Colombia has become one of Latin America’s top remote work destinations. Medellín’s digital nomad scene, Bogotá’s coworking spaces, and Cartagena’s Caribbean coast all promise good WiFi and decent coffee. But here’s what the Instagram reels don’t show: Colombian internet is inconsistent. Your Airbnb’s “high-speed WiFi” might peak at 10 Mbps. The café with five-star reviews has one power outlet. And that coworking space you prepaid for? It’s in Laureles, but your client call is at 6 AM and you’re staying in Poblado.

After helping remote workers stay connected across 160+ countries — including plenty moving between Bogotá, Medellín, and the coast for Colombia’s standard 90-day visa-free stay — we’ve seen what actually works. This guide covers your real options, from day one to month three.

Why Colombia’s Internet Needs a Backup Plan

Colombia’s major cities have fibre. Claro, Movistar, and Tigo all offer decent home broadband. But as a remote worker on a tourist visa, you’re not signing up for a 12-month contract with a Colombian bank account. You’re renting furnished Airbnbs, bouncing between neighbourhoods, maybe spending a month in Salento or Santa Marta.

The internet you’ll actually use looks like this: your accommodation’s WiFi (variable), café networks (crowded during peak hours), coworking day passes (expensive if you’re there daily), and your phone’s hotspot (which burns through data if you’re on Zoom all day). One client call dropping because your Airbnb’s router reset is embarrassing. Three is a pattern.

You need a connection you control. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

“ConnectPls has allowed us to work and travel across multiple countries. After trying several different providers over a year, we think it’s the best solution for digital nomads wanting to stay connected within Europe.”
— Jess & Marcus Woodbridge, verified ConnectPls customer

Four Ways Remote Workers Actually Get Online in Colombia

When a Portable WiFi Subscription Makes Sense for Colombia

ConnectPls ships a mobile router that connects up to 10 devices at once. The device is included in your monthly subscription, so you’re not buying hardware upfront or hunting for rental counters at El Dorado Airport. Order it to your home address (2-3 working days across Europe, 4-5 in the UK), activate it before you fly, and it works the moment you land in Bogotá.

Colombia sits in our “Group 2” coverage tier: you get 500MB per day at 4G speeds, then unlimited at 256kbps after that. For context, 500MB handles about 45 minutes of video calls, several hours of email and Slack, and background Maps navigation. If you’re on back-to-back Zooms all day, you’ll hit that limit. If you’re doing focused work with one or two calls, you won’t.

The real advantage is flexibility. Monthly billing means you activate for the months you’re travelling, pause when you’re not. No contracts. If you’re doing the classic three-month Colombia circuit (Medellín, then coast, then Bogotá before your visa expires), you pay for three months. Cancel anytime. There’s a £25 fee if you cancel a mobile-router subscription within the first three months, which covers the shipping and return logistics, but after that, nothing.

This model works for remote workers who move around. The same device that got you online in Medellín works in Cartagena, then in Mexico City when you hop north. No hunting for new SIM cards, no re-registering your passport every border crossing. We’ve shipped routers to people doing six-month van trips across Europe (think motorhome broadband for France and Spain) who then took the same device to Colombia. Same subscription, different continent.

What About eSIMs for Colombia Work?

eSIMs are fast to set up and cheap for short trips. Install one before you fly, land with data. But for remote work, they have two problems: they’re single-device (your phone only, unless you hotspot and kill your battery), and they’re usually sold as finite data buckets. A 10GB eSIM sounds generous until you’ve used 3GB in your first two video calls.

If your work is mostly async — writing, light email, occasional calls — an eSIM can cover you. If you’re on camera daily, sharing your screen, or uploading files, you’ll want something that doesn’t run out mid-month.

ConnectPls also offers eSIM plans across the same 160+ country network, using Cloud SIM technology that switches between operators automatically. It’s the same flexible monthly billing (activate when you travel, pause when you don’t), but for phone-only coverage. Useful if you’re pairing it with solid accommodation WiFi and just need mobile backup.

The Local SIM Card Reality Check

Colombian SIM cards (Claro, Movistar, Tigo) are cheap and offer generous data. A prepaid plan with 20-30GB costs around 30,000-50,000 COP (about £6-10). Coverage in cities is good. But setup takes time: you’ll need your passport, you’ll need to find a physical store (airport kiosks charge tourist rates), and the top-up process involves scratch cards or apps that sometimes reject foreign cards.

If you’re staying put in Medellín for two months, spending an afternoon sorting a local SIM makes sense. If you’re moving between cities every few weeks, or crossing into Ecuador or Panama during your stay, re-doing that process gets old. And most local SIMs have tethering limits or throttle hotspot speeds, which matters if you’re trying to get your laptop online.

Real Questions from Remote Workers Heading to Colombia

Can I rely on café and coworking WiFi for full-time remote work in Colombia?

For a week, maybe. For three months, no. Medellín’s coworking spaces (Selina, Atom House, La Casa Redonda) have solid internet, but day passes add up if you’re there five days a week. Cafés fill up by 10 AM, and you’re competing for bandwidth with a dozen other laptops. Accommodation WiFi varies wildly. Even expensive Airbnbs sometimes have 15 Mbps connections shared across four apartments. You need a backup you control, whether that’s a portable hotspot, a local SIM with decent tethering, or an eSIM with enough data for your workload.

Does portable WiFi work across Colombia if I’m moving between cities?

Yes. A Cloud SIM device (like ConnectPls’s mobile router) connects to whichever local operator has the best signal: Claro in one neighbourhood, Movistar in another, Tigo on the coast. You’re not locked to one network. Colombia’s 4G coverage is good in cities and along major routes; it thins out in rural areas (the coffee region’s mountain roads, or the road from Santa Marta to Palomino), but so does every other option. The same device works if you cross into Ecuador, Peru, or fly to Mexico. No new SIM, no re-registration.

What’s the actual daily data limit for remote work in Colombia on a portable WiFi plan?

On ConnectPls’s Colombia coverage (Group 2), you get 500MB/day at full 4G speed, then unlimited at 256kbps. That’s enough for a couple of video calls, email, Slack, and general browsing. It’s not enough for all-day Zoom or large file uploads. If your work is video-heavy every day, pair the portable WiFi with your accommodation’s connection for calls, and use the hotspot as mobile backup. If you’re doing focused work with one or two calls, 500MB/day handles it. The 256kbps fallback still covers messaging and email if you go over. It’s slow, but it doesn’t cut you off.

How We’d Actually Set Up Internet for Three Months in Colombia

Here’s the setup we recommend to remote workers doing Colombia’s standard 90-day stay: Start with a portable WiFi subscription for guaranteed backup across all your devices. Order it before you leave, activate it the day you fly, and it works in Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, and the dozen smaller towns you’ll visit between. That’s your safety net.

Once you’re settled in your first city and know you’re staying a month, grab a local SIM for high-speed data when you’re out. Use the portable WiFi for your accommodation (where the Airbnb’s connection might be weak) and while travelling between cities. Use the local SIM when you’re working from a café and need faster speeds. Two connections means you’re never stuck.

If you’re hopping between Colombia and other Latin American countries (a month in Medellín, two weeks in Lima, then Mexico City), the portable WiFi subscription makes more sense as your primary, because it works across all of them without re-buying SIMs every border. Monthly billing, same device, 160+ countries. Cancel when you fly home, or pause it if you’re back for a month and reactivate before your next trip.

What Colombia Actually Costs for Remote Work Internet

A local Colombian SIM with 20-30GB runs about £6-10/month. An eSIM with 10-20GB for Colombia costs £15-30 depending on the provider. A portable WiFi subscription (with the device included, working across multiple countries, and flexible monthly billing) is more expensive upfront but makes sense if you’re moving around or combining Colombia with other destinations. The trade-off is control: you’re not hunting for top-up cards, you’re not re-registering at every border, and you’re not rationing data on day 18 of a 30-day bucket.

We’ve watched digital nomads spend three days troubleshooting a flaky Airbnb router instead of just switching to their own hotspot and getting on with their work. The cheapest option isn’t always the one that costs the least. Sometimes it’s the one that doesn’t waste half a morning.