Where to Spend Christmas as a Digital Nomad
Trying to figure out what to do for Christmas? This is an annual dilemma that a lot of nomads face: whether to go back “home” to see family or to keep travelling – and if so, where to?
It’s not always feasible to fly home just for a week or two to see family and friends to celebrate the holidays. We also know that some nomads don’t want to go home or don’t have a place to go home to.
Over the years, we’ve prioritized being home with family for Christmas almost every year, and Josie has actually only ever missed one Christmas with her family – but this year will be the second Christmas abroad, as we’ll be celebrating it with a bunch of nomad friends under the sun!
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Top Christmas destinations for digital nomads
Before deciding where to go, we did a bunch of research trying to figure out which spots are good this time of year and also asked friends where they are gonna be.
Since we were debating a lot of different locations, we thought we might as well put together a blog post about it, in case you are in a similar situation.
Whether you’re looking for a city with a community or a small coliving space where you can spend Christmas with other nomads, we hope you can find some inspiration from this post!
All of these destinations are unique and different in their own ways. From a small mountain town in Bansko, Bulgaria, to more popular destinations in the Canary Islands, there’s something for everyone…
Are your Christmas travels insured?
No matter where you end up spending Christmas – whether you head to a snowy ski town in Europe or you decide to escape the cold and head to Asia – we can’t think of a worse time for your travels to go wrong.
Give yourself (and your family & friends at home) peace of mind by having health and travel insurance. You can even ask for it as a Christmas present 😉
Chiang Mai, Thailand
🏡 Coliving: Alt_ChiangMai or Socialer Coliving
👩🏼💻 Coworking: Life Space (according to our friends, Sara & Ryan)
☕️ Coffee shop: Toffee Roasters
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 5/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 8/10
Chiang Mai has always been one of the most popular digital nomad destinations – and for good reason. It’s a big city with lots of things to do, close to nature, and it’s very affordable for digital nomads.
And while the city is big, it’s very manageable – especially if you stick to one of the more popular districts (like Nimman), where you can walk and get everywhere relatively quickly.
Once you find your area, you’ll quickly familiarize yourself with the local coffee shops (our friend Sam is an expert at these!), restaurants, and coworkings, and next thing you know, you’ll have a nice little routine.
Chiang Mai is a great Christmas destination if you’re looking to escape the cold weather and be around other digital nomads. This is actually where we’ll be spending Christmas this year!
With a ton of different coworking spaces, laptop-friendly cafes, and events happening all day, every day, it’s super easy to meet other nomads and make connections right away.
If you’re looking for community events, it’s best to join a coliving (Alt_ChiangMai or Socialer Coliving are great options) or a coworking space. You can also find a bunch of information in the Chiang Mai Digital Nomads Facebook Group.
If you like to be surrounded by nomads but not always in social settings, then the coffee shops and cafes are great places to work from as well. You’ll get the sense of being surrounded by other nomads and locals, but you’ll be able to keep to yourself as much as you want.
Bansko, Bulgaria
🏡 Private apartment: In Bansko, we usually rent a private apartment because it’s so affordable (like this apartment for €495/month) and there are enough community activities in town
🏡 Coliving: If you prefer coliving spaces, Avalon & Valentina
👩🏼💻 Coworking: Nestwork Bansko
☕️ Favourite cafe: Black Honey (for coffee) & New Coffee World (for coworking)
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 9/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 9/10
If you’re looking for a winter destination for Christmas, then Bansko is our top recommendation! Bansko is by far our favourite digital nomad destination, and we’ve spent 5 summers in a row here. We’ve yet to visit during winter and Christmas, but we have a lot of friends who do, and they love it!
During the winter months and around Christmas, you’ll get to enjoy this cozy little ski town that’s located at the foothills of the Pirin Mountains. The view of the snow-capped mountains from Nestwork Coworking is to this day one of my favourite coworking views in the world!
Bansko is a touristy town, but it also has a very lively digital nomad community. You’ll find it has quite a few coworking spaces for such a small town (the highest density of coworking spaces in the world we we’ve been told), so there are great opportunities to get work done and make some good friends!
The beauty of coming to Bansko during the Christmas period is that it’s one of the more popular times of year for nomads to come because of the ski hill that’s located right above town.
If you’re looking for community, good skiing, and pretty snowy views for Christmas, then definitely consider Bansko.
Speaking of Christmas, the mountains, and skiing, if you’re going here, make sure you have good travel insurance! We cannot stress this enough. Insurance only costs $2/day so I can’t see any reason not to get it.
🏥 If you’re curious to see what other travellers have said about healthcare providers in Bansko (and other destinations), check out SafetyWing’s Nomad Care Map to see real reviews of hospitals and clinics nearby.
Wanaka, New Zealand
🏡 Coliving: Balance Base (this is where we stayed!)
👩🏼💻 Coworking: n/a
☕️ Favourite cafe: Scroggin Cafe and Eatery
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 6/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 8/10
If you’re looking to escape the winter in the Northern Hemisphere and swap it for warm weather, mountains, and beautiful nature, then head on down to New Zealand’s South Island and spend some time exploring around Wanaka.
We never considered New Zealand a nomad-friendly destination until a random Facebook scroll turned into a jackpot. We found a post announcing the opening of Balance Base Coliving (the first and only digital nomad coliving space in New Zealand).
The most random thing is that it’s in one of our favourite towns in the country! So we booked it straight away and spent over a month there (and are heading back soon!).
It’s located right on Lake Wanaka, has a beautiful deck overlooking the lake, a hot tub, and a spacious coworking area downstairs with ergonomic chairs where you can get some productive work done.
It’s also only a few minutes away from some amazing cafes and coffee shops, and a short drive from some epic hiking trails!
Wanaka is perfect if you’re looking for somewhere outdoorsy, warm, and a community of other digital nomads. The house fits roughly 10-12 people, so it ends up being a good-sized group to spend Christmas with.
We love that Max (the guy who owns and runs Balance Base) is big on community activities. He always organizes events for the community, and also invites other locals and travellers who are on working holiday visas to join!
If you’re looking to spend Christmas with a community of other nomads at a coliving with a lakefront view, then this is a great option.
Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife (Spain)
🏡 Coliving/Accommodation: IkigaiColiving and Gato Azul (browse more coliving spaces here)
👩🏼💻 Coworking: At the colivings, otherwise Coworking in the Sun
☕️ Favourite cafe: Slow Coffee Tenerife
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 7/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 8/10
The Canary Islands have been a popular spot for remote workers from the inception of digital nomadism. If you’re looking to stay in Europe and be somewhere warm over the Christmas holidays, then Puerto de la Cruz is the perfect place.
We absolutely fell in love with the island because of the incredible nature! From hiking Mount Guajara and Montana Roja to doing some of the coastal trails around Puerto de la Cruz.
The island is covered in beautiful places to visit, especially on the north side of the island. It’s one of the reasons we love staying in Puerto de la Cruz. There’s also a bunch of great colivings in La Orotava just above Puerto de la Cruz.
Over Christmas, you’ll get all the nomads who want to escape the cold and enjoy warmer weather. It’s one of the reasons why Tenerife is such a good nomad destination over Christmas.
If you’re looking to spend Christmas with other nomads on the island, one of the best things to do is either join one of the great colivings on Tenerife or find an apartment in Puerto de la Cruz and join a coworking space from there.
Warm weather, community, and beautiful nature is exactly what you can expect if you go here!
Madeira Island (Portugal)
🏡 Coliving: Ponta do Sol Coliving (aka Banana House 🍌) or
👩🏼💻 Coworking in Ponta do Sol: Free coworking in PDS
👩🏼💻 Coworking in Funchal: Cowork Funchal and Sangha Cowork
☕️ Favourite cafes in Funchal: Three House Restaurant & Jacafé (a part of Jaca Hostel)
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 8/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 8/10
Funchal (and the whole island of Madeira) is one of our favourite places in the world! So much that we did, in fact, get married there. It’s also one of the places we’ve spent the most time as digital nomads.
The Christmas period is an awesome time to visit the island because it’s full of festivities and events. Christmas is a big deal here, and the weather is decent over the Christmas holidays compared to the rest of Europe (15C or so).
The thing about Madeira is that there are two main spots for digital nomads: Funchal and Ponta do Sol. Ponta do Sol is the original nomad village on the island, and there are a bunch of awesome colivings such as Banana House. That being said, we personally love and prefer Funchal.
Funchal is more centrally located, with lots going on (most big events on the island, such as the Funchal Christmas Market and the Festival of Lights, take place here). There are way more things to do in Funchal, which is why we love it so much!
You end up renting your own apartment, but use the coworking as the community hub to meet people. There is also a Madeira Digital Nomad Facebook Page, the Madeira Friends Community, and tons of other meetups where it’s super easy to meet nomads.
Even though we prefer Funchal, it might be more fun to join a coliving over Christmas so you know you’ll have a community to celebrate with!
South Coast of Sri Lanka (Ahangama and Hiriketiya)
🏡 Coliving: Cafe Ceylon Kabalana (Ahangama) or Homebase Hiriketiya (Hiriketiya)
👩🏼💻 Coworking: Focus Hub (Ahangama)
☕️ Favourite cafe: Cactus, Ahangama
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 4/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 7/10
Sri Lanka is another digital nomad-friendly country that we love! We went here for the month of November a few years ago, and while it’s definitely lacking a bit of the traditional Christmas spirit, it makes up for it with beautiful sunsets, awesome surf, and lots of good people (locals and travellers)!
If you’re looking for an unconventional Christmas that’s super chill, fun, and affordable, Sri Lanka is a unique option! Since we went a few years ago, more coliving spaces have popped up, so now’s an even better time to go.
We suggest heading to the south coast of Sri Lanka, since this is the best season for it. It’s after the rainy season, and this is when the surf is at its best.
During Christmas time, it’s monsoon season in the northeast part of the country, so the south coast (Ahangama, Mirissa, and Hiriketiya) is the place to be. It’s also where most nomads hang out!
If you’re taking a break from work over Christmas, we can also highly recommend the Lapoint surf camp in Ahangama! We spent 3 weeks here and loved it.
We did actually work during our stay, and the wifi is great (and they have a generator), but there are so many fun social events that it’s even better if you take some time off.
Liddes, Switzerland
🏡 Coliving: Coliving Frilingue (Relais de Dranse or Petit Velan)
👩🏼💻 Coworking: At the coliving
☕️ Favourite cafe: No cafés nearby, unfortunately
🎅🏼 Christmas vibe: 10/10
🫶🏼 Community vibe: 9/10
What’s dreamier than a white Christmas in the Swiss Alps!? I can’t think of anything else that would feel more like Christmas than this.
Get a couple of hours of skiing in the morning, then cowork all afternoon with hot chocolate and beautiful mountain views – and then finish the day with a traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue. Yes please!
What’s awesome is that, since this is in Switzerland, you’d probably assume it’s very expensive to go here – but actually, it’s quite the opposite.
If you go to the coliving we stayed at in Liddes, accommodation is quite affordable since you’ll be in a coliving in a small town near the ski hill. So you can actually live out your Swiss Christmas dream without breaking the bank!
Liddes and the surrounding area is one of the cheapest places to go skiing in Switzerland, and the ski pass is only 90 CHF for the season (which is wild!).
While we didn’t go here for Christmas, we did go here in January, and it was awesome! They’re actually doing an annual Snomad Fest here in December, so it’s a great time to go!
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Recap of the best digital nomad destinations over Christmas
As the age of digital nomadism grows year over year, the number of destinations for digital nomads to spend Christmas in also grows! We hope this list of places inspires you to find a place, warm or cold to spend this Christmas!
We hope this list of digital nomad destinations to go to over the Christmas holidays helps with your holiday plans. Everyone is different, so we have a mix of winter destinations, warm weather and beaches, and even a spot in the Southern Hemisphere.
Each of these spots has a digital community to some extent. If it is a town filled with coworkings to a digital nomad hotspot that has laptop-friendly cafes all over the place, you’ll find one of these places on the list to be the perfect fit for you.
Most of these places are great to visit all year round, but this list is curated specifically for the holiday period over Christmas!
If you have any questions about these digital nomad destinations, feel free to DM us on Instagram @redwhiteaventures or leave a comment below, and we will get back to you.
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