Is Nassau good for digital nomads in 2026?

Connectivity is the first thing that breaks in Nassau. Cable Bahamas sells REV home broadband, and BTC runs fibre in newer developments, but a listing that promises 100 Mbps tends to deliver 30 to 60 after 7 pm when the whole street is streaming. Ask the host for a speedtest screenshot taken in the evening, not a photo of the router label. Power is the bigger problem: Bahamas Power and Light has cut supply on hot summer afternoons for several years running, and once the AC dies at 2 pm, the room turns sticky and humid within 20 minutes while the fridge starts to tick. Run the router off a small UPS, and keep a prepaid BTC or Aliv data plan as a hotspot backup. Both carriers have stores at the Mall at Marathon.

Coworking is thin. Nassau has nothing like a WeWork or Selina, so most remote workers split their time between a home desk and a few public tables. The Nassau Public Library on Shirley Street is free, and its thick stone walls keep the octagonal reading room cool while the ceiling fans rattle overhead, though the space is small and the wifi drops often. Louis & Steen's on Village Road serves strong New Orleans-style coffee and tolerates laptops through mid-morning, but by 11 am the lunch crowd wants your table. The Starbucks at Harbour Bay Shopping Centre has outlets and steady, icy AC. In Nassau, that counts for more than atmosphere.

For a month, stay on the west side or the east side, not downtown. Cable Beach has a Super Value supermarket and the No. 10 jitney into town, and a one-bedroom there rents for $2,200 to $3,200 a month, the air smelling of salt. The east side, around Fort Montagu and Eastern Road, is cheaper at $1,600 to $2,400, with Solomon's at Harbour Bay ten minutes away and evenings that bring a breeze off Montagu Bay. Bay Street works for a weekend. For a month it fails: cruise passengers crowd the pavements from 9 am, shops close by 6 pm, and there is no full-size grocery store within walking distance. Groceries in Nassau cost roughly 40% more than in Florida, because almost everything is shipped in and carries 10% VAT.

Budget a realistic month at about $4,000. Rent runs $2,000 to $2,800, groceries plus cracked-conch lunches at the Arawak Cay Fish Fry add roughly $700, a mobile plan runs about $60, and jitneys with the occasional taxi bring the transport line to $150. Taxis have no meters, so agree the fare before you get in. Hurricane season runs June to November, and October is still muggy. Monthly rates fall from May to November, but a storm can knock out power for days. Book a monthly rental by September if you want winter dates, before Canadian snowbirds fill the Cable Beach units.