Nightclubs and bars in Havana

I took a look up in Vedado on a Saturday evening. The area where Malecon meets the main drag that runs into Vedado (La Rampa) was packed with Cuban teenagers playing their music and cruising round in cars, not unlike lots of places in the world. It was interesting watching one guy with the sound belting out of the sound system in the boot of a 40 year old lada that looked like it would barely start (as so many Cuban cars appear but they all seems to start in one way or another). This was all people drinking and hanging around on the street.

I've no idea what any of the bars around here are like, I'm too old for this crowd so I left them to it.

the place to party at multiple places and best beach still is at Varadero. A whole tourist complex with all amenities for visitors.

You have all this
Cabaret Tropicana Varadero
like the one in Havana,hours 20h30 -2h45
Discothèque Havana Club
Shopping Center Copey 64th street and 3rd avenue from 22h30-3h00
Cabaret La Patana
Ruta Vía Blanca,hours 21h00-4h00
Karaoke El Castillito
Avenida Playa between 48st and 49st, hours 22h00 -6h00
Cabaret Cueva del Pirata
Autopista Sur km 11, hours 21h00- 2h00
Discothèque Palacio de La Rumba
Avenue Las Américas km 4, Varadero.
Sala de Fiestas Mambo Club
Ruta Las Morlas km 14, hours 21h00-5h00
Cabaret Continental
Hôtel Varadero Internacional, hours 20h00-4h00
Sala de Fiestas Caribe Mix
Hôtel Arenas Doradas,hours 22h00-4h00
Discothèque La Bamba
Hôtel Tuxpan,hours 22h30 -3h00.
Discothèque La Goleta
Hôtel Sol Palmeras, hours 22h30-4h00.
Karaoke Tenerife
Hôtel Meliá Varadero, hours 22h00- 2h00
Centro Nocturno Amfiteatro de Varadero
Vía Blanca and Ruta de Cárdenas.
Karaoké 440
Vía Blanca and Ruta de Cárdenas.
Piano Bar Noche Azul
60 st between 2nd and 3rd avenue
Discothèque Havana Café
Avenida Las Américas. Reparto La Torre
Discothèque La Cascada
Hôtel Meliá Las Américas,
Discothèque La Movida
Hôtel Oasis,
Cabaret Santiago
Hôtel Meliá Varadero.
Discothèque Cáñamo
Hôtel Cáñamo, Matanzas.
Centro Nocturno El Jagüey
Ruinas de Matasiete calle Luis near the viaduc Habana-Varadero Matanzas. Hours from 22h00-6h00
Centro Nocturno Arechabala
767, Calle Sáez, Cárdenas.
Karaoké La Descarga
Hôtel Kawama, Varadero.
La Pachanga
Hôtel Acuazul, Varadero.

have a blast and report back chauuuu!!!

Dress Code: dress for the tropic casual cool

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Most places have music in habana veija, which is ok at first but im not a big cuban music fan so got a little tired of it however it was still pleasant.

we went in:

-Patio Amarillo - live music, pretty dead inside, 3 CUC for a cuba libre.
-La Dichosa-on Obsipo-small place but gets busy, one of the better places we went in. music was good and its a friendly place. 3 CUC for cuba libre.
-Cafe Paris-full of tourists, live music - its ok but its all about the music. its got nice seats outside for people watching. the dearest cuba libre we paid for at 4 CUC shows its touristy.

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This is where the kids of the Nomenclatura go to party. Notice the kids in Disigner clothes paid for by officials in the suposedly classless society.

Nonetheless, smoe of the best young talent play here. I particularly recomend X Alfonso and my favorite, Kelvis Ochoa. You can pas by the theater and look for the list of Thursday through Sunday shows each week.

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If you want a more authentic Cuban experience, you will likely be the only Yuma in this club. It is mostly an Afro-Cuban hanging, a dark, smoky and small club with some tables and DJ music with a dance-floor. You are sure to see fantastic Afro-Cuban dancing and may be invited yourself! The music is primarily reggae and rap/hip hop and the entrance and drinks are in pesos nacionales. It makes for a cheap night!

Dress Code: More casual than most CUC nightclubs

This is a hotel club in Cojimar (closer to the Playas del Este across from the harbour of downtown Havana) but we had a GREAT time at this club.

It opens at 10 pm and the first 50 women in the club get in for free- but you will have to fight the ferocious Cubanas to be able to do so! For the rest of us slow-pokes, it was a 5 CUC admission including 5 CUC of consumption. A bottle of rum costs 7 CUC and it is 1 CUC each for Coke. We grabbed a table and started to drink. The music started off as spanish balads but soon turned into reggaeton and salsa and then, around midnight, a fabulous Cuban reggaeton band came on to play with a beautiful female singer.

The vibe was VERY Cuban and very fun.

Pictures to come

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One of my "had to do"'s while in Havana was to sip a daiquiri in this infamous old haunt of Ernest Hemingway. This was Hemingway's favourite drink, though rumour has it that not only was he an alcoholic but that he was also a diabetic!

I came upon the bar quite by accident when wandering the old town of Havana, and the first thing that surprised me was the old plastic backlit sign over the building advertising "La Floridita." As so much effort has gone into renovating Old Havana I was expecting something perhaps a little different.

However, as soon as the smartly dressed doorman opened the glass dors to admit me I knew I had entered someplace special. The exterior belies the comfort and style of the interior, which is crowded with tourists sipping daiquiris. Almost nobody seems to drink anything else!

Smartly dressed men in suits go around with humidors selling the best Cuban cigars. A band plays rhythmic caribbean music and everyone is right into the swing of things. They take requests, too.

A big bronze statue of Hemingway stands in the corner by the bar and people pose for pics beside the infamous author.

There's a restaurant at the back behind heavy velvet drapes, and I wished I had a reservation.

Altogether a place I am longing to go back to.

Most of the Havana spots can be split into 3 categories - hotel bars, nightclub "shows" and smaller bars that are little more than a basic room. The latter can be pretty depressing places before the live music starts with sparse furniture, bland decoration and a few tacky pictures. With the band in full swing they come alive, although the crowd generally remains pretty passive no matter how good the music gets.

In Habana Vieja the two parallel streets of Obispo & O'Reilly, that run from Parque Central to the Canal de Entrada are good starting points, with Lluvia de Oro & Cafe Paris two of the better bars you’ll find. Café Paris was definitely the superior of the two with regard atmosphere & music.

Back at Parque Central, stop off at Hotel Inglaterra for some rum on their street terrace, again with full band, normally with quite a crowd listening in for free. Drink up, then have another on their roof top bar with fantastic night views of the illuminated Capitolio.

The bar at NH Parque Central didn’t have a band, but makes up for it as probably the classiest drink you’ll have on this side of town, and with cocktails only 4 – 5 CUC’s is worth a look.

Dress Code: None