Da Lat
A cool, pine-scented highland town at 1,500 metres, with spring-like weather all year and very low living costs.
Vietnam
Vietnam offers some of the best value in the region: fast fibre, rents well below Thailand's, a café culture built for laptops and food that is reason enough to stay. Da Nang has become one of the most popular beach bases in Asia, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City suit people who want a big, energetic city and a growing tech scene, Hoi An is the slow, pretty option, and Da Lat offers cool highland air at a fraction of the cost.
There is no digital nomad visa. Citizens of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Nordic countries get 45 days visa-free, and everyone else, including US, Canadian and Australian passport holders, uses the e-visa, valid for up to 90 days with single or multiple entry. Many long-stayers simply leave and re-enter on a new e-visa.
Weather varies a lot from north to south. Hanoi has a real winter from December to February, the central coast around Da Nang and Hoi An has its wet and stormy season from roughly September to December, and Ho Chi Minh City is hot all year with rains from May to November. English is common in nomad areas but limited elsewhere, so a translation app helps.
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam's high-energy commercial capital, with cheap coworking, superb street food and a sizeable startup and expat scene.
Hoi An
A lantern-lit old town surrounded by rice fields and beaches, ideal for slowing down without losing a decent connection.
Hanoi
A characterful capital of lakes, French villas and legendary street food, with four seasons and low living costs.
Da Nang
A beach city with fast fibre, low rents and one of Asia's biggest nomad scenes, all ten minutes from an international...