6 Best Cowork Spaces in San Juan del Sur (2024)

The details below are what we uncovered about the best places to work in San Juan del Sur.

Rewind and figure out how to get to San Juan del Sur.

Where to Work in San Juan del Sur as a Digital Nomad

San Juan del Sur WIFI

Before we get into specific places to work, I want to mention the WIFI situation. In general it seems to be pretty hit or miss across town. Some places have amazing internet, while others have barely usable internet.

Our first week in San Juan we stayed at Selina Maderas which had amazing internet (see my review below). The week after we stayed in an apartment-style hotel, which also had great internet. At the time I thought, wow I should write a blog post about the surprisingly amazing internet found in this small Nicaraguan beach town.

The following week we decided to stay in a hostel and make some friends… which is where our WIFI luck ran out.

The hostel had an abysmal internet connection, unless you were in the common area which wasn’t really geared towards working. We then realized that the rest of town had pretty unreliable internet as well. Even cafes with ‘coworking spaces’ were unusable at times.

Long story short… the WIFI in San Juan del Sur isn’t the most reliable and your best bet for a dependable work set up might be staying in a hotel. Be sure to confirm the WIFI speed before booking; I always use fast.com or speedtest.net.

The Art Warehouse

The Art Warehouse is ‘the spot’ to work remote in San Juan del Sur. There always seems to be a gaggle of MacBooks out front wearing headphones and sipping on coffee .

The primary cafe area has several tables for working and eating, but they have an additional space in the back with large tables, desks, and even an art studio.

Despite being such a popular working destination, the internet is actually not that great, especially if you’re trying to run large programs over the internet or join conference calls. And one time when we were there, the power went out altogether.

Art Warehouse also plays music, so if you do need to join a call that can be problematic as well.

BUT, if you’re looking for a more casual work environment and don’t need Zoom or a remote desktop, this place would be perfect for you.

They have a great menu full of veggie options, smoothies, and of course coffee. Art Warehouse is open for breakfast and lunch daily, but closes at 4pm; cash only.

Check out their events page.

La Tostaderia

Above average desayuno tipico, below average internet.

The main level of La Tostaderia has many tables and couches if you like the coffee shop type of vibe when you work, if you can find an empty seat that is. This place can be quite busy as they do have a great breakfast menu – the desayuno tipico, “typical breakfast,” is my absolute favorite.

If you venture further inside and go up the staircase on your right (pictured above), there is a loft with a bunch of desks and chairs. Sounds great so far, right?

Well here’s the catch. Be sure to come with a fully charged laptop or an extension cord, because there aren’t any power outlets near the desks. I feel like power outlets are one of the important things you need for a coworking space, but I guess they didn’t ask my opinion.

The internet here is ok, not bad but not good either. Zoom calls get a bit choppy but if you don’t require much horsepower, La Tostaderia makes a great place to hangout, grab breakfast, and work for a bit.

Ding Repair Cafe

If you’ve traveled throughout Central America, you’ve probably encountered their guerrilla marketing sticker campaign. They seem to follow you everywhere.

Ding Repair is extremely trendy and definitely worth a visit, whether you’re working or not. You can work from any table at this cute café, but upstairs in the loft is a dedicated workspace.

Its pretty small but there are still 3-4 desks up there and some not-ergonomic chairs. In line with pretty much everywhere else in this town, the internet here is ok, but not great.

Unfortunately, if you decide you like working here, Ding Repair is closed on Tuesdays and only open until 4pm most other days. But on the bright side, they are one of the few who accept credit cards and they do make a mean smoothie bowls. Where my basic b’s at?

Simon Says

If you are a hungry hungry nomad, Simon Says is a great spot to post up for a while. They have really good breakfast and lunch specials that give you a ton of food, including veggie options!

The desayuno tipico is an absolute must. If I could eat that every morning for the rest of my life, I would die extremely happy and well-fed.

The WIFI here is definitely on the better end of the spectrum, although the bar is set pretty low. And although it doesn’t have a dedicated cowork area, the tables are spaced out far enough that you don’t feel like people are all up in your business while you work. Even if you need to be on a conference call.

Most of the tables are in the back garden, which is a nice change of pace to work in nature amongst the trees. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in a jungle?

Iguana Bar

Iguana Bar is the dark horse of the group, but just hear me out. It’s just your average beach bar, and the food isn’t even that great. But it might have the best internet on this list.

Plus you can sit with a prime view of the ocean, so it could be worse.

There never seems to be more than a few people hanging out here during the day, so its a great place to focus get some moderately quiet work done. They do play music, but it’s not blasting in your face so if you plan to take calls, just try to sit farther away from the speakers.

In a town full of cash-only spots, Iguana Bar surprisingly accepts credit cards. After trying pretty much everywhere in town that had WIFI, this spot became one of our go-to’s.

Selina Maderas

Selina is every nomad’s dream. If you are unfamiliar, it is a hostel geared towards digital nomads with lot’s of amenities including a cowork space. Usually it is a bit too pricey for us, but Nicaragua was actually affordable!

There is superb WIFI throughout the compound (yes, I said compound), with tons of seating areas and power outlets everwhere. The best part is the dedicated coworking building with sweeping views of the hilly landscape.

This space is even on a separate WIFI network from the rest of the hostel so its super fast. After being on the road so long, I forgot internet could be that fast. They also have coffee, tea, and water set out all day for free.

Unfortunately to use their facilities and coworking space, you need to be staying at the hostel. And if you’re staying at Selina, most everyone else there is also working. Duh, but what does that matter?

Well for Jack and I, we were a bit disappointed in the vibe. It is a ‘hostel’, but everyone kind of keeps to themselves and there isn’t much socializing. I feel like that defeats the purpose of a hostel, especially after staying at a more typical hostel in San Juan del Sur.

Other Places to Work from in San Juan del Sur

WIFI blues getting you down? Fear not, there are still a few more places to work from in San Juan del Sur. Here are the honorable mentions:

Dale Pues

Ikal

Indio del Sur Coffee Shop

Cafe Oro

Working from Home

As I mentioned previously, working from “home” is our preferred style when it comes to working and traveling. It can be such a hassle to have to go somewhere every morning and sit in a noisy café, only to outstay your welcome and have to migrate somewhere else mid-day.

Not to mention if you have to work unusual hours due to differing time zones.

As I mentioned previously, we stayed in three different accommodations during our stay as digital nomads in San Juan del Sur.

Airbnb is usually our go-to, however we started getting a bit wild when we got to Central America. There is such a fun and vibrant backpacker culture and we wanted to be a part of it.

Our first two accommodations had great internet. However our last place made us want to pull our hair out. Two out of three aren’t bad odds, but when you’re livelihood depends on it, do you really want to gamble?

Be sure to choose your apartment, Airbnb, hotel, or hostel carefully as it may be the only internet you can rely on. Get the deets and discover the Best Places to Stay as a Digital Nomad in San Juan del Sur.

The Best Cowork Spaces in San Juan del Sur

I hope this post doesn’t scare you away from San Juan del Sur. It’s a really awesome town and there really is good internet, if you know where to find it.

You cant really rely on coffee shops and cafes in this town unless you have a very laid back job. We obviously made it work so its not impossible, but it was not exactly an enjoyable way to work and caused us a lot of stress.

My biggest piece of advice is make sure you stay somewhere with decent WIFI. Better to be safe than sorry, so always ask before booking!

For the full run down read: A Digital Nomad’s Guide to San Juan del Sur

Are you planning to visit San Juan del Sur? Let me know in the comments!