Mazatlan, Mexico is far from a digital nomad hotspot.
Hell, the first day I walked into the one and only coworking space in the city people looked at my buddy and I like aliens.
They’d never seen two foreigners roll into their coworking spot looking to get some work done.
All eyes darted up to see a blonde gringo and a red-headed Irish bro inquiring about using the space in broken Spanish.
A few whispered to their desk neighbors.
Suffice to say, I knew digital nomads weren’t a common sight in Mazatlan after this odd reception.
But everybody was friendly and the coworking spot was damn solid overall. No complaints.
Safety in Mazatlan, Mexico?
Now…
I may be a little biased here.
As I was jumped and robbed in Mazatlan. You can read that story here.
So…NO. Mazatlan is not 100% safe.
But, I’d say that was probably my fault.
Going to an abandoned, potential “trap” house at dawn wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.
If you’re chilling in the tourist areas around Zona Dorada or La Marina, I found Mazatlan to be quite safe.
In fact, I rolled around with my smartphone and took Instagram photos like an ass shot thot for months on end without issue in Mazatlan.
Many others did too.
You’ll see people taking pics all the time in the tourist areas of Mazatlan, Mexico. No one ever tries to rob people in these spots.
You won’t have an issue rolling around with your laptop, smartphone, etc. in the nice areas of the city.
Mazatlan, Mexico is more than safe for cafe hopping, walking to the coworking space in Zona Doprada, and all that jazz.
Internet Speeds
Internet speeds in Mexico are nothing to sneeze at.
Compared to other Latin American countries, like Colombia or the Dominican Republic, the Internet throughout Mexico is solid.
In Mazatlan, you can get 100 Mbps Internet in your apartment or home.
This seems to be the fastest package available.
I had 100 Mbps in my apartment in Mazatlan, the one found in this video:
Overall, it was decent.
We never got near 100 Mbps speeds but around 30-40 Mbps was pretty standard.
However, there was one issue.
The Internet seemed capped in Mazatlan. When we’d hit our data cap for the month, the speeds would plummet to 2-4 Mbps.
Then I’d have to call the service provider and bitch until they’d take the cap off again.
It was a pain the arse.
Luckily, that only happen once or twice each month. So it wasn’t a huge deal.
If you’re coming to Mazatlan and plan to work online, you’ll want to confirm the Internet speed with your landlord.
A few other expats I met only had 10-20 Mbps connections in their apartments – which doesn’t work for me personally.
So make sure to ask before booking.
Cafes and Coffee Shops
I didn’t do any work out of coffee shops in Mazatlan.
None.
I visited a few.
Outside of the Starbucks in Zona Dorada, I didn’t find anywhere decent to get work done.
Either the chairs were uncomfortable, the Internet was slow, the location was far from my place, or I didn’t feel the setup was safe enough.
So I can’t comment on this too much.
However, I wouldn’t recommend coming to Mazatlan with the idea of working online from cafes and coffee shops all day.
Why?
It’s probably not going to work how you’d hope.
Most cafes in Mazatlan serve food, as well. They don’t pay for great Internet. They’re not looking for digital workers coming to spend 4-5 hours in the coffee shop.
There’s simply no cafe culture here.
You could get by using the Starbucks in Zona Dorada, but then the coffee will taste like chalk.
Coworking Spaces in Mazatlan
As previously stated…
Mazatlan isn’t exactly a digital nomad hub.
As such, you won’t find many coworking spaces here. In fact, there’s only one true coworking spot in the whole city.
–> Beehive Business and Coworking
That’s it.
That’s coworking space my buddy and I checked out when we first got to Mazatlan It’s pretty solid overall.
Fast Internet. Good vibes. Free coffee.
Not many foreigners or digital nomads.
The Beehive is located behind the tourists areas of Zona Dorada in the Lomas neighborhood.
If you’re looking to actually get work done in Mazatlan without working from your apartment, then this is where to go.
Beehive is the only place I recommend for remote work in Mazatlan.
Mazatlan, Mexico For Digital Nomads
Make no mistake about it…
Between the beaches, la rumba, and the laidback lifestyle found in Mazatlan, you can still get work done here.
I sure did during my 3+ months in the city.
While you won’t find as many digital nomad amenities as you may in other places, there’s more than enough to feed the needy here.
Mazatlan is a city of 500,000+ people and you’ll find fast Internet here, along with a decent coworking space.
Just make sure you get 50+ Mbps in your apartment while living here.
Te lo juro.
P.S: If you’re coming to Mazatlan, then you’ll want to learn some Spanish!
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