Summer heat is a work problem before it is a comfort problem. When the afternoon passes 35C, sleep gets worse, the walk to the coworking space becomes a commute, and every decision in the day starts to bend around the air conditioning. In Dubai, daytime outdoor life is essentially impossible from May to September, and Marrakech regularly passes 40C, so a summer escape deserves as much planning as a winter one.
The pattern on this list is hard to miss: the ocean does the cooling. Seven of the fifteen are Portuguese, from Porto down to Faro and out to Madeira, and the rest sit mostly on the Atlantic coast of Spain and Morocco or on the Pacific shore of California. Porto stays well below inland Portugal, and Agadir stays in the high 20s on the coast. Two entries take a different route: Santa Fe gets its cool from altitude, and Cairns is simply in its dry season.
Mild does not mean cold. Most of these cities run summer highs between 22C and 28C, which is beach weather that still lets you think in the afternoon. For any month of the year, the Nomad Comfort Index scores every city we cover.
Each city gets a comfort score for June, July and August from its monthly climate normals: full marks when the average of the day's high and the night's low falls between 18C and 25C, the high stays at 30C or below and the month's rain stays at 50mm or under, with points lost beyond that (the formula is on the comfort index). The normals are 1991-2020 weather-station averages for 645 cities and ERA5 reanalysis for 2019-2023 elsewhere. Only cities with a Nomad Score of 6.5 or more qualify, so every entry is a workable base, and ties are broken by Nomad Score. All fifteen reach full marks in all three months, as do 16 other qualifying cities, so the order reflects overall livability rather than which city is coolest. Explore the numbers yourself on the comparison tool or browse all 999 city guides.
At a glance
PortoAtlantic-cooled highs in the mid-20s, fast fiber and a mature coworking scene, for about $2,140 a month. June is often called its best month of the year.
Coolest summerNazaréHighs of just 20C to 22C, the lowest on the page. It is a walkable surf town at about $1,300 a month, but summer is its busiest season, so book early.
Cheapest base
AgadirAbout $900 a month for summer highs of about 27C and almost no rain, in the same time zone as London.
What to weigh before you book
Long-run averages hide the hot days. Lisbon sees the occasional spike past 35C, and Faro peaks at 30C to 34C in July and August. Agadir gets the chergui, a desert wind that briefly pushes it into the high thirties. On the American coast the surprise runs the other way: San Diego and Los Angeles often start the summer under the grey marine layer locals call June Gloom. The bigger catch is that summer is high season almost everywhere here. Short lets in Tarifa can double or triple, Cascais and Ericeira fill with holidaymakers, and Faro's coworking spaces fill up, so a monthly rate agreed in spring is worth far more than a nightly one in July. One more number for non-EU passports: a full June to August stay is 92 days, two more than the Schengen allowance, so a full European summer means spending at least two of those days outside the zone, or holding a national visa.
The ranking
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1
Jun–Aug highs 26–28°C8 mm rain a monthNomad Score 9.6$2,400/moSafety 8WiFi 8Value 3Lisbon is warm in summer rather than hot, and the difference shows: July and August highs around 28C, nights near 18C and almost no rain. Heat spikes past 35C do happen, so ask how a flat copes with them before you sign. A desk at Second Home inside the Mercado da Ribeira, or at one of Heden's spaces, puts you on some of Europe's best internet, and the metro runs straight from the airport. Budget about $2,400 a month. Summer is the most crowded and expensive stretch of Lisbon's year, and the hills and cobbles stay steep in any season.
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Jun–Aug highs 23–25°C30 mm rain a monthNomad Score 9.1$2,140/moSafety 8WiFi 8Value 4Porto is the coolest large European city here. Its summer highs of 23C to 25C come courtesy of the Atlantic, which keeps it well below inland Portugal, and June is often named its single best month. Work Wise near Sá da Bandeira is one of the cheapest full-time desks in town at around $100 a month, and evenings belong to the river or to Foz do Douro, where it meets the sea. Budget about $2,140 a month. Summer is also when tourists crowd the centre and short lets get expensive, and the hills never get easier.
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3
Jun–Aug highs 22–25°C1 mm rain a monthNomad Score 8.9$4,400/moSafety 7WiFi 9Value 2San Diego's summer starts grey and ends perfect. June often sits under the marine layer known as June Gloom, low cloud that can hang on into the afternoon, while July and August bring the blue skies the city is famous for, with highs of 24C to 25C and effectively no rain. Base yourself in North Park, Hillcrest or a beach neighbourhood and you can live car-light, with the airport 15 minutes from Downtown by bus. At about $4,400 a month it is the most expensive city on the list, and July and August bring its highest prices.
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4
Jun–Aug highs 26–28°C1 mm rain a monthNomad Score 8.5$1,580/moSafety 7WiFi 7Value 5Summer is when Las Palmas turns into a swimming city. Las Canteras, the reef-sheltered beach along the residential side of town, is warmest from June to October, and the year-round wind that some find wearing is what keeps an August high of 28C feeling easy. Rain all but stops, at 1mm a month or less. Nights stay warm, at 20C to 22C. Living here, with fast fiber and coworking a walk from the sand, comes to about $1,580 a month. The limitation is the island itself: any trip off it means a flight.
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5
Jun–Aug highs 26–28°C8 mm rain a monthNomad Score 8.5$2,500/moSafety 9WiFi 7Value 4Cascais gets the same mild summer as the capital forty minutes up the line: highs of 26C to 28C and almost no rain. The difference is scale. The old town, marina, beaches and station sit close together, LACS is a proper coworking hub, and Guincho's wild Atlantic surf is a short ride along the coast. Trains to Cais do Sodré leave roughly every 20 minutes when you want the city. Budget about $2,500 a month, more for a sea view. July and August are when Portuguese holidaymakers and foreign visitors arrive together, so apartments get tight and prices climb.
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Jun–Aug highs 20–23°C14 mm rain a monthNomad Score 8.3$2,200/moSafety 9WiFi 6Value 6Ericeira's summer is so mild that the surf is what suffers. Highs reach only 20C to 23C, with the Atlantic breeze doing the cooling, while the swell runs at its calmest of the year and sometimes goes flat. That makes it the season to learn rather than to chase big waves. The Salt Studio, close to the beach, and Kelp Coworking give you a real desk, and Europe's only World Surfing Reserve is outside the door. Budget about $2,200 a month. Rents spike and the town crowds in summer, and with no train, Lisbon is a 75-minute bus ride.
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Jun–Aug highs 22–25°C1 mm rain a monthNomad Score 8.3$3,880/moSafety 5WiFi 9Value 2In Los Angeles, the neighbourhood you choose decides the summer you get. Along the coast in Santa Monica and Venice, June mornings often start under grey cloud that burns off by early afternoon, while inland areas stay sunny and, by July and August, can get uncomfortably hot. The long-run averages land at highs of 22C to 25C with no rain to speak of. Coworking is everywhere, from WeWork day passes to Groundwork in the Arts District. Budget about $3,880 a month, and pick a base near a rail line or plan on a car.
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Jun–Aug highs 27–29°C4 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.8$1,670/moSafety 8WiFi 6Value 6Faro is the warmest Portuguese pick here and still comfortable on the averages, with highs of 27C to 29C and practically no rain. Peaks reach 30C to 34C in July and August, when streets are packed and short-term rents inflate. Its airport is 4km from the centre, the Ria Formosa lagoon and its ferry-reached beach islands are on the doorstep, and Alandra Square is the coworking desk to book. Budget about $1,670 a month, and lock in a monthly rent before July, when the coworking spaces fill as well.
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Jun–Aug highs 24–27°C4 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.8$2,160/moSafety 9WiFi 6Value 5Funchal's even climate peaks gently in summer, with highs of 24C to 27C, almost no rain and the most sunshine of the year. The city sits on Madeira's sheltered south coast, and Sangha Cowork, inside a Lido hotel, comes with a pool for the hour after work. Levada walks and coastal hikes fill the weekends. Plan on about $2,160 a month. June to August is peak tourist season, so short lets cost more and restaurants fill, and the steep streets between the lower and upper town are a workout in the heat.
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Jun–Aug highs 26–29°C33 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.8$2,400/moSafety 7WiFi 8Value 3Santa Fe escapes the heat by altitude rather than ocean. The town sits at 2,100 metres, so summer highs in the high 20s come with cool nights and extremely dry air. From July into August, monsoon storms roll in most afternoons and clear by evening, followed by the light that drew painters here. Summer is also opera and art-market season, so the town is busy. Budget around $2,400 a month, plus a car. Allow a week for the altitude, which disturbs sleep at first, and remember the sun burns faster than the temperature suggests.
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Jun–Aug highs 25–28°C22 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.6$2,300/moSafety 7WiFi 7Value 3Nice makes the list on its long-run averages, highs of 25C to 28C with the rain mostly gone after June, but July and August are a different city. Hot spells push higher, the Promenade fills, coworking spaces run out of desks and prices rise sharply, so June is the month to aim for. Le LABO, a short walk from the beach, is the most community-minded coworking space, tram line 2 runs from the airport, and Italy is half an hour away by train. Budget about $2,300 a month. Cafes here tolerate a laptop for an hour or two, not a full day.
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Jun–Aug highs 25–29°C6 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.6$1,500/moSafety 8WiFi 5Value 8Wind is the first and last thing to know about Tarifa. The Poniente and Levante blow on more than 300 days a year. July and August bring highs of 28C to 29C with almost no rain. Tarifa Garage is open every day of the year, and the ferry to Tangier takes under an hour. Our estimate is $1,500 a month on a long lease. Arrive without one and a summer short-let one-bedroom runs $2,300 to $3,450 a month. In peak season the town fills with kite-school clients, and the summer Levante can feel relentless after a week.
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Jun–Aug highs 20–22°C18 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.6$1,300/moSafety 9WiFi 7Value 6Nazaré has the coolest summer days on this page, with highs of just 20C to 22C, which makes it the pick if heat is what you are really fleeing. The trade is that summer is the town's busiest and priciest season, and the giant waves that made it famous do not arrive until October. There is no coworking hub, so work from a fibre-connected flat and rotate between cafes in the lower town and up in Sítio, reached by an 1889 funicular. Our estimate is $1,300 a month, but holiday lets push rents up from June to September.
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Jun–Aug highs 26–27°C1 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.6$900/moSafety 8WiFi 6Value 7Agadir is what Morocco looks like when you need to work through July. The coast holds summer highs of about 27C with a sea breeze, while Marrakech, three hours inland by coach, regularly passes 40C. At about $900 a month it is the cheapest base on this page, with Sun Desk in Taghazout, 20 kilometres up the coast, as the region's coworking anchor. Flights to Western Europe take two to four hours. Two summer caveats: the chergui, a desert wind that briefly sends the city into the high thirties, and an Atlantic cold enough to keep swims short.
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Jun–Aug highs 26–27°C35 mm rain a monthNomad Score 7.4$2,280/moSafety 8WiFi 6Value 4Cairns plays by different rules: June to August is its tropical dry season, not a mild northern summer. Highs of 26C to 27C come with low humidity and clear skies instead of the wet season's heavy air, and with stinger season over, open-water swimming no longer needs a stinger suit. TropicHUB puts a 27-inch monitor on every desk, and the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree fill the weekends. Budget about $2,280 a month. This is peak tourist season, so prices are higher and coworking spaces busier.
Escaping the heat is mostly a question of which coast you pick. If a 30C afternoon is your limit, the cooler end of this list, Nazaré, Ericeira, Porto and the Californian coast, will keep you well under it. If you want summer that still feels like summer, Las Palmas, Faro and Tarifa give you beach days and long evenings without the inland furnace. For the Portuguese majority, our ranking of the best digital nomad cities in Portugal compares them across the rest of the year. To check any other city in a single month, filter by month on our best-weather page.
Frequently asked questions
Which city on this list has the coolest summer?
Nazaré, where June to August highs run just 20C to 22C. Ericeira is close behind, peaking at 23C. Among larger cities, San Diego, Los Angeles and Porto all top out around 25C.
Why are so many Portuguese cities on the list?
Because Portugal's coast is cooled by the Atlantic: Porto stays well below inland Portugal in summer, and Ericeira and Nazaré stay at 23C or below. Seven of the fifteen entries are Portuguese, from Porto to Faro and Funchal on Madeira. Faro is the warmest of them, with highs of 27C to 29C.
How is this summer ranking calculated?
We score June, July and August for comfort from each city's monthly climate normals, using the same formula as our comfort index, and average the three. Only cities with a Nomad Score of 6.5 or more are included, and ties are broken by Nomad Score. Every city here reaches the maximum comfort score, which is why the order mostly comes down to overall livability.
What is the cheapest place to escape the summer heat?
Agadir is the cheapest at about $900 a month. Nazaré follows at $1,300 and Tarifa at $1,500. Summer is high season in most of these towns, so a long lease agreed in advance matters more than the monthly figure. San Diego is the most expensive at about $4,400 a month.
Can I spend the whole summer in Portugal, Spain or France without a visa?
Not quite on a non-EU passport. June, July and August add up to 92 days, which is more than Schengen allows, counted across every member country. That limit is 90 days in any 180. Portugal's D8 digital nomad visa asks for about $4,240 a month in remote income, and Spain's about $3,280, while Agadir, outside Schengen, gives most Western passports 90 days on arrival.
