South East Asia is swarming with Digital Nomads. On Reddit and Facebook Groups with Digital Nomads, I see lots of nomads looking for a non-mainstream destination with beaches or mountains with decent internet. One of the unexplored places for Digital Nomads is definitely India. With a variety in landscapes and cultures, availability of e-visas, good internet, low cost of living, diverse cuisines and improving infrastructure you can definitely think of India as your next stop.
The Beaches of Goa or Pondicherry
If you are looking for nice serene beaches South Goa is the place to go. With some great hotels or apartments available, you can get decent WiFi and an IDEA sim card to keep you connected. There are some really nice white sand beaches to explore here. You can rent a scooter for less than $8 a day. If you want some parties and bars around you can go to North Goa instead. The Goan seafood is quite a delight with Portuguese influences. November to March is the best time to visit here. With abundance of tourists, Goa is a great place to start in India.
If you want something more peaceful and relaxing, you can plan for Pondicherry. It has a lot of French influences with mustard coloured colonial villas. You can find a lot of designer boutiques here as well. Apart from some nice beaches & backwaters, you can also plan a visit to the spiritual ashram of Auroville. There are some beautiful cathedral & churches here as well. October to February is the best time to visit here.
The desserts of Rajasthan
Rajasthan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Packed with European and American tourists throughout the year. Rajasthan’s cities- Jaipur, Udaipur and Jaisalmer are the top places visited by tourist. Beautiful desserts, old historical palaces, some of the fanciest hotels in the world and so much more! My personal favourite is Udaipur, the lake city. It has some really beautiful restaurants and hotels around the lake. If you are looking for a tourist friendly destination, this is perfect.
Exploring the history of these cities here can be really interesting. You will find all types of palaces and forts here. You can be sure to find some good WiFi and network connectivity here. Also you can find all types of food here, though the local cuisine is highly recommended. November to February is a good time to visit Rajasthan. Rajasthan has also become a great indie-electronica music festival destination. You should check out Magnetic Fields and Ragasthan if you’re looking for an amazing music line-up.
The mountains of Mcleodganj
A view of the Himalayan mountains, monasteries, trekking, Tibetan food, home to Dalai Lama and so much more! Mc Leodganj is a great place in India for spending time in the mountains. You can find decent WiFi and network connectivity too. If you’re into yoga sessions, exploring the mountains and even getting a chance to interact with tibetan monks, Mc Leodganj is a great destination. September to November is a good time to visit. You should definitely try out the Tibetan cuisine and other Italian, Israeli, German cafes here.
Being affordable and really diverse, India can be a great place to travel as Digital Nomad.There are some other great places to visit in India like Kerala if you’re looking for a houseboat stay. Also, if you’re looking to explore a good city in India, Mumbai or Pune are great options. Do leave a comment if you have any questions about travelling to India as a Digital Nomad.
3 Comments
No coworking opportunities listed, and that’s important
Great, shall add some coworking spaces!
India is an incredible place. I’ve spent over two years of my adult life travelling the width and breadth of India, and I would still say I’ve only covered a modest portion. She’s vast and diverse.
The visa situation is ok but not ideal if you’re on the long haul. Citizens of most countries can get a 6-month multiple-entry visa, which allows you to stay for a maximum of 180 days in India for each calendar year. It should be noted that the e-visa will only allow you to stay in India for 90 days. So yes, the tourist visa will give you more ‘ground time’ but you’ll have to go to your nearest consulate and become acquainted with Indian Bureaucracy. Also, note that tourist visas are valid from ‘date of issue’ NOT ‘date of entry’. So if you’re looking to get your visa sorted ahead of time you may be disappointed with the actual ground time you have left in India.
The wifi situation in India is not great, but undoubtedly getting better in the bigger cities. India would be a good place for nomads who already have a business on autopilot, meaning that they don’t need a lot of bandwidth for their work. If they just need to log on, make some tweaks then log off, then its ideal. But of you’re looking at doing some hardcore uploading and downloading, and needing to stay online for considerable amounts of time, then I’m sorry but you’re going to struggle. From my last account, wifi is pretty crappy is places like Goa, Kerala, Gokarna (very bad to non-existent), Puri, Mahabalipuram, and Pondicherry, Manali, Rishikesh. Basically, all the places I just mentioned are some of the most beautiful and celebrated places in India, and you can still visit, but don’t expect to get into beast mode for work. The WiFi simply will not allow it.
If you have some serious work to do might I suggest some of the following cities, where the wifi is considerably better: Gurgaon & Dehli, Kolkata (my personal favourite), Hyderabad (a fantastic city with a large ‘expat’ community), Bangalore (ground zero for I.T), Mumbai, Chennai. Note, that you still need to contend with power cuts in these cities. That’s just India.
Now, I realise that the idea of working in some of these cities may not inspire the some of you, but it’s only for a short time. Plus, some of the greatest highlights are only a stone’s throw away from these places. Be sure to visit Amritsar once you’ve finished uploading those vids in Delhi (actually, Amritsar might have good internet now. If it does please let me know). Amritsar is home to the Golden Temple, and it’s NOT an optional extra if you want to be awe-struck. It’s extraordinary.
If you’re working way in Bangalore you’ve got Ooty and Mysore right around the corner, and they’re both amazing places. Kolkata is very close to Puri as well as Darjeeling and Sikkim. You can do your big tasks and then head up, only logging in for small maintenance work.
I think India will be a great place to be a nomad, but it’s not quite there yet if you’re insisting on the mountain-side/beach-side lifestyle. It’s a work in progress.
If anyone is thinking of working in Nepal, then please email me. I know a couple of places that have decent wifi. They are very few and far between, but they DO exist.