3 Best Cities in Latin America for Winter Getaway Workations

Are you ready to escape the winter and head somewhere sunny, but you still need to get some work done or take some video calls while you’re there? From the USA or Canada you can just head south when you need a workation and you’ve got plenty of choices for sun and fun when you close the laptop screen. According to a recent study on this trend, three of the best cities in Latin America for a winter getaway are among the ten best in the world.

What is a “workation” exactly and when did this start becoming a thing? Well, the concept has been around since before the internet since people often had company retreats in beautiful locations by the ocean and in the days when some jobs involved talking on the phone all day, the advent of Skype made it easier to do this from remote locations. The pandemic work-from-home transformation that seems here to stay really sped things up, however, and now more and more people can work remotely.

If you can work remotely, why do it in a place where it’s cold and gray all the time? Workations offer the ability to pack up the laptop and head somewhere warm and sunny where there’s plenty to do in just shorts and a t-shirt. If you get the right luxury hotel or vacation rental, you can have a nice view from that desk where you’re sitting too.

The Best Cities for a Winter Getaway While Still Working

In a new study, Holidu revealed the best destinations for a winter workation and three of the top ten cities for a winter getaway were in Latin America.

To figure out which cities were ideal, the company looked at the average Wi-Fi speed, the number of co-working facilities, the price of two cups of coffee, and the average price for two beers in a bar. Then they also factored in the cost of eating outside three times a day, sleeping in accommodation with private rooms for up to 3 months, and climate: the average temperature and number of sun hours between the months of December and March.

The value aspects might not matter so much for the readers of this luxury publication, but a value at the low end usually means value at the top as well, so you’ll be able to upgrade for less whether that means a hotel suite with a great desk set-up or a vacation rental with plenty of room to spread out and maybe your own swimming pool with a view.

Here’s who came out on top in Latin America:

Buenos Aires, Argentina (#2 overall)

Lima, Peru (#7 overall)

Mexico City (#8 overall)

Lima isn’t the first place that comes to mind for me when I hear the word “sunny,” but January and February are the least overcast days, so it’s a good time to enjoy this seaside city at its best.

Who knows what the future holds after the recent presidential election, but for now Buenos Aires is one of the best values in the world at any price level. Note, however, that hotels are priced in dollars and are higher than they should be in relation to everything else you’ll spend money on, like transportation, good wine, and meals at top restaurants.

Other Big Cities in the Top 20

Latin America was well-represented in the next 10 entries too, with 5 more making it into the top-20 in this study. Apparently Latin American capital cities are good places for a workation as here’s who else landed on the list:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Cartagena, Colombia

Oaxaca, Mexico

Santiago, Chile

Sao Paulo, Brazil

We have lots of information about all of these on our site, including the best places to stay and things to do around these cities. Keep in mind though that Brazil is bringing back its reciprocal visa charge ($160 for Americans), so it’s not ideal anymore for a short vacation, especially considering the time spent getting there.

Luxury Latin America’s Winter Getaway Workation Additions

We’ve spent a lot of time traveling around sunny places in Latin America and have our own ideas for some cities you might want to consider. That study was only looking at really large cities, which do tend to have the best infrastructure, but some of the most interesting places to spend some time in are not the cities with 10 or 20 million people.

I was quite surprised that Cartagena made the list but not Medellin. The latter is packed with digital nomads and remote workers from abroad, with fast internet, loads of co-working spaces, and great prices on local coffee and beer. Some of the remote workers who land there end up investing in a place they can go back to regularly and rent out when they’re not there. See our feature story on luxury Colombia real estate.

Among the big cities though, you certainly won’t need a jacket if you head to Panama City. This tropical, sea-level capital city is the crossroads of the Americas and is served by plenty of flight connections. It’s the hub for Copa Airlines. It has fast fiber internet, a metro system, a wealth of condos with a view for rent, and lots of good locally grown coffee to get your day started. When the to-do list for work is done, there are lots of good restaurants and rooftop bars to explore, easy island getaways, and the best prices on your favorite wine or spirits that you’ll find anywhere in the Americas. Luxury hotels in Panama are a great value for a short workation.

While Buenos Aires topped the list above, you might want to consider smaller city Mendoza if you’re a wine lover and you want to be sure of constant sun. Temperatures are typically in the high 80s F and lows get into the mid-60s at night. It’s sunny 80% of the time or more in January and February, with an average of only 3 to 5 days where there’s any rain. Here are our recommendations of where to stay and some of the best things to do in Mendoza in your leisure time.

If your idea of a perfect weekday is working through lunch and then surfing all afternoon, you might want to consider heading to Tamarindo or Nosara in Costa Rica. You can fly into the Liberia Airport for either and both are set up with plenty of facilities for foreign visitors, like yoga studios, juice bars, and co-working spaces.

Closer to home, Mexico offers a wide variety of ideal workation locations where you’re almost guaranteed to have warm and sunny days. If you want to be near the beach, Playa del Carmen on the Caribbean side and Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific side are both popular snowbird destinations with everything you need at your fingertips and plenty of ideal short-term apartments for rent on top of excellent hotel choices. If you’re ready to splurge, check out the villa rental options around Punta de Mita where you can enjoy beach clubs and a golf course for your leisure time. (This is another area with surf beaches.)

Don’t ignore the lesser-known beach spots though since good fiber-to-the-home internet is common in populated areas of Mexico now. Consider Huatulco, Zihuatanejo, or Mazatlan for a more laid-back option where the foreigners don’t outnumber the locals.

Inland, Mexico has a wealth of beautiful small cities with Spanish Colonial architecture and a lot of history. The most popular are San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca (which made the top-2o), both constantly coming up in readers’ polls as one of the best cities in the world. Others are bubbling up as potential digital nomad hotspots, however, such as Queretaro, Guadalajara, and Puebla.

If you’re looking for ideas on where to stay in any of these locations for a vacation-length winter getaway, see our reviews divided by country for the best Latin America luxury hotels.