USVI-On-Line

Is the water still nice and warm for snorkeling in November?

I really enjoy the water in November. It feels warmer than when we travel in March to St John. When have you been on island in the past?

I have only visited in June, July, and August. I'm a teacher, but my husband couldn't get off this year so I may need to take off!

If you decide to go in November there will be a group of us there spanning the Thanksgiving time period. It's a great time to visit and you can even do some Christmas shopping!

Back2: I share your concern over water temperatures, and routinely bring one of our digital food thermometers with us to the beach to take measurements, despite eye rolls from my wife. Shallow bays protected from northern swells, such as Maho, will read a bit higher than the more exposed north shore beaches, but in general I have found that water temperatures off the beach peak in August at ~ 86 F, and drop to 79 F at the end of January. Just as the peak warm water lags after the summer solstice, so does the recovery after the winter solstice. We haven't been down yet in November, but my memory of mid October is 83 or 84 F, and I doubt that it would be more than a degree colder in November, maybe 81 F at the tail end. Given your concern about water temperature, allow me to point out that having a solar heated pool at your villa (let alone one illuminated with high power LED's, in five fixed colors and seven color-changing programs ) is a wonderful thing. Pools have a lot less thermal inertia than bays, and can drop 4-6 degrees overnight. Other than in summer, villa pools without solar heating often end up used only once or twice, with guest book comments that they were too cold. That was certainly our experience during a dozen years of renting villas.

All the best,

Kevin

We have been to STJ 10 times...9 of those times were in June/July/August, and once was in November.

The water was noticeably colder in November...it was also a lot rougher and we got knocked over by waves a lot.

We usually go in early December and never had issues at all with water temps!

we usually visit in late november to early december. water temps are usually about 82F. Ambient conditions such as wind, sun & humidity will make the water feel warmer or colder when it actually has not changed. We have run into breezy and mild surf conditions during our visits but that just means we visit a different bay where things are milder.

Hmm, if Pia responds to this post, I believe she only gets in the water in something like May through October? She considers the rest of the months too cold.

I wonder if it would all depend on, say if someone is from the North and used to the colder temps..( outside of course) versus someone who lives in a warmer climate..would make a difference? I would think that if you are used to being in much colder climate then the water wouldn't feel so cold..I for one freeze at 70 degrees inside or out...We went in April a cpl yrs back and I thought it was cold and did not snorkel as much..we did a lot of hiking instead...It is not usually too cold here by November and hopefully I will be able to snorkel..then again it maybe too cold for me..but either way, I'll be happy just to be there...and my butt fits quiet well in a chair on the beach..

Ha, JJ! Mine would, too, but I really do love to snorkel. I thought Kauai was chilly in July some days. I couldn't stay in a long time. To be by all the pretty fish and not see them would be a waste!