Tips for a Long-Term Workation: How to Work Remotely from Spain august 16, 2024 – Posted in: Spain, Travel – Tags: Andalusia, Ayamonte, Digital Nomad, Holiday, Long-Term Vacation, Remote Working, Spain, Vacation, Work, Workation

Workation Guide: How to Bring Your Work on a Long-Term Vacation in Spain

Dreaming of a long-term vacation in Spain? And are you lucky enough to be able to bring your work along? Then you’re probably also looking for tips on where to stay, how to find a place to live, how to set up a workspace, and all the other things you might need answers to right now.

When we brought our work on our first long-term vacation to Spain in January 2024, there weren’t many articles on the topic. Sure, there are plenty about long-term vacations and also about working in a call center in Malaga – but we were more on a workation, where we needed to continue with our regular jobs.

So here is the article we wished we had read about living and working in Spain. We share our experiences of packing up our work and going on a long-term vacation in Spain.

How to Plan Your Work Stay in Spain

The idea of going away to spend the winter in warmth was planted on our very first date ten years ago. Since then, we have explored where we would like to live and agreed that it should be somewhere in Southern Europe, preferably Spain or Italy. The cost of living is low, and with an 18-year-old son and family back in Denmark, it was also important to be easily accessible, preferably with an airport nearby.

In the last 3-4 years, we have both worked to create a work life that allows us to take our jobs with us around the world. Trine creates printable games and coupon books at Lou Noire and only needs an internet connection. Rune’s peak season is in the summer with Kammerateriet and festivals, while winter is used for planning and preparation. It was convenient to gather work tasks and complete them from Spain.

If you are not self-employed, you might be lucky enough to, like Rune, be able to complete some or all of your tasks remotely, with a home office overlooking the Mediterranean. Or perhaps you have a large project, a thesis to write, or a book waiting to be finished? Regardless, there are many good reasons to do it in Spain over the winter.

Rent a House in Spain – How to Find Long-Term Rentals?

Once we decided that it was time to go, it took less than six months to plan the departure and find the perfect house. We have traveled extensively in Spain and love everything about the country – so the choice was obvious. However, we’re not fans of large tourist areas and dreamed of a small, authentic house in an equally authentic little town. As you can see in the pictures here, we managed to find our Dream House!

We started searching online, and although there are many property websites for rental houses in Spain, we ended up finding our little house in Ayamonte on Booking.com of all places! You can also set filters to search specifically for “Holiday Homes.” We contacted our landlady and then received a total price for renting our lovely little house for the three months we were to stay.

On Booking.com, you can also conduct your own search for houses in Spain for long-term rentals right here:

Booking.com

Tips for Finding a Long-Term Rental House in Spain

When you start looking for a house to rent in Spain, here are a few tips to keep in mind. The further you move away from the water and tourist areas, the cheaper it will be. We are about 5-6 km from the beautiful Atlantic beaches where the hotels are located. If we really miss mass tourism and music from bars all day long, a fifteen-minute ferry ride to the Algarve coast offers plenty of action, and everyone speaks English.

Another consideration is whether you will need to rent a car, and if so, whether there is a place nearby to park it. Conversely, if you prefer not to rent a car, check if there are buses and trains within walking distance. If you don’t plan to rent a car during your stay, be sure to check the location of the nearest supermarket. In some tourist areas, you might find really cheap vacation rentals, but supermarkets and restaurants could be closed for the winter, so keep this in mind.

Using Google Street View, you can also check out the traffic in the area. There’s nothing fun about living on a busy road with constant traffic. It’s also worth checking if your neighbor is a nightclub that stays open all night.

When Should You Go on a Long-Term Vacation?

Our decision to be away from Denmark in January, February, and March was partly because we really dislike snow and cold weather, and partly because it’s the most affordable time to rent a house in Spain. Our landlady is the sweetest elderly lady who was happy to have her house occupied during the winter months. In the summer, she is busy, but long-term tourists during the winter are a welcome change.

So, what is the temperature like in Spain during the winter months? It’s still too cold for swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, which we can see from our terrace. However, having light and many warm days is wonderful compared to rain, snow, and cold!

Generally, we can say that January in Ayamonte, a town in southern Spain, feels like April/May here in Scandinavia, February like May/June with a few really hot days, and March like June/July.

How to Set Up a Great Workspace on Your Workation

The first thing we noticed when we unlocked our little house was the charming workspace in the living room. Trine got the desk where she could film videos for the Instagram channel. Rune works at the dining table and also in the small courtyard when the weather permits.

We’re already talking about our next long-term vacation and what improvements we’d like to make. One thing we’d really like is a house with an extra room that can be used as an office. This time, we got everything we dreamed of, so hopefully, we’ll achieve it again next time.

A good tip for those going on a workation is that if you can’t find the perfect house with the ideal workspace, it’s easy to create one yourself. The nearest IKEA is 45 minutes away, and if we needed an extra table or a good chair to make the house perfect, we would have just bought it. In the long run, it can be worth it to avoid back pain. And you might either sell it to your landlady when you leave or just leave it as a sort of extra tip.

Pack Loads of Self-Discipline for Your Workation Adventure

Of course, work shouldn’t be all you do because Spain is a fantastic country full of temptations! That’s why we deliberately chose a smaller town, so we wouldn’t feel like we were missing out on too much. However, even in Ayamonte, there are still plenty of great restaurants and absolutely amazing hiking trails.

Above all, we can enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle that also allows time for work. We love everything about the big city of Seville, where we have been countless times. We could have chosen to live there, but it would have meant never getting any real work done. There’s simply too much delicious food, too many attractions, and far too much fun in that city!

Instead, on our long-term vacation, we also take trips around Andalusia and have had three fantastic nights at the most beautiful hotel in Seville. While managing our work, we also make sure to enjoy a little vacation now and then. See all our articles about Seville here: Vacation in Seville.

Embrace Work-Life Balance: Enjoy Your Time in Spain!

Back home, as self-employed individuals, it’s common for us to work 50-60 hours a week. But here in Spain, the experience has been so delightful that after just a month, we found ourselves cutting back to 30-37 hours of work per week. There’s simply too much to enjoy. We also aimed to indulge in our love for hiking – something that’s challenging but doable in Denmark during winter, though it’s far more enjoyable in Spain where the weather is clear and pleasant.

To manage this balance, we began tracking our work hours to make sure we met our goals. We found that without the usual distractions, we became more efficient. Plus, taking a few days off to explore Seville’s many attractions didn’t bring any guilt.

What About the Language?

Neither of us spoke much Spanish when we came here, but we both love learning new languages. Rune has a master’s in Chinese, and together we speak and understand 5-6 languages. So, learning some Spanish quickly was just a fun challenge! Not everyone in southern Spain speaks English, and we wanted to learn enough Spanish to get by in town.

We’ve greatly benefited from Google Translate and Duolingo, and we’ve played the language games that Trine creates on Lou Noire.

Lessons for the Next Workation

Our long-term vacation in Spain has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we definitely plan to go again next year. It will again be during the heavy winter months here in Denmark: January, February, and March. Three months is absolutely perfect, and it doesn’t need to be any shorter or longer.

For our work, moving south has meant a willingness to try many new things. Even though we haven’t put in as many hours as usual, we’ve both made significant progress. New routines have been established, and it’s been almost like attending school again – albeit with highly relevant subjects. For instance, Trine has long dreamed of selling books on Amazon, and there was time to start that project from Spain.

Whether it will be Spain, Italy, or Greece next year is less important. What’s more important is finding a new place that’s as fantastic as Ayamonte has been this time.

We Also Promised to Tell You About Our Dream House…

In Ayamonte, we found the perfect town house that was the setting for our three-month workation. The small blue and white town house, Flor de Sal, is located right at the top of Ayamonte, with views over the salt marshes. From the top terrace, you can also see the large Guadiana River and over to Portugal, and to the south all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Inside, the charming decor was kept in the same blue and white colors, and there was everything we needed, including a workspace with a desk. The house was, in short, everything we had been looking for: authentic, cozy, and with a private courtyard where we spent many hours grilling and just lounging in the afternoon sun. Read more about renting Flor de Sal by clicking on the images and links.