Situated around 100 km southwest of Barcelona, Tarragona is a lesser known coastal, Catalan city which is consistently overlooked by visitors to the region. With some of the best preserved Roman ruins in Iberia, a historic centre and some wonderful beaches, that continues to be a surprise. Anyone looking for a slightly more local experience in Spain might be wise to consider it as their next destination. Read on for our Tarragona digital nomad guide to find out more!
Table of Contents
- Nomad Cities – Tarragona Guide
- Best Neighbourhoods in Tarragona
- Positives
- Things to Consider
- Tarragona Guide – Costs
- Coworking Space Tarragona
- Verdict: Is Tarragona good for digital nomads?
Nomad Cities – Tarragona Guide
- Population – 135,000
- Country – Spain
- Languages – Spanish, Catalan
- Currency – Euro
- EU & Schengen Area
At the time of our visit in July 2022, Spain is engulfed in a summer heatwave with temperatures soaring above 40°C in much of the country. Located on the coast, in the northwestern autonomous community of Catalonia, Tarragona has been spared the extremes but is still basking under the hot Mediterranean sun with the mild waters of the Balearic Sea the only serious respite.
Fortunately, Tarragona is blessed with some excellent, clean city beaches, which are busier than normal with locals joining the relatively small number of foreign visitors once the heat of the early afternoon sun begins to subside.
This is not Barcelona or the Costa Brava, nor even nearby Salou, all of which are Catalan destinations that attract tourists and holidaymakers in their droves at this time of year. Tarragona by contrast, retains a local flavour and even a sense of calm giving visitors the impression at least that they have stepped off the beaten path to discover something a bit more authentic on Spain’s heavily tourist-orientated Mediterranean coastline.
Best Neighbourhoods in Tarragona
Firstly, it’s worth noting that Tarragona is only a small city. Wherever you are located, you will not be too far from where you need to be. There are regular local bus services while taxis certainly shouldn’t cost more than €10 to get from any part of the city to another. In most cases, you’ll be able to get by on foot in any case, although the walks uphill from the beach and port areas to the old town and higher neighbourhoods aren’t that much fun on a hot summer’s day.
In terms of finding the best areas to base yourself, the Part Alta is the historic, atmospheric old centre. It’s where you’ll find the best selection of restaurants, tapas bars and the best of the Tarragona nightlife. Apartments in this area tend to be in older buildings and you may get slightly less value for money but the location is tough to beat with great views and easy access to both the train station and main beaches aside from all the perks of city centre living.
The old part is slightly higher up but quickly slopes down into Eixample de Tarragona, a slightly newer district which forms the modern centre built around the Rambla Nova, a long street which runs through the heart of the city from the bus station to the Balcó del Mediterrani which offers fabulous views of the port, beaches and nearby Roman Amphitheatre, the city’s best known landmark which will feature in every Tarragona travel guide. This area offers some slightly newer accommodation options and excellent access to the Platja del Miracle, Tarragona’s most central beach.
If you’re looking for a Tarragona airbnb for a slightly longer stay of a month or more and want somewhere a bit quieter to work, you may prefer to look slightly further out. Beyond the Part Alta, away from the centre, you find the mostly residential Llevant neighbourhood. It feels a bit more spacious than the heart of Tarragona. It offers easy access to the Rabassada and Savinosa beaches, and many apartment complexes in this area also have swimming pools which are much harder to find in more central districts.
Positives
- Easy access to great beaches
Tarragona is a great destination for beach lovers with many different options. The most central city beach (Platja del Miracle) is perfectly fine for spending a few hours on, but the beaches tend to get nicer and the sea clearer as you move further away from the port and along the coast (in the direction of Barcelona). Options include the naturist friendly Platja Savinosa and calm waters of Platja Llarga. If you want something a bit livelier, the popular beach towns of Salou, Cambrils and Sitges are also easily reached by either bus or train.
- Historic centre
The old centre of Tarragona is a maze of narrow streets, that are full of charm and character. It compares favourably to many better known travel destinations and there is no shortage of great options for eating out or enjoying some drinks in one of Tarragona’s pretty squares or miradors which serve up wonderful sea views.
- Good links to Barcelona
Tarragona to Barcelona is not a complicated journey and there are plentiful connections. Most opt to use the Rodalies trains which depart at least once per hour during the day and take roughly 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Barcelona Sants Station costing €7-8 with 10-ticket bono options available for €50-60 if you plan to make regular trips. These trains leave from the central Tarragona Train Station as opposed to the ridiculously located Camp de Tarragona which offers high-speed connections to Madrid and Barcelona but is situated 12 km north of the centre with relatively limited public transport links to the city proper.
Things to Consider
- Small city without an international feel
It is worth noting that while Tarragona is one of the biggest cities in Catalonia outside of Barcelona, it is very different to the Catalan capital. There are few tourists here and very few digital nomads have elected to make it their base with many either drawn to slightly bigger and livelier cities or year-round destinations such as the Canary Islands. It’s something to bear in mind and those who like to find a community of other remote workers wherever they go, may want to check out our rundown of the most popular cities in Spain for digital nomads.
- Not a great winter destination
Tarragona certainly can’t compete with the Canaries or even destinations in the south of mainland Spain such as Malaga or Tarifa when it comes to its suitability as a winter sun destination. Average highs during December and January are only around 13°C. June to September is the main summer season while you might strike it lucky in May or October, but outside of those months, it’ll almost certainly be too cold to spend much time on the beach.
Tarragona Guide – Costs
| Private room in Airbnb | From €30/night / €550/month |
| Private room for long-term rent | €250-€350/month |
| 1-2 bedroom flat on Airbnb | From €80/night / €1000/month |
| 1-2 bedroom flat for long-term rent | From €500/month |
| Meal in an affordable restaurant | €10-12 |
| Beer in a bar | €1.50-3 |
| Coffee in a cafe/restaurant | €1.50-2 |
| City bus ticket | €1.50 |
| Train to Barcelona (1 hours 15 minutes) | €7-8 |
The costs for this Tarragona nomad guide were compiled in July 2022. You can expect to find some really good deals on short-term accommodation during the winter months for cheaper than the prices quoted above but July and particularly August are the main holiday months for Spaniards and are more expensive and may require advanced booking. June or September are good times to visit for marginally more affordable rentals whilst still being able to enjoy hot, sunny weather.
If you’re looking for fun things to do in Tarragona, then there are loads of free or very affordable options. A visit to the amphitheatre is only €3.30 for example, although in truth you can see it pretty well without going in. This is not like Barcelona, where there are even charges for going to some parks now!
Coworking Space Tarragona
| Popular Coworking Spaces | Google Rating |
| Tarragona Platja Coworking | 4.9 |
| Cowork Tarraco | 4.8 |
| La Caravana Coworking | 4.5 |
The absence of much of an international crowd and relatively low English levels in Spain in general means this is not the kind of place where you can necessarily walk into a coworking space and immediately converse with somebody in English. The Catalan or Spanish language websites also indicate these coworking spaces are primarily geared towards locals but most will cater to foreigners or short-term visitors too.
Verdict: Is Tarragona good for digital nomads?
Tarragona is a great summer destination for digital nomads looking to escape the massive crowds in some of the more popular beach resorts and towns in Spain and around Europe. Its manageable size makes it feel small enough to explore easily on foot but large enough that you won’t get bored easily and even if you do, you can always hop on a train to Barcelona.
For those looking for longer-term stays of a year or more, there are probably better options than Tarragona. Away from the beach season, the city may feel slightly quiet and isolating for foreigners looking for some kind of social life and opportunities to meet like minded people with a bigger city or a more popular digital nomad destination a better bet, certainly from November through to April.
We visited the city in July 2022 and the info in this Tarragona guide is accurate as of them.
Mark Sochon
Mark is a freelance writer currently based in Madrid, Spain. He writes about travel and football and has visited most countries in the EU. He has lived and worked remotely from various cities across Iberia.
Any idea if it’s possible to be able to include your partner on that visa? if not married ? Spain seem to discount relationships if not married or civil partners, bit backward for 2022 as less people get married etc.
Spain do tend to overcomplicate visas and application processing, I’ve bypassed Spain in favour of other countries visa schemes and tax complexity.
I’m not sure what visa you are referring to. Spain is planning to launch a digital nomad visa but the scheme has not started yet so we don’t have any information regarding the specific terms/requirements.