We’ve just gotten back from Nomad Week in Cape Town, where we had an incredible experience. We were blown away by how beautiful the city is, and how welcoming it is to LGBTQ+ travelers.

As a fan of cycling and public transit, relying on rideshare services like Bolt took a little getting used to, but on the whole, the city felt safe, comfortable, and easy to get around.

We can understand why South Africa attracts so many digital nomads — and with its 36-month digital nomad visa, we think it’s worth considering for any LGBTQ+ Americans looking to move abroad.

Read more about out trip and upcoming travel plans below!

Nomad Week Roundup

We weren’t sure what to expect from our first digital nomad conference. In some circles, digital nomads have a reputation for being a bunch of crypto bros taking advantage of favorable exchange rates and tax loopholes.

But that wasn’t what we found at Nomad Week at all. There was one talk from a crypto bro, but most of the speakers and attendees were from or based in South Africa, and more than half were women.

The conference was run by Andrae Smith, founder and CEO of of Work Wanderers, who put together a diverse lineup of speakers.

Here are just a few of the people we heard from:

• Tasha from Duraca Travels talked about being a travel writer and living abroad as an American for over five years

• Callum from Black Box Design talked about using real-time data for community aid and disaster relief in Durban, SA

• Jessica Holmes talked about housesitting as a digital nomad and her book The Housesitter’s Guide to the Galaxy

• Samantha Wolhuter discussed the Cape Town housing crisis and alternatives to mainstream booking platforms

We would have liked to see more queer representation, but our talk on LGBTQ+ inclusion in digital nomad spaces went over well, and Remote Queer even won a prize in the pitch competition!

Two New Travel Apps

While we were at Nomad Week, we had a chance to talk with Matt Gray, the founder of the Pangea travel app, which helps you connect with and stay in touch with friends around the world:

Pangea - Connect and Explore the World Together

Travel the globe, get trusted recs and keep in touch with everyone you meet along the way.

You can plan a trip, join a friend’s trip, or search for travel recs. It’s a great alternative to mainstream social media apps that don’t fill this niche. There are even some community-based features that we hope to try out soon!

Another tool that may be useful for people who need to track their days inside - or outside - a country is Roamwise:

Roamwise – Smart Travel Day Tracking for Tax & Visa Compliance

Track days spent in each country to stay tax and visa compliant. Roamwise helps digital nomads, expats, and frequent travelers avoid penalties while keeping data private.

You can use it to count your days in a country to maintain your residency status, or to limit your days in a country to avoid becoming a resident.

According to founder Lennart Brandt, Roamwise is privacy-focused and “keeps all your personal data local. We don’t see your trips, location, or logs.” Lennart is currently looking for beta testers for the iOS app.

Noma Tribe: Peru Hike

Finally, I’ll be heading to South America in May with Noma Tribe, a work-and-travel community run by Vero and Yomi with an adventure focus:

We’ll spend three weeks in Cusco, with the 4-day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu included. Prior to that, I plan to take the Peru Hop bus from Lima to Cusco, which stops at some of Peru’s most popular destinations.

Have you done this trip yourself, or want to join us in South America? Just hit reply with any thoughts, comments, or feedback!

Saul @ Remote Queer