VeabirdBeach

Caribbean beaches with the least seaweed in November

In November, Cuba's Cays, the Corn Islands, San Andrés and Cayman Islands have the lowest sargassum risk; the Riviera Maya, Punta Cana and Holguín the highest.

19 of the 32 Caribbean destinations Veabird tracks have low or very low risk in a typical November; the Riviera Maya sees notable seaweed near shore in about 77% of November weeks. The warmest water among the low-risk picks is around Colombia's Caribbean coast (86°F).

Other months

The destination with the least seaweed each month.

Caribbean destinations by seaweed risk in November

Lowest risk first. Seaweed: share of November weeks with notable sargassum near shore, 2016–2024. Sea and rainy days: typical November. Click a column to sort.

#DestinationSeaweed riskSeaRainy daysStorm riskMonth guide
1Cuba's CaysVery low 1%81°F14Very lowNov guide
2The Corn IslandsVery low 1%85°F29Very lowNov guide
3San AndrésVery low 1%85°F26Very lowNov guide
4Cayman IslandsVery low 2%85°F17Very lowNov guide
5Aruba, Bonaire & CuraçaoVery low 3%85°F22Very lowNov guide
6Turks & CaicosVery low 3%83°F15Very lowNov guide
7Trinidad & TobagoVery low 4%85°F23Very lowNov guide
8Roatán & the Bay IslandsVery low 4%84°F24Very lowNov guide
9The BahamasVery low 7%81°F12Very lowNov guide
10The Leeward IslandsVery low 9%84°F16Very lowNov guide
11Puerto RicoLow 10%85°F20Very lowNov guide
12BelizeLow 12%84°F23Very lowNov guide
13The BVILow 13%84°F16Very lowNov guide
14BarbadosLow 14%84°F19Very lowNov guide
15St. Lucia, St. Vincent & GrenadaLow 14%84°F21Very lowNov guide
16Varadero & HavanaLow 15%83°F13Very lowNov guide
17Colombia's Caribbean coastLow 17%86°F23Very lowNov guide
18Panama's Caribbean coastLow 19%85°F28Very lowNov guide
19The US Virgin IslandsLow 20%84°F17Very lowNov guide
20Costa Rica's Caribbean coastModerate 28%85°F28Very lowNov guide
21Guadeloupe & MartiniqueModerate 31%85°F20Very lowNov guide
22JamaicaModerate 34%85°F17Very lowNov guide
23CancúnModerate 38%83°F18Very lowNov guide
24CozumelModerate 40%84°F18Very lowNov guide
25The Dominican North CoastModerate 42%84°F20Very lowNov guide
26Costa MayaHigh 47%84°F19Very lowNov guide
27Guatemala's Caribbean coastHigh 54%83°F24Very lowNov guide
28Santo Domingo's coastHigh 60%85°F16Very lowNov guide
29HaitiHigh 67%86°F10Very lowNov guide
30HolguínVery high 70%83°F18Very lowNov guide
31Punta CanaVery high 71%84°F22Very lowNov guide
32The Riviera MayaVery high 77%84°F17Very lowNov guide

Lowest-risk beaches in each destination

The three beaches with the least November seaweed in each destination, in the order above, with this week's beach grades.

Cuba's Cays very low

The Corn Islands very low

San Andrés very low

Cayman Islands very low

Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao very low

Turks & Caicos very low

Trinidad & Tobago very low

Roatán & the Bay Islands very low

The Bahamas very low

The Leeward Islands very low

Puerto Rico low

Belize low

The BVI low

Barbados low

St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenada low

Varadero & Havana low

Colombia's Caribbean coast low

Panama's Caribbean coast low

The US Virgin Islands low

Costa Rica's Caribbean coast moderate

Guadeloupe & Martinique moderate

Jamaica moderate

Cancún moderate

Cozumel moderate

The Dominican North Coast moderate

Costa Maya high

Guatemala's Caribbean coast high

Santo Domingo's coast high

Haiti high

Holguín very high

Punta Cana very high

The Riviera Maya very high

Grades for the next few days from Veabird's beach forecast, updated Oct 4, 18:00 UTC. Higher is better: A+ to F.

How this is ranked

Seaweed risk is the share of weeks in that month, 2016–2024, when NOAA AOML's satellite sargassum signal (the Alternative Floating Algae Index, developed at the University of South Florida) within about 20 km of a beach's stretch of coast was in the top fifth of the whole record, smoothed over neighboring weeks and adjusted for how exposed each beach is. A destination's figure is its median beach. It is the same history Veabird's sargassum model learns from; download it as an open dataset (CSV and JSON, CC BY 4.0). Sea temperature and rainy days (at least 1 mm) are 6-year ERA5 averages (Open-Meteo) for the destination's resorts; storm risk is Veabird's year-ahead outlook from historical storm tracks.

Limits: this is history, not a forecast. Blooms vary a lot from year to year, clouds hide the sea in some weeks, the satellite sees seaweed offshore rather than on the sand, and murky coastal water can read as seaweed near river mouths and shallow banks. Cleanup crews and barriers change what you see on a given beach. ERA5 counts light showers, so rainy days can run high on dry islands. Check the live forecast before you go.

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Coordinates approximate; forecasts are estimates, not safety guidance.