Havana gay clubs
Havana Nightlife: The Best Bars and Clubs in Havana's Four Main Neighborhoods [2025]
January 8, 2025
By: Alissa Scheer [IG: AbsolutelyAlissa]
As the heat sets and the oppressive heat subsides, people launch to relax from the daily grind, the capital slows from its usual hustle and bustle and fun is on the agenda, the kind of fun that only Havana’s nightlife can deliver. A night out in Havana is an adventure. With an ambiance that can only be described as magical, every evening opens a door to the unexpected. You never realize what awaits you or when the party will end. Whether you spot yourself spontaneously dancing under the stars or sipping fancy craft cocktails in an atmospheric local prevent, you’ll discover that nightlife in Havana has a unique charm that sets it apart from the daytime buzz.
Navigating Havana’s Nightlife Scene
Finding the best bars and nightclubs in Havana can present a question for visitors for two main reasons. First, because it lacks the overt advertisements seen in other major cities. Havana’s bars, clubs and restaurants, aren’t easily found in glossy brochures or flashy billboards. Gone are the days when you could flip th
Regina Cano
HAVANA TIMES — A friend was telling me that more gay* parties being held in Havana today than before.
Are people more tolerant now? Is there more money to be made organizing these parties? Or are people who attend these parties making more money and able to go more often?
My friend is right about the change that the lives of queer people have experienced in Cuba. Today, “everything is ok” at the institutional level.
The fact of the matter is that, before we arrived at this “official pardon”, before gays could freely travel about the city without being harassed, we heard stories that were lovely much “horror films” (as they say here).
There were violent and even physical reactions to the sight of a homosexual walking down the street. Not all homosexuals were simply minding their own business, but the beatings were not, and are not, any kind of acceptable response. Many homosexual men and women also suffered police repression.
In the Cuban capital, there have always existed “public” homosexual gathering places, generally for men (we haven’t heard of any such spot where women meet, and it is said the spots for men are rather dangerous for women).
These not many spots
Jack Kenworthy( Queer Travel Maestro )
Queer travel expert Jack Kenworthy turns 250+ town adventures into your mentor for safe, vibrant, and inclusively fabulous global journeys.
The gay scene in Cuba’s capital city, Havana, thrives daily as the nation gains recognition as a gay-friendly travel destination. Havana was built for strolling, with many cultural attractions and one-of-a-kind activities. However, Havana’s gay nightlife remains a well-guarded secret since the gay scene has yet to enjoy the freedoms experienced by other LGBT communities, such as those in North America and Europe or even their South American counterparts.
When the term Havana is uttered, images of Spanish conquistadors, revolutionary heroes, and the literati and glitterati who once basked on these sun-kissed beaches arrive to mind. Today, the intriguing history of Cuba’s capital city greets you at every turn, amid the cobblestone lanes of Old Havana, the stunning Cuban Baroque architecture, ancient forts, museums, iconic restaurants, and busy public squares.
On the other hand, the people are likely to be the highlight of any vacation to same-sex attracted Havana. Residents are prou
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“Which direction should we walk?”
My friend and I had arrived at Mi Cayito beach in Cuba, a stretch of shoreline 15 miles east of Havana, in search of gay Cuba travel experiences. It looked as though the beach extended quite a distance in both directions, so we were unsure where to discover the gay section of beach that supposedly existed. The Internet hadn’t been much help in that regard.
Just then, a college-age guy with a sassy demeanor sauntered past with a female friend. We were evidently on the right track. “Follow him!”
Our hope that the dude would lead us to the gay beach were realized when, after five minutes of walking west, we spotted the rainbow flag.
Visiting Mi Cayito, The Gay Cuba Beach
On this weekday afternoon, the same-sex attracted beach had maybe 100 people at most, but it was still wonderful to see signs of gay life in Cuba, where acceptance is growing but still not nearly at the same level as in most western nations.
As of this writing, Cuba still has no official gay bars (just the occasional gay late hours at a club). So the gay beach was our best shot at finding the LGBTQ crowd in Havana. And w
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