In Portugal, the first city most digital nomads will consider as their next destination would usually be Lisbon.
However, Lisbon became such a digital nomad hub that Europeans and Americans coming to Portugal to work remotely started to search for its best alternative, Porto.
Porto is a much smaller city, twice smaller than Lisbonne in the number of inhabitants.
As its name indicates, Porto is a coastal city. Located along the Douro river, in the northern part of Portugal.
It is well-known for its Port wine, its delicious and fresh seafood, its iconic old town, and its soccer team!
But, is Porto a good spot to work from for digital nomads?
Internet Speed in Porto
In most Western European cities, the internet speed is more than fine.
However, in Porto, it is even better than you would have expected thanks to the extra efforts of the municipality of Porto, through the association Porto Digital, to spread fiber networks across the city and to offer a Free Wifi network for all Porto inhabitants.
Fiber network
There are high chances that in the place you will stay in Porto you get access to a fiber network.
Free Wifi
On top of developing the fiber network, the Porto Digital Association has also implemented a free wifi network across the whole city. Therefore, in Porto, you will have the ability to connect to the STCP Free Wifi network in many places such as parks, gardens, museums, and even beaches.
Average speed:
On average, in Porto, you will get a download speed of 58.55Mbs, and an upload speed of 38.26Mbps.
4G Coverage
As the map from Nperf.com shows above, the city is covered with a 4G+ network. There will be some areas where you will perhaps only have access to a normal 4G network (orange points).
This means that your internet speed won’t go over 10Mbps and that the stability of the connection might be hectic.
Just ensure to check the place you are going to stay in on the Nperf.com map.
Porto Digital Nomad Visa
Most of the questions you may have about the Visas you will need to work from Porto have been answered in our digital nomad visa guide in Portugal.
I can summarise here the key points to know:
If you are coming from the US, you will need a Schengen Visa to enter Portugal. It will allow you to stay up to 90 days within 6 months.
However, it won’t allow you to work from Portugal nor from anywhere in the Schengen zone.
If you are running a business, you will indeed be able to manage it remotely from Porto, but if you come to Portugal with this Visa it needs to be for leisure activities only.
If you wish to work from Porto and get the proper Visa, there are several options:
- For investors, the Golden Visa is one of the best options
- For long stays, people on retirement, or people who can justify passive incomes, the D7 Visa should fit
- For Entrepreneurs, well go for the Entrepreneur Visa
- For Freelancers, go for Self Employment Visa (only if you plan to work for Portuguese clients)
If you are from one of the countries that belong to the Schengen zone, then you are free to go and stay in Porto to work remotely.
Coliving & Hotels for Digital Nomads in Porto
Where to find the best co-living?
For the best coliving options in Porto, upon searching and testing all the different providers, you should go to coliving.com.
It is the only website where you will find real co-living accommodations. All the other websites are more like Airbnb lookalikes.
Most of the coliving apartments our houses listed on coliving.com are often coworking spaces at the same time.
Hotel for digital nomads
On top of the coliving options, there is also a very famous hotel chain that specializes in digital nomad accommodations. Its name is Selina.
Selina is very famous in the Digital Nomad world. They have hotels everywhere in North, Central, and South America.
Some are very well managed, some others are not that great for digital nomads.
The Porto one is implemented in a very good looking building, not far from the old town.
Staying for a few nights at Selina’s hotel might be a bit too expensive for most digital nomads. However, booking a desk there for a month or just for a couple of days should be more affordable and enjoyable.
Coworking for Digital Nomads
Indeed, there are lots of coworking options available in Porto. Whether you wish to work from the city center, or closer to the beach, you will get what you need.
In addition to Selina’s coworking, one of the most iconic co-working spaces is Porto i/o.
There are three different spots. One is located in the city center, another one in Santa Catarina while the last one is along the Douro river.
Check the below article to know more about Coworking Porto I/O.
Best Cafés for Digital Nomads
Why pay for a desk in a coworking space when you can work from a beautiful and cozy café for the price of a coffee.
There are cafés everywhere in Porto but not all of them will be equipped to welcome digital nomads. See below the list of the best cafés to work from in Porto:
Mesa 325
Mesa 325 is a beautiful and trendy café that took coffee very seriously. You will be able to order your café the way you like it, expresso, french press, americano…
Combi Coffee Roasters
Combi used to be a simple coffee van. It became a café and a factory where the coffee is roasted. Expect a great quality coffee there.
Fabrica Coffee Roasters
Another cool place to work remotely from Porto where the coffee served has been roasted in-house.
The same company has a café in Lisbon as well.
Manna Porto
At Manna Porto café you will find a great cuisine (with vegan option), a great café, and a beautiful space to work from.
https://www.instagram.com/mannaporto/
Negra Café
Negra café is the perfect place for vegan or vegetarian. It is a great place to work from especially if you like to work outside, thanks to their patio.
https://www.instagram.com/negra__cafe/
If you wish to know more about Portugal and how is it there in general for Digital Nomads I suggest you read our Working remotely from Portugal article.
Featured image par Nuno Lopes de Pixabay