🌴 Where to Spend Winter: 9 Nomad Hotspots

3 in Asia, 3 in LATAM, 3 in Europe, from DNTR readers who've lived there

September 18, 2026

🍂 Summer's over (in Europe, at least)

It's mid-September.

The European summer is packing up for another year. The evenings are drawing in, and the beach bars are stacking their chairs.

Which means it's that time of year again...

Nomads everywhere are asking the same question: where are you spending the winter? aka the great nomad winter migration

For most of us, the answer points one of two ways. Asia or Latin America.

So this week, we’ve got something a little different.

Instead of a single trip report, here are 9 winter hotspots that nomads keep coming back to through these colder months

Plus one mystery location at the end 👀

Every one of them comes from a DNTR reader just like you, who's actually been to these places.

Hope this helps you figure out your winter plans.

Hit reply and let me know where you’re heading!

🌏 Escape to Asia

All three of these hit their best weather between November and April.

Dry season. Sunshine. And far fewer grey mornings than whatever you're leaving behind.

Chiang Mai, Thailand 🇹🇭 | Linda 🇮🇹

📅 1 month | 📍 Nimman | 👥 Couple

November to February is Chiang Mai's cool, dry season. Warm days, cool mornings, and the best weather of the year. Linda's verdict:

"This was the best place we lived in so far."

"The nomad community is vibrant and there are lots of events to participate."

📈 Best: "The nomad community and the vibe of the city."

❌ Avoid if: "You have health issues. Don’t go here during burning season as it could be hard to breathe."

📚 Read more reports in Chiang Mai

Thanks to Linda from Italy 🇮🇹

Langkawi, Malaysia 🇲🇾 | Dan 🇬🇧

📅 6 months | 📍 Cenang | 👥 Solo

Winter is dry season on this duty-free island off Malaysia's west coast. In Dan's words:

"In the dry season (November to March) it is 30 degrees and beautiful all day."

"Langkawi runs on island time."

📈 Best: "Laid back island vibes."

❌ Avoid if: "You get cabin fever when on an island."

Thanks to Dan Seymour from England 🇬🇧. Follow his journey on Instagram

Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 | Bill

📅 1 month | 📍 Hiriketiya | 👥 With friends

The south coast's dry season runs December to April. Calm seas, surf, and a small beach town that's still flying under the radar.

"Locals are SO nice and welcoming, wow."

"Food is AMAZING, really underrated."

📈 Best: "Perfect balance between a local/authentic vibe, yet all the facilities and services to be comfortable for a longer period of time."

❌ Avoid if: "You're not into rice and curry."

Thanks to Bill from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 / Spain 🇪🇸, founder of Nomadico Coliving

✍️ Why write a trip report?

Every report in this email was written by a regular nomad, just like you.

Someone who spent a few weeks or months somewhere, then wanted to share what it was like.

Writing a report is a good excuse to stop and look back on your time somewhere.

What worked. What didn't. What you'd tell a friend heading there next.

Past contributors say it takes about 10 minutes of your time.

And those 10 minutes go a long way. Your report lands in front of 2,300+ nomads, plenty of them working out where to go next.

Plus, we credit every single contributor. Link your website, your socials, your business (or stay anonymous, if you'd rather).

🌎 Escape to LATAM

Winter up north is dry season across a lot of Latin America.

Here are three very different takes on it: a colonial city, a surf town, and the city of eternal spring…

Mérida, Mexico 🇲🇽 | Yanick 🇨🇦

📅 3 months | 📍 Centro | 👥 Solo

Mérida runs hot most of the year. November to March is when it cools off and dries out, which makes it the best time to go.

"Conclusion : people are EXTREMELY welcoming and Mérida is amazingly safe."

📈 Best: "Peaceful : Mérida is known for being the safest place in Mexico."

❌ Avoid if: "They need beaches (nearest one is Progreso and is 30 minutes away by car)."

Thanks to Yanick from Canada 🇨🇦, AI and Web Developer. See his projects here

Puerto Escondido, Mexico 🇲🇽 | Megan 🇺🇸

📅 5 weeks | 📍 La Punta | 👥 Solo

Winter is high season on this stretch of the Oaxacan coast. In Megan's words:

"High season of November-April, the weather is hot during the day and pleasant at night."

"The sense of community here is amazing, and I love being in a brand new place and being on a first-name basis with the people at my favorite food spots and shops."

📈 Best: "Great international community of travelers and nomads"

❌ Avoid if: "You like cold weather"

Thanks to Megan from the USA 🇺🇸. Follow her travel experiences on IG

Medellín, Colombia 🇨🇴 | Kevin 🇳🇱

📅 7 months | 📍 Poblado, Laureles & Belén | 👥 Solo

No dry season needed here. Kevin sums up the weather better than we could:

"Superb! It's called the city of eternal Spring for good reason!"

"Many nomads decide to extend their stay or come back after visiting (like me!), which I think says a lot!"

📈 Best: "There is a big nomad and travel community here."

❌ Avoid if: "You prefer the beach/island life."

📚 Read more reports in Medellín

Thanks to Kevin Scholten from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, Co-founder at Nomadico

🤔 "Which place should I share about?"

It's the question I get asked most.

The answer: any place you feel strongly about. Good or bad.

There's no right or wrong place. DNTR exists so you can share your experience with the people who come after you.

And you don't need to be a writer, or an expert on the place. Our contributors are regular nomads, just like you!

You fill out the form, we do the rest
(find the links, fix any typos, format the whole thing)

It also doesn't matter if we already have a report from there.

Chiang Mai has four now, and each one tells you something the others don't. Every extra report adds to the pool of experience new (and returning) visitors can learn from.

So if a place has been on your mind, that's the one.

🇪🇺 Staying in Europe?

Europe might be getting a bit cooler, but nomad still love to call it home through winter..

Sure there’s snow. But you can still chase the sun here without a long haul flight…

Funchal, Madeira 🇵🇹 | Katie

📅 2 months | 📍 Santa Luzia & the Old Town | 👥 Solo

Daytime highs in Funchal sit around 18 to 20°C right through December, January and February.

"Predominantly warm and sunny."

📈 Best: "Excellent digital nomad community with daily meetups, including mindfulness workshops, dinners/lunches, coworking sessions, workouts, hikes and more."

❌ Avoid if: "You are on a budget."

📚 Read more reports in Madeira

Thanks to Katie from Wales, SEO Content Writer and blogger at picoandponcha.com

Málaga, Spain 🇪🇸 | Veronica 🇮🇹

📅 4.5 years | 📍 El Limonar | 👥 Solo

Veronica moved here for the weather. In her words:

"Best weather you can find in Europe (in my opinion), 320 days of sun and you can sunbath even in Winter on a sunny day 🙂"

"Go to the beach everyday (even in Winter)."

📈 Best: "Weather: it's like living in a bubble vs. the rest of Europe, waking up with such an amazing blue sky everyday is priceless."

❌ Avoid if: "You like Winter."

Thanks to Veronica from Italy 🇮🇹, Marketing Manager and blogger at Vero Goes Solo

Bansko, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 | Cody 🇨🇦

📅 6 weeks | 📍 Upper village | 👥 Couple, with pets

The one for people who actually like winter. Ski season runs roughly mid-December to mid-April, and it's when the town (and its nomad scene) is at its busiest. Cody went in summer, and even he flagged it:

"Bars & clubs mostly in the winter (for the ski season)."

📈 Best: "An amazing digital Nomad community."

❌ Avoid if: "You want easy access to the luxuries of big cities."

📚 Read more reports in Bansko

Thanks to Cody Dacquay from Canada 🇨🇦, Performance Coach at Live Beyond Boundaries. Follow him on Instagram

🕵️ Bonus: the mystery location

Want the Asia and LATAM weather, but not the jet lag?

There's one place Europe-based nomads keep choosing for exactly that reason.

It's in the southern hemisphere, so while Europe is in the middle of winter, it's in the middle of summer.

And it sits on UTC+2 all year. That's 1 hour ahead of Central Europe and 2 ahead of the UK through the winter, so your working day barely moves.

Did you guess this location already?

It's...

Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦 | Faith 🇺🇸

📅 6 weeks | 📍 Sea Point, Green Point & Kenilworth | 👥 Solo

Faith went in January and February. In her words:

"I was there Jan & Feb which is summer and stays warm!"

"But great place to get away for winter months."

📈 Best: "Amazing nomad community"

❌ Avoid if: "You're bothered by wind"

📚 Read more reports in Cape Town

Thanks to Faith from the US 🇺🇸, freelance writer, community lead at Pangea and founder of Digital Nomads USA

❓ Wherever you end up this winter...

...you could be the next report in someone's inbox.

Linda, Dan, Bill, Yanick, Megan, Kevin, Katie, Veronica, Cody and Faith are all regular nomads, just like you. They each had a place worth talking about.

So do you.

Sharing your own Digital Nomad Trip Report is quick + easy.

You fill out this form. We do the rest.

We get all the links.
We do all the formatting.
We put it all together for your fellow DNTR readers 😇

And your name (plus your website, socials or business) goes right at the bottom, credited.

That's all for this one! 😊

See you next Friday, with another Digital Nomad Trip Report 🔵

Until then, check out all the previous reports, the Top 5 Reports, and submit your own now!

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