far.
If you’ve read this far thinking about your November trip, what you take home from the island is what this guide has described: a quiet Palma, the Tramuntana, the autumn table and late-afternoon light. This month, the sea is something you admire from the shore.
But some readers arrive with a different question in mind: when should I start thinking about a boat for next year? If you have a celebration in mind, the answer is now. The Attraction Catamarans season returns in February, earlier than most people imagine, and a private catamaran charter with skipper for weddings, anniversaries and corporate events is booked months in advance. The sooner you ask for a quote, the more choice of dates you’ll have. If you’re organising something for a group, our page on boat events is a good starting point for weddings, anniversaries and company incentives.
If you prefer a shared trip, the Sunset Tour across the Bay of Palma and the Sea Day Tour come back with the season. They don’t run every day or follow a fixed pattern, so once the 2027 calendar is published you’ll be able to check available dates on each page.
And one detail that brings things full circle: the year’s second Festival of Light, on 2 February, falls in the same month the boats return to the bay.
To understand what each season offers on the water, our guide to the best time to sail in Mallorca explains it in detail.
It isn’t summer heat, but it isn’t cold either. According to AEMET’s climate normals for Palma Port (1981-2010), the average maximum for the month is 19.3 °C and the average minimum 12.3 °C, a little warmer in the first fortnight and cooler in the second. With mid-season clothes and a rain jacket, it’s a comfortable month to get around.
There are around 6 rainy days in the month, in short, intense spells. It rarely rains several days in a row, and between storms the sky can clear completely.
Yes, if you’re after what November offers: fewer people, lower prices, Palma without queues, the Tramuntana at ideal walking temperatures and seasonal food you won’t find in summer. It isn’t worth it if you’re looking for lively beaches or boat trips.
Not with Attraction Catamarans: no shared trips (Sunset Tour or Sea Day Tour) and no private charters. The season returns in February. Other operators have their own dates, so check with them directly.
Palma is the safest and most comfortable choice, because it’s open all year with hotels, restaurants and things to do. The resort towns of the north and east (Alcúdia, Cala Millor, Cala Ratjada) close much of what they offer from early in the month.
Early in the month, yes, in sheltered coves in the south and the Bay of Palma, with the water at around 19-20 °C. By the end of November it drops to 17-18 °C and swimming is only for the brave. Bear in mind that warm water doesn’t mean the sea is right for going out by boat.
Mallorca in November isn’t a toned-down summer or a closed island. It’s a month with its own identity: the cathedral at sunrise, empty berths, the GR 221 at textbook temperatures, rosaris ensucrats on 1 November and Dijous Bo in Inca. Arrive with that in mind and you won’t be disappointed.
And if you’re starting to think about coming back next season, or organising something special in Mallorca such as a wedding, an anniversary or a company event, November is the ideal time to look at dates. The sea comes back sooner than you think.
Is your trip going beyond November? Carry on with Mallorca in winter or discover everything the December long weekend in Mallorca has to offer.
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