Where to Work Remotely in Latin America: New Cafés and Coworking
Good coffee and reliable Wi-Fi are half the job for anyone who works on the move, and the options to work remotely Latin America-wide keep getting better. Here are the new cafés and coworking spots worth knowing across the region’s main hubs.
Key Facts
- Santiago goes coworking. Starbucks has opened its first Latin American “Smart Lounge,” with reservable workspaces, in downtown Santiago.
- Playa del Carmen’s AC haven. Vika Café is circulating as a rare air-conditioned specialty-coffee spot built for laptop work.
- São Paulo’s coffee surge. A new generation of specialty cafés is opening citywide, with a coffee festival late in June.
- Bogotá’s specialty scene. Chapinero remains a remote-work favourite, dense with quality coffee.
- Florianópolis’s community. Lagoa da Conceição anchors the island’s coworking and café culture.
Where to work remotely in Latin America: Santiago
The most eye-catching opening is in Santiago, where Starbucks launched its first “Smart Lounge” in all of Latin America, downtown near the Plaza de la Constitución. The format adds reservable coworking spaces to the usual café, a clear nod to remote workers who want somewhere reliable to settle in for a few hours.
For a city where finding a laptop-friendly spot used to take some hunting, it is a welcome addition — and a sign of where the market is heading.
Playa del Carmen and the AC question
On the hot, humid Caribbean coast, air conditioning is not a luxury but a productivity tool. Vika Café in Playa del Carmen has been circulating among nomads as a rare specialty-coffee spot that pairs good beans with proper AC and a setup that welcomes laptops — exactly what you want when the afternoon heat makes the beach impractical for actual work.
São Paulo and Bogotá: coffee capitals
São Paulo continues its specialty-coffee boom, with a fresh wave of cafés opening across neighbourhoods and a coffee festival later in June; for remote workers, the city has quietly become one of the region’s best for a dependable flat white and a quiet corner. Bogotá, meanwhile, keeps its reputation as a coffee-country capital, with the Chapinero district especially dense with quality roasters and laptop-friendly rooms.
Florianópolis: work by the lagoon
On Brazil’s nomad island, Lagoa da Conceição is the natural base, ringed with cafés, coworking spaces and a ready community of remote workers. It is the kind of place where a coffee stop turns into a co-working session and a new contact — part of why Florianópolis has become one of the world’s fastest-growing remote-work hubs.
A simple rule of thumb
Across all these cities the pattern is similar: pick a neighbourhood with a cluster of good cafés, settle into one or two as your regulars, and the contacts and routine tend to follow. When you scout a spot, check the three things that actually make or break a work session — reliable Wi-Fi, a power outlet within reach, and air conditioning where the climate demands it.
Get those right and almost anywhere in the region can become your office for the day.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I work remotely in Santiago?
Starbucks recently opened its first Latin American “Smart Lounge” in downtown Santiago, adding reservable coworking spaces to a café — a reliable new option in a city where laptop-friendly spots were once harder to find.
What’s a good remote-work café in Playa del Carmen?
Vika Café has been popular with nomads as a rare specialty-coffee spot with proper air conditioning and a laptop-friendly setup — a real plus given the Caribbean heat.
Which Latin American cities are best for coffee and working?
São Paulo and Bogotá stand out: São Paulo is in the middle of a specialty-coffee boom with a festival late in June, and Bogotá’s Chapinero district is dense with quality roasters. Florianópolis’s Lagoa da Conceição is the go-to base on Brazil’s nomad island.
Café or coworking — which is better?
It depends on your day. Cafés are great for a few focused hours and a change of scene; dedicated coworking (or hybrids like Santiago’s Smart Lounge) suits calls, longer sessions and faster, more reli
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief