NavoyNostos

Havana vs Punta Cana

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Punta Cana edges it, 57 to 54, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Havana is stronger on nothing outright; Punta Cana on internet. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Safety: 7.7 of 54 points (scores 62/100)Healthcare: 9.4 of 54 points (scores 76/100)Internet: 1.1 of 54 points (scores 9/100)Visa ease: 4.0 of 54 points (scores 32/100)Getting there & around: 6.3 of 54 points (scores 51/100)Climate: 8.3 of 54 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 9.9 of 54 points (scores 79/100)Quality of life: 7.2 of 54 points (scores 58/100)54
Havana
out of 100

Crumbling, magnetic Caribbean capital where the internet barely works

Full Havana profile →Where to stay in Havana →
Cost of living: 6.2 of 57 points (scores 55/100)Safety: 6.3 of 57 points (scores 57/100)Healthcare: 7.5 of 57 points (scores 67/100)Internet: 5.0 of 57 points (scores 45/100)Visa ease: 3.7 of 57 points (scores 33/100)Getting there & around: 5.5 of 57 points (scores 50/100)Climate: 7.4 of 57 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 9.2 of 57 points (scores 83/100)Quality of life: 5.8 of 57 points (scores 52/100)57
Punta Cana
out of 100

Resort coast with the Caribbean's best-connected airport

Full Punta Cana profile →Where to stay in Punta Cana →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Cost of livingno data55
Safety62 ✓57
Healthcare76 ✓67
Internet945 ✓
Visa ease3233 ✓
Getting there & around51 ✓50
Climate6767
Air quality7983 ✓
Quality of life58 ✓52

Cost

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one cityno data$1,127
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Homicides per 100k4.46 ✓9.12
Political stability (0–100)7176.2 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)86 ✓73
Life expectancy73.7 yrs ✓73.3 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Download1.5 Mbps9.9 Mbps ✓
Upload0.5 Mbps4.7 Mbps ✓

Visa

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passporte-visa required30 days ✓
Entry, EU passporte-visa required30 days ✓
Entry, UK passporte-visa required30 days ✓

Getting there and around

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Non-stop airport destinations2292 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)4 ✓2
Transit (1–5, editorial)2 ✓1

Climate and air

MetricHavanaPunta Cana
Comfortable months per year88
Annual mean PM2.514.3 µg/m³12.8 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Havana or Punta Cana?
We lack a monthly cost figure for one of the two cities.
Is Havana or Punta Cana safer?
Havana scores higher on safety (62 vs 57), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Havana or Punta Cana?
Punta Cana: a measured median of 9.9 Mbps versus 1.5 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.