Cienfuegos
Re-create the dignified days of old with a mojito upstairs at the Hotel La Unión; live salsa music usually kicks off around 10pm.
Must-see nightlife in Cuba
Sancti Spíritus Province
A simple bar with stunning views halfway up the ascent road between Trinidad and Topes de Collantes.
Bayamo
International cocktails are served in this tiny corner bar replete with plenty of local atmosphere.
Santiago de Cuba
A local hangout where the coffee is good and bocaditos (snacks) won't set you back.
Cervecería Antiguo Almacén de la Madera y Tabaco
Habana Vieja
Down by the docks lies one of only two brewpubs in Havana, which makes and serves three Austrian-style beers in an old lumber and tobacco warehouse. Craft…
Vedado
Olalá (aka Sarao's) seems more Miami South Beach than traditional Havana, and the music veers toward hip hop and reggaeton as opposed to trova and son…
Varadero
On the top floor of Mansión Xanadú, the dark-wood Bar Mirador is Varadero's ultimate romantic hangout where happy hour conveniently coincides with sunset…
Holguín
Decorated in Cuban film memorabilia, this fancy cafe evokes a classy atmosphere of yesteryear – save for the big wall-mounted TV. It's known locally as a…
Centro Cultural Recreativo los Orishas
Regla, Guanabacoa & the Forts
Situated in a hotbed of Havana's Santería community, this bar-restaurant used to host live rumba music on weekends, including regular visits from the…
Habana Vieja
The ominously named 'golden shower' on Obispo always has live music belting through the doorway, so it's always crowded. But with a higher-than-average…
Villa Clara Province
The most salubrious place for a cafecito and a sandwich in Sagua La Grande (although you might want to body-swerve the toilets), the Real abuts the main…
Habana Vieja
Once the only cafe on Plaza Vieja, this state-run staple encased in a finely restored colonial mansion has recently been outclassed by newer private…
Vedado
An insanely popular nightclub, Pico Blanco is on the 14th floor of the mediocre Hotel St John's. The program can be hit or miss. Some nights it's karaoke…
Cienfuegos
Liquid lunches were invented with El Palatino in mind – a dark-wood bar set in one of the city's oldest buildings on the southern side of Parque José…
Habana del Este
With its luminous interior and open terrace overlooking the street, the Luna is all restaurant but is more popular for its drinks and nighttime action…
Santiago de Cuba
Enlivening Paseo Alameda with its lively ranchón-style bar suspended over the water with a great view over the bay, this is a breezy locale to escape the…
Holguín Province
Right on the sand at Guardalavaca's liveliest strip of beach, Pirata is your standard beach shack with beer, music and enough ingredients to muster up a…
Guantánamo Province
This shell of a ruined colonial building has 9m ceilings, and there are plenty of benches to prop you up after you've downed your nth beer. There's a…
Artemisa & Mayabeque Provinces
An attractive garden club that puts on occasional comedy shows organized in conjunction with the Museo del Humor. The clientele is a mix of townies, folk…
Bayamo
Ice-cold air-con, starched tablecloths, stern waiters, good live music from piano recitals to trovadores (folk singers) and crooners of musica romantica…
Holguín
Sells drinks and snacks (CUC$1 to CUC$4) beneath flowering trellises on Parque Calixto García, and it's a relaxed place to meet other travelers. If you…
Holguín Province
Another quiver in Gibara's freshly renovated bow, this bar next to the Casa de la Cultura hosts live music on Friday and Sunday nights, but is always a…
Havana
A romantically disheveled place on the Malecón that's named after Chilean man of letters Pablo Neruda, this cafe is better for its drinks than its food…
Isla de la Juventud
Extremely loud music and most of the town's teenagers and 20-somethings converge by the historic boat for alfresco dancing. Drink and snack stalls also…
Vedado
This small, darkly lit piano bar attracts something of an older Cuban crowd with its regular diet of boleros (ballads) and trova (traditional music),…
Cienfuegos
It's difficult to say what the Barbarian of Rhythm, Benny Moré, would have made of this disco-club named in his honor. Bring your dancing shoes, stock up…
Holguín
A grotty tavern on pedestrian-only Manduley, where wooden tables and ceramic mugs create a hearty olden days atmosphere. Solo travelers elicit more than…
Isla de la Juventud & Cayo Largo del Sur
Taberna el Pirata is primarily a haunt for boat hands, resort workers and the odd escaped tourist alongside Marina Internacional Cayo Largo. Icy beer,…
Camagüey
This casual Spanish-style taverna, nestled beneath Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, is best used as a drinking option. There's a decent wine…
Habana Vieja
Through good times and bad, the music has never stopped at La Dichosa on busy Calle Obispo. Small and cramped, with at least half the space given over to…
Varadero
Near the Centro Comercial Copey. Expect big, boisterous (young) crowds and plenty of male posturing.
Trinidad
A cheap state-run copy of Havana's much-hyped Hemingway bar, although this one peddles its daiquiris for a reasonable price. A life-sized statue of the…
Santa Clara
The rooftop bar in this otherwise mediocre hotel is as high as you can get in the city center – thankfully, after the climb, the gentleman at the bar…
Isla de la Juventud
Buy your drinks in the cage-like bar next door then head to the courtyard and hectic disco round the corner. This is hard dancing territory some nights,…
Ciego de Ávila Province
Ciego's long-standing coffee institution has seen better days. Still if you just want a cafecito with no ceremony, milk, take-out cup or wi-fi, it can…
Camagüey
The Hunter S Thompson choice. A dive bar with graffiti-splattered walls and interestingly named cocktails, this place consists of one room, four tables…
Habana del Este
This outdoor club in Guanabo is really just a disco with a dancing show (at 11pm) and a heavy assemblage of jinetero/as (touts). Don't expect the…
Varadero
Varadero's most modern video disco is at Hotel Tuxpán, in eastern Varadero. It plays mostly Latin music and is considered 'hot.'
Las Tunas
This offshoot of the Hotel Cadillac has tables on a terrace overlooking the Plaza Martí action and serves decent cappuccinos.
