Internet on Gavdos and working remotely
Updated: 3 days ago
Working from anywhere as a digital nomad. Feet in the sand, laptop on your lap. The sun comes from above, the sea breeze comes from the front. Living in freedom and earning money at the same time. Does that also work on Gavdos? Get your answer here!
To be able to work remotely from your laptop, you need a few requirements. This blog article will not give you a guide to which job you could do online. I refer you to the vastness of the internet. However, in order to be able to pursue digital work, the conditions of the location must be right. I myself lived on Gavdos for many months and could describe myself as a "digital nomad". I ran a small online business, wrote and published a book and gave online lessons as a qualified biology teacher. My conclusion: the conditions were excellent! However, you need to prepare yourself so that you can have fun as a digital nomad on Gavdos.
#1: Internet und WiFi on Gavdos
#2 Internet with hotspot via a greek Sim-Card
#3 Where is the best place to work on Gavdos?
#4 Power and charging devices: Taverna or Power station
#5 Summary
#1 Internet and WiFi on Gavdos
I think we can all agree on that. Nothing works without the internet! At least if you want to work from anywhere. The connection has to be fast and stable. You're lucky, because the internet is now good on Gavdos. That wasn't the case a few years ago. Gavdos itself has its own radio tower to cover the south side of Crete. So you're pretty well connected on Gavdos. You get a very good connection within the villages. On the beaches or outside the villages, the connection may be poorer or even non-existent. So in some cases you have to look for a good spot. I myself mostly worked from Agios Ioannis - from the car park, the Livykon taverna or the cedar forest between the taverna and the actual Agios Ioannis beach. There were no problems there and the internet was fast enough - but I was there in the low season. Most tavernas and appartments offer Wi-Fi. For the most part, the speed can be described as decent. It always depends on how many people are currently connected to the Wi-Fi. The same applies to the free public hotspot "WIFI4EU". This can be received in Sarakiniko, Kastri and Ambelos. In high summer, when the island is very crowded, I would no longer blindly trust this hotspot. Fast and stable internet? A perfect solution crystallised for me: a Greek SIM card used as a hotspot! More on this in the second chapter!
#2: Internet with Hotspot via a greek Sim-Card
The ideal solution that delivered the best results for me was to use a Greek SIM card as a hotspot. The country's own internet provider "COSMOTE" has very interesting prepaid offers that are aimed exclusively at internet use. You can buy these in the "GERMANOS" electronics shops, for example. There are many of these shops on Crete. You will need a sim card from "Cosmote Whats Up!". You can book various internet packages via an app. Examples are "Giga Day", with which you can book unlimited internet for 2 euros, or even better "Giga Week", which gives you unlimited internet for a whole week for 6.50 euros. There are also various "specials" on a regular basis. As the reception on Gavdos is very good (4G) in all but a few places, I simply used a normal smartphone with a Greek SIM card as a hotspot and was therefore able to work perfectly via my laptop.
#3 Where is the best place to work on Gavdos?
The place of work depends very much on your personal preferences. In the tavernas in Agios Ioannis in particular, especially in Livykon and Sofias, you will always see people sitting at their laptops. Especially early in the morning, it's quiet enough to concentrate. In high season, however, the tavernas fill up quite quickly and it gets louder around you. In the low season, however, things are much quieter. There are plenty of power sockets for recharging and the internet is fast enough. In general, the taverna owners have no problem with people sitting in their taverna on their laptops. Of course, you should always order something. If you opt for a variant with your own router or hotspot, you can be almost anywhere on the island. There are very few areas of the island that are in a mobile phone dead zone. Feet in the sand, shady spot under the cedar tree, laptop on your lap, coffee with gas cooker next to it. You can do that on Gavdos!
#4 Power and charging devices: Taverna, Room or Power Station
A stable connection won't help you if you can't charge your laptop from time to time. There are dozens of sockets in all the tavernas that can be used free of charge. However, as I also wanted to work a lot on the beach, I needed an alternative so that I didn't have to keep walking to the taverna to charge my devices. After much deliberation, I decided on a solution with a power station and a 110-watt solar panel. In retrospect, this turned out to be the perfect and extremely practical solution. Put simply, a power station is a very powerful battery that goes far beyond the scope of a pure power bank. The big advantage of such a power station is the AC plug - also known commercially as a "socket". You can therefore operate and charge all devices with it. You can even connect a fridge. The device also has several USB plugs. This means you can operate several devices at the same time. The smallest version of the Powerstation is half the size of a shoe box, making it practical to transport. Together with the solar panel, I was completely independent and was able to run my own little power station under the perfect Gavdos sun. That was really fun! I'll give you an Amazon link that will take you to the box. This is an affiliate link. If you order through it, you support me a little without having to pay more yourself.
Zur Powerstation: https://amzn.to/4cQrYHm
Zum Solarmodul: https://amzn.to/4eSMzwx
#5 Summary
Feet in the sand, laptop on your lap. The sea in front of you and the sun above. Working at the same time? That works wonderfully on Gavdos. I worked from the island for several months in total. The solution with the Greek SIM card and a power station with a solar panel can give you a complete independence to work from anywhere on the most beautiful island in the world!
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