Can I swim in early Nov in Key West?
 

How warm is the water in early Nov in Key West? I am from New England so anything above 70 is warm.

The water temps should be in the 70's. Most pools are heated at hotels in Key West.

Just be sure to check the hotel or guesthouse listing first to verify that it says "freshwater" pool and specifies heated. There are some places in KW with saltwater pools and they tend to be very chilly - much colder than swimming in the Gulf or the ocean at that time of year.

Of Course you can swim in Nov. Air temps could be as warm as the mid 80's and the water temps will also be VERY comfortable. Dee Dee is wrong about the pools. Most ARE NOT heated but most are not too deep so they tend to heat up quickly and stay warm. This was done for two reasons - 1. The island is coral rock so it is difficult to dig a deep pool and 2. It was costly to maintain a heated pool when they only needed a heater maybe 2 months out of the year.

In addition to what "truman" offers, to which I agree with, I don't think there are many, if any at all, salt water pools in Key West. You will have an enjoyable time. It is our favorite time to visit.

Yes, you will be able to swim. Keep in mind beaches in Key West are not the best. The pool is the way to go.

Truman, according to the Key West Chamber of Commerce website (and weekend runs to Key West) the following hotel pools are heated: The Colony Key West, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Hyatt, Ocean Breeze Inn, Marquesa, Ocean Key, Southernmost, Wyndham, and the Best Western. These are just the few I had time to jot down.

There may not be many but there are some salt water pools in KW. I can attest to this from the shock of having jumped into one years ago when I was staying at a motel on Roosevelt Blvd. I suspect that all of the "nicer" places have freshwater pools (the place I stayed in for that short trip was dumpy) but I still notice the "freshwater pool" designation in the descripptions that some motels and guesthouses put on their websites. If all pools in KW were freshwater it would hardly seem necessary for anyone to mention it.

LOL @ Deedee! Truman said "most are not heated" and there are too many to count. <BR>But the reaeson for my post was to agree that the water and air temps will be fine Kelly even w/o the comfort of a heated pool. Nov is a great time to visit.

Owen I think there are more salt water pools in the other Keys and not so much in Key West as there once was. When all of the fancy places moved to town they brought with them the "luxury" of freshwater pools so even the mom and pop places had to change with the times. I too remember a few in town but I think they are long gone. Hemingway's house was the first saltwater pool in Key West just FYI.<BR><BR>For DeeDee and the rest - Most pools are not heated in Key West. They may have that option but it is a rare occasion that they are ever turned on. Many of the chain hotels and motels have to have it available to carry the flag of whatever company they are representing. Ask the pool keeper yourself.

Thank you for all the responses. My next questions is, are there any nice beaches in the area? It looks like to me that beaches are not a hugh highlight in K.W. What about snorkling and other water sports? Thanks again.

I went to Ft. Lauderdale area in early November and the water was around 80-85, very warm by any Northeasterner's standards. Key West should even be more warm. The weather was 81-90 at that time with lows in the mid-60s.<BR><BR>

The question is if you can find a beach to swim in. That would be the difficult part.

Fort Zachory Tayor has a decent beach for Key West.

The beaches are nothing great but the water activities are abundant.

Sure if you want to.

I think places overall in Florida specify freshwater even if saltwater isn't an option only because it isnt uncommon to find saltwater pools in Florida.

There are a couple small private beaches at few resort hotels and two (I think) public beaches. None of the beaches are anything special but that's nto the appeal of Key West. If you have a car it's worth checking the beach at Bahia Honda, further up in the keys - people say it's very nice. As for snorkeling - there's noth9ign to see except seagrass and a few tiny fish if you snorkel directly offshore at KW. There are dozens of options for full day and half day snorkel trips that go out to the reef by boat. IMHO it's well worth paying the higher price to go with a service that takes small groups and makes an effort to visit parts of the reef where the "cattle boats" stop. These are the giant catamarans that take 40-50 people or more. That many folks entering the water all at once more or less assures that much of the sea life will be elsewhere. If it's very windy or has been so for a few days.... i'ts caveat emptor on snorkeling - the wind stirs up the water and visibility can be marginal when it's windy. Most of the time the snorkeling there is decent.

I just returned from Key West and beaches are closed to swimming again. Don't come to KW for beaches - come for everything else!

This is a link showing water closers for Beaches in the Keys and it doesn't look like all were closed to swimming.<BR><BR>http://apps3.doh.state.fl.us/env/beach/beachresults.cfm?county=Monroe<BR>