---
title: "Living in Havana as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/havana
description: "Crumbling, magnetic Caribbean capital where the internet barely works"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Havana, Cuba

Havana scores 54/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 793 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 1.5 Mbps.

Havana is a Caribbean capital of colonial squares, vintage cars and music on every corner, with a UNESCO old town and the Malecón seafront. For remote work it is a hard sell: internet means ETECSA mobile data or hotel Wi-Fi, blackouts and fuel and food shortages are routine, US-issued cards do not work and most visitors need a tourist card. Rooms in casas particulares are cheap.

Known for: Habana Vieja and the Malecón, Casas particulares, Slow mobile-only internet, Shortages and blackouts.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 54 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 62 |
| Healthcare | 76 |
| Internet | 9 |
| Visa ease | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 51 |
| Climate | 67 |
| Air quality | 79 |
| Quality of life | 58 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 4.46 | country | 2019 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 71 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 86 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 73.7 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 1.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 0.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | e-visa required / e-visa required / e-visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (HAV) | 22 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 457 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 4 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 8 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 14.3 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.762 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 22.4 | 30 | 74 | yes |
| Feb | 23.5 | 29 | 72 | yes |
| Mar | 24.5 | 23 | 68 | yes |
| Apr | 26.5 | 33 | 65 | yes |
| May | 27.8 | 64 | 67 | yes |
| Jun | 28.5 | 108 | 73 | no |
| Jul | 29 | 83 | 72 | no |
| Aug | 29.1 | 108 | 73 | no |
| Sep | 28.3 | 102 | 76 | no |
| Oct | 27.1 | 87 | 76 | yes |
| Nov | 24.8 | 45 | 75 | yes |
| Dec | 23.6 | 30 | 76 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| José Martí International Airport | HAV | 22 | 17 | 2 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 22, of which 17 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Varadero](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/varadero) (55.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/havana-vs-varadero)
- [Trinidad (Cuba)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/trinidad-cuba) (57.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/havana-vs-trinidad-cuba)
- [Punta Cana](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/punta-cana) (56.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/havana-vs-punta-cana)
- [Byblos](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/byblos) (53.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/byblos-vs-havana)
- [Paramaribo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/paramaribo) (50.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/havana-vs-paramaribo)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Havana as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Havana yet.

### Is Havana safe for digital nomads?

Havana scores 62/100 on safety. Cuba records 4.46 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2019) and a political-stability score of 71/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Cuba have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Cuba as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an e-visa, applied for online.

### How fast is the internet in Havana?

Measured median download speed in Havana was 1.5 Mbps (upload 0.5 Mbps) across 2,731 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Havana?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Cuba as coming soon as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

### Which airports serve Havana and how many nonstop flights are there?

Havana is served by José Martí International Airport (HAV) with 22 nonstop destinations, of which 17 are international. 2 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

### When is the best time of year to be in Havana?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 72°F (22°C) in Jan to 84°F (29°C) in Aug (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Havana or Varadero: which is better for digital nomads?

Varadero is the city with the closest factor profile to Havana in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Havana](https://navoy.io/hotels/cuba/havana) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/havana