9 best places for digital nomads
These are some of the places I’ve loved the most in 2 years of being a digital nomad.
I’ve been living the digital nomad life since June 2022.
In that time, I’ve hop scotched through Asia, Europe, and Latin America, mostly looking for good wifi connections and good surf.
This isn’t a definitive guide to the best places for digital nomads, but it’s a collection of my insights into these places. Some lived up to my expectations — others left me feeling hollow.
I fell in love with Mexico City, but was overwhelmed by Lisbon. I didn’t connect with Puerto Escondido, but would go back to Madeira in a heartbeat.
If you want to skip ahead, here’s what’s in this guide:
Best places for digital nomads in Europe
European countries often have good internet, nice accommodation, and ample things to do.
The ease of transportation — cheap flights, efficient trains, and many buses — makes getting between places easy.
The main downside of trying to be a digital nomad in Europe is the Schengen Zone. If you come from outside the EU, like me, you’ll can only spend 90 days at a time in Europe.
1. Madeira, Portugal
Madeira, a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean, is an unlikely digital nomad destination.
Or maybe not — it offers surf, jungle, hikes, swimming in ice cold rivers and exploring the poncha bars and seafood restaurants of Funchal.
Although most digital nomads in Madeira cluster around the south of the island, in Funchal and Punta del Sol, I headed to the north side.
I spent one month in Jaca Hostel, and I have no regrets.
This is one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed in, and although it’s a traveller hostel and not a dedicated coliving/coworking enviornment, I met a lot of other digital nomads here.
The vibe was incredible, and there are surf breaks within walking distance of the hostel.
Although it is quite remote and you won’t have the excitement of Funchal, if you want to hike, surf, swim in the ocean pool every day, and enjoy a social hostel with pizza nights every friday and a great, community oriented restaurant right next door, I highly recommend spending time in Jaca hostel.
Where to stay: Jaca Hostel, Porto da Cruz
2. Briancon, France
I haven’t stayed here myself, but the Cloud Citadel coliving in the French Alps, near Briancon, is very high on my list of places to go next as a digital nomad.
One of the girls I met in the El Mundito Coliving in Puerto Escondido raved about this place.
It has been custom built and set up with remote workers in mind.
The area looks incredible, with plenty of hiking in summer and skiing in winter.
Although it’s more expensive than some places in Latin America, my lovely friend reports that the overall cost wasn’t a lot, as most of the activities, like hiking and movie nights, are free. Other than accommodation, you’ll mostly just pay for groceries.
One of the potential downsides of this place is that it’s in the Schengen Zone, so if you’re like me and only have 90 days to spend in Europe, a stay here will eat into that.
Where to stay: Cloud Citadel Coliving
3. Ericeira, Portugal
I went to Ericeira in July 2023 for one month.
My main reason was for the surf, but almost every digital nomad who has been to Portugal raves about Portugal. So, I also wanted to see what the fuss was about.
I stayed in a fantastic coliving house with a bunch of other digital nomads, surfers and non-surfers alike. As usual, I was travelling on my own, but this coliving was social in a laid back way.
It felt more like staying in a shared house than a hostel.
I liked going for sunset walks each evening along the coastal cliffs, foraging for black berries and watching the golden light on the waves below.
As for surf, Ericeira was fun, but I’m more of a longboarder so the waves here weren’t the best fit for me.
The water was also unexpectedly cold, a far cry from the balmy bath water seas of Mexico.
Best digital nomad destinations in Latin America
Latin America has developed some digital nomad hotspots thanks to the epic surf in countries like Mexico and Nicaragua, the affordable cost of living compared to North America, and of course proximity to the US.
I met a lot of Americans who were working remotely from Mexico full-time, but there were also plenty of Americans and Canadians who had just headed south for a few months over winter.
This means there’s a fairly well-established digital nomad trail in Latin America.
Mexico City
The street where I stayed in Roma, Mexico City
Parque Mexico in the heart of the city
Mexico City stole my heart.
One of the best things about Mexico City for digital nomads is how easily you can tap into existing networks of other remote workers.
There are many different WhatsApp groups you can join, networking events at coworking space XX.
Oaxaca City
I didn’t make it to Oaxaca City while I was in Mexico in 2023, but I hope to make it back in 2024.
I heard fantastic things about the Co 404 coliving (there is also a Co 404 in San Cristobal de las Casa, which sounds like another fabulous spot except for the fact that everyone there gets food poisoning because the water there is so contaminated).
Puerto Escondido
I have a love hate relationship with Puerto.
I hesitated before adding it to this list, because it honestly wasn’t my favourite place. But, a lot of people I met there loved it and would recommend it, so I guess it really depends on what you’re looking for.
Puerto is awesome because of it’s location right on the beach (although you can’t really swim at Zicatela). The sunsets each day are spectacular.
It’s a hard place to work if you struggle in the heat. You can get a place with air conditioning, but that means being shuttered inside a lot, and it’s more expensive.
There are many weekly events and opportunities to connect with other nomads, but a lot of the things going on in Puerto are quasi spiritual.
I would note that if you want to go to Puerto Escondido to surf, to keep your expectations in check. If you’re an advanced surfer this probably doesn’t apply to you, but for beginners and intermediates it’s a tough place to paddle out.
There are dozens of surf schools around La Punta and Playa Carizalillo, which means both places are over-crowded. It’s hard to catch waves because of the sheer numbers of people in the water.
There are some great spots outside of town for surfing on weekends though — my favourite was Chacahua, a right-handed longboard wave of dreams.
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Playa Maderas, Nicaragua
Although a lot of nomads head to San Juan del Sur to party — the Sunday pool party is famous throughout Latin America — you don’t have to take part in that scene if you don’t want to.
I stayed in a beautiful place near Playa Maderas beach, and the remoteness meant I could focus on work, with a healthy amount of yoga and surfing in there as well.
There seemed to be a few people living van life on the coast of Nicaragua, making their way up or down Central America overland. The vans parked up by Playa Maderas looked dreamy, but I’m not sure whether or not those nomads were working along the way.
Medellin, Colombia
Places I didn’t like as a digital nomad
Lisbon (in summer)
Lisbon was so
Tulum
I went to Tulum for a few weeks to visit a friend who was staying there for 3 months with her boyfriend.
Honestly, I couldn’t find a single thing to like about Tulum.
My friends had rented an office space in a coworking setup, and an apartment in a building with a pool on the roof, so they were happy enough.
But if I hadn’t been visiting them I would have left immediately.
Tulum is run down in a way that feels completely out of kilter with how much money is funneled into resorts and clubs around there.
The beaches were covered in sargassum seaweed and crowded with people — not particularly relaxing.
I didn’t bother going to any of the beach clubs or events there, because they came with a high price tag and crowds of people I don’t click with at all.
Canggu
I found Canggu to be overwhelmingly busy and clogged with young people there to party.
The beach was unattractive to me (but coming from New Zealand, where the beaches are amazing, I’m pretty picky about beaches).
I also hated that it was so hard to walk anywhere.
I refused to hire a scooter as it seemed so dangerous to me (I’ve been in a scooter accident before and still have the scars) and it’s frustrating that a 20-minute walk down the road to a cafe is so fraught with danger.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope this helped you narrow down ideas for your next digital nomad destination. And if you have recommendations that aren’t on this list, please feel free to share with me.
New Zealand isn’t a digital nomad destination (yet) but you if you’ve ever thought about heading down for a working holiday, you might find these posts interesting:
