For those of you not retired or enjoying a mom & dad funded vacation, I present to you my list of internet cafes that you can work from:
El Portal
The cafe across from the park that never used to have internet. Well, they’ve finally finished remodeling the back and it’s quite cozy – there’s only one plug but you can sit right next to the router. Hell, you could probably plug-in an ethernet cable into the back if you wanted. Here’s a speedtest.net diagnostic on El Portal:
Café Barista
Barista is my default location. Which is funny, because the bandwidth sucks. The router is located underneath the cash register which isn’t really ideal placement because everyone sits on the other side of the cafe, behind a thick block construction wall. Anyway, I like Barista because it feels like an airport: shiny, clean and bright. There’s also a guard who watches me write HTML over my shoulder and I swear he must be able to go home and bang out markup by now.
Bagel Barn
Bagel Barn has two wireless routers which is such a good idea you’d think other places would do it. The vibe here is dirty backpacker, which I can do every now and then. What I can’t do is hot- and the barn heats up like a mini-Petén. Beware of skype’ing gringos siphoning off the bandwidth to a measly dribble!
Café Bourbon
Newly introduced to me by Don Rudy, I’ve worked from here a few times as the vibe is super chill and totally desolate during the day, just the way I like it. The bandwidth is good, however, they told me once that you can only be there an hour. Your mileage may vary.
Rainbow Café
I’ve only included Rainbow Café in order to warn you how bad the wifi is. It’s drop-dead terrible, pun intended. And there are no electrical outlets. The food is awesome and there are usually hot hippy chicks in yoga pants cavorting all about, but this ain’t the place to get online.
Did I miss any? Please share your knowledge in the comments below.
Fernando’s. Superb coffee, airy courtyard, top host. Don’t know how the wifi is but the café itself is popular so might be battling the crowds. Thankfully not much Skyping going on as it’s a little off the beaten track.
7Ave Norte N43.
Nice addition Nic! How could I forget Fernando’s? Wifi strength is good there, BTW.
Ocelot, RumBar, King’s Head, El Muro, Bistro Cinq and Reilly’s.
Um, I said “internet cafes that you can work from,” not “bars with wifi to get shit-faced at.” Ha ha, but thanks man 😉
Café Bourbon ……………………….Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I always liked Y Tu Piña También when I was visiting.
It’s a bit cheeky, but we picked up the Bagel Barn’s wifi clearly from the Black Cat opposite – it’s a hostel but has a few tables in the entrance and great orange juice. The staff were friendly and we were able to sit for quite a while even though not staying there. Nice if you want wifi out of doors.
You mean the Black Cat doesn’t have it’s own router?
If I don’t bring a computer, are there internet cafes that have computer terminals (not just wifi)?
Yes Oriana, there are many internet cafes, in every town. If memory serves they’re usually around Q5/hour.