Everything Gran Canaria Has to Offer Digital Nomads
){kind=small}
Tim Marting
Freelance Writer
Last update
)
Gran Canaria is in the heart of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.
You might say it’s like the Caribbean of Europe: warm weather all year round, beautiful beaches, breathtaking landscapes, and a laid-back lifestyle…
But is it a good place to spend a longish period of time as a digital nomad?
Let’s find out!
Gran Canaria: Paradise for Digital Nomads
Imagine a place with an average temperature of 77ºF (25ºC) all year round, where the cost of living is affordable (the average monthly salary is EUR 1,146), and that has beaches, mountains, and sizable cities.
You’ll find it all on Gran Canaria.
But that’s not all – in recent years, the island has also become a digital-nomad-friendly destination, as it offers
coworking and coliving spaces specifically designed to host digital nomads;
excellent Internet connection speeds (between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps); and
a fantastic community of entrepreneurs and remote workers to collaborate and socialize with.
What’s more, a special visa for foreign entrepreneurs has been approved that allows people to spend a year working on the island – so it’s never been easier to visit Gran Canaria and stay for a longer period of time!
A Safe Destination for Digital Nomads
Safety on the island is a given and something you notice everywhere you go. To give you a better idea, the island’s capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has one of the lowest crime rates of any city in Spain, and its municipality has the lowest crime rate in the country.
The island also has an excellent public health system and European-standard democratic institutions. Spanish society as a whole is also very respectful of minorities’ rights, particularly those of the LGTBIQ+ community, and the island offers numerous gay-friendly spaces, events, and accommodation options.
Our Community Drives it all
Join the community of remoters!
Good National and International Connections
As if that weren’t enough, Gran Canaria’s airport has connections with practically all major European destinations (particularly in the UK and Germany), with mainland Spain and Portugal, and, naturally, with the other islands in the archipelago, all of which are within a 40-minute radius.
Moreover, the Puerto de la Luz and Las Palmas ports and the harbor in Agaete connect Gran Canaria by sea with the other islands, with boats running every day. For example, if you want to visit the neighboring island of Tenerife, the boat trip takes less than an hour and 20 minutes.
Breathtaking Natural Scenery – and a Haven for Sports Lovers
If you like surfing, Gran Canaria is the destination for you, offering some of the best beaches for catching waves, including La Cicer (part of Las Canteras beach), El Confital, San Felipe, El Frontón, and El Puertillo.
The island’s warm climate means you can go to the beach all year round, or you could even learn to scuba dive and discover one of the most beautiful marine environments in the world. Gran Canaria is the perfect place to experience all the delights of the deep blue sea!
If you like hiking or nature walking, you’ll find spectacular nature reserves on Gran Canaria – 46% of the island is protected, and in 2005, the island was officially declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Choose from thousands of hiking trails or become a pilgrim for a day and do the Camino de Santiago in Gran Canaria, the only official route of the famous Jacobean pilgrimage outside the European continent.
But bear in mind that many trails cross the island from south to north, from the exotic dunes of Maspalomas to the ancient aboriginal capital of Agáldar, with an elevation gain of almost 2,000 meters.
So, they’re not for the faint of heart!
Picturesque Towns and Villages with over 500 Years of History
The small villages in the interior of the island preserve the area’s traditional architecture and crafts: gofio milling (a typical Canarian superfood), cheesemaking, traditional art workshops, and much more.
But the island’s capital, Las Palmas, also has a lot to offer. It’s the most populated city in the Canarian archipelago, and in its intricate network of large avenues and small streets, you’ll find
art, history, and science museums;
a very well preserved old town in the neighborhoods of Vegueta and Triana;
local shops and international franchises; and
even a huge aquarium, Poema del Mar.
Our Community Drives it all
Join the community of remoters!
A Network of Connected Digital Nomads
Above all, as a digital nomad, you should know that Gran Canaria has an extensive network of coworking and coliving spaces all over the island, attracting a considerable number of remote workers from all corners of the world every year.
In fact, it’s the center of one of the most active digital nomad communities in the Canary Islands. Every year, events such as Unconference, Nomad City, and Remote Afterworks are held on the island, serving as meeting points for networking, organizing group excursions around the island, and outdoor sporting activities.
In short, Gran Canaria is an ideal destination for digital nomads looking to work while living the adventure of a lifetime in a small, self-contained universe, located halfway between Europe, Africa, and America.
Come see it for yourself!
Author
Tim Marting is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Citizen Remote a site for remote workers and digital nomads. Although from the US, Tim currently lives in Spain, and has been a world citizen for the last 5 years, living in 3 different countries. He had other long-term stops in Australia, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand and the UK. His life goal is “to enable border-less travel and border-less relations for the rest of this beautiful world.
