Everyone is talking about workations and colivings right now. They sound alike, they overlap a little and they are also quite different, which is exactly why choosing between them gets confusing. 🤯
Good news: you are in the right place. We run both, with group workations around the world, so we can explain it from the inside. Who better than us? Here is the short version: a workation is a group trip for remote professionals where everything is sorted for you, and a coliving is a place to settle into at your own pace. Let's look at the main differences. 👇
Arrive together, leave together. On a workation the whole group arrives and leaves on the same days. In many colivings people check in and out at different times.
You know the group before you go. We meet every workation participant on a video call before the trip, so the group is put together with care.
Way more to do. A workation has a full schedule with at least 3 activities a day, all set from the beginning. A coliving usually has about 1.
More freedom in a coliving. It suits people who want to plan their own days and set their own rhythm.
Neither one is better. They answer different needs.
Workation vs coliving: what is the difference?
A workation is a group trip for remote professionals. You arrive and everything is sorted: a place to stay, a coworking space, a full schedule of activities and excursions, and a group already waiting for you. You do not need to think about plans, excursions or where to eat. A coliving is a slower stay where you live and work in the same house, with a lighter schedule and more independence.
Our own shorthand says it best:
A workation is experiencing a place together. A coliving is living there together.
In Italy we have done both. Our Mate Workations in Amantea (Calabria, southern Italy) ran in 2025 and 2026, and our first Mate coliving season in the same town started in autumn 2026. The town is the same, and the two ways of spending time in it are quite different.
How does the group come together in each one?
On a workation everyone arrives together and leaves together, so the group moves through the same days from the first dinner to the last. Nobody walks into a room where friendships already exist, because everyone is new on the same day. The activities are all set from the beginning too, so the plan is ready before anyone lands.
In many colivings the check-in and check-out days are spread out, so people keep arriving and leaving and the group changes all the time. Our coliving uses set check-in dates to keep the group steady during the season. Even so, the whole point of a workation is that one group starts and finishes together.
Do you know who you will be living with?
On a Mate Workation, yes. Every participant has a video call with us before the trip, and we select the people ourselves. We want the right mix of vibes, personalities and professions, because masterminds are one of the main things we do and they work best when the group has different backgrounds.
In a coliving, joining is more spontaneous, so you usually do not know what the vibe of the group will be until you get there.
Mate is community based, and that shapes everything we do. We as founders and our Community Leads are trained to make sure people feel comfortable, make friends, do things together and feel free to be themselves. There are planned activities and spontaneous ones, and both matter. Even the more introverted participants usually find their own little group, the people to chat and gossip with, to build real friendships with and even to help with work. Living together with a close community is the best part. 🍷
How much is planned in a workation compared with a coliving?
A Mate Workation has a schedule for the whole trip, with at least 3 activities a day, so you always have options. A coliving normally offers about one activity a day, and the rest is up to you. In the coliving the activities come on top of the place and the stay, and the shared living is the main draw.
The activities respect your working hours, because a workation is a real mix of holiday and work. You get the most out of the place you are in without giving up your job or leaving tasks unfinished. Imagine a run in the woods with the group before you start working, lunch together by the pool, and after work dinner in a restaurant in town trying typical food. That was one of the many days we lived on our Bansko workation in June 2026.
Here is what the September 2026 Calabria Mate workation looked like. The group worked from a coworking space on weekdays. There were three cooking classes, a lunch at an agriturismo, day trips to Tropea and Scilla, a group workout two or three times a week and a barbecue on the beach on the last night. On top of that, we ran masterminds 3 to 4 times a week.
Is everything compulsory?
No. Activities are optional on a workation, even the included ones. Plenty of our participants are introverts, and some of the most grateful feedback has come from them. People join what they want, when they feel like it. Nobody will drag you out of your room, and if you would rather finish a task than join the cooking class, we will still save you a seat at dinner. 😄
Which one gives you more freedom?
A coliving gives you more freedom, because nobody sets your day. You decide when to work, when to cook and when to see people. That said, in our coliving in Calabria there is at least one activity every day that we all do together and that is already in the calendar: a padel morning, aperitivos after work, excursions at the weekend or community dinners. If you want a long stay somewhere new and you are happy to build your own routine, that is a good fit.
Our Amantea coliving (South of Italy) also has a huge coworking area with separate tables, and a desk in every room, so you decide when and where to work, with more privacy or less. The professional coffee machine has become everyone's meeting point for a quick chat between two tasks.
A workation gives you less freedom and more company. If you do not want to plan your evenings, the programme does it for you. If you want long stretches alone with your laptop and your own plans, a coliving will feel better.
Who is each one for?
A workation is for you if you like a full schedule and plenty of time with the group. A coliving is for you if you want a lot of time to yourself and you enjoy sharing dinners and company. Even when there are not many activities, the best part of a coliving is the shared living itself: there is always someone to watch a film with, grab a coffee with, take a walk with or hit the gym with after work.
We want you to pick the format that fits you, because that matters more to us than a booking!
What happens when the group clicks?
With Mate the group always clicks! 🎉 Some groups are much tighter than others, but incredible relationships form every time. There are always people who decide to travel together afterwards, and couples have even been born along the way. Hello, Mate Cupid! 💘
Some workation groups have so much energy that saying goodbye at the end brings tears! People are happy about the time they spent together and about the connection they built, so the last day is not easy. That is hard to get in a place where guests drift in and out on different days.
So, which one is for you?
Pick a workation if you want to arrive with everything sorted, a full schedule and a group that arrives and leaves together. It is also the better pick for introverts, because the group, the planned activities and our Community Lead do the work of bringing people together. Pick a coliving if you want to set your own rhythm and have a place to settle into. Both come with company, and the difference is how much we organise for you.
Our top destinations are Calabria, Bansko and Morocco. Pick your next one:
👉 Check out the coliving in Calabria
So, see you in our next coliving or workation? 🌴
