Havana "bar hopping" - middle aged style! ;)

[KCmomof5]

I did some research on my own last night and posted on Trip Advisor. Here is a list I came up with so far, but am not done with my "homework":

 

El Patchanka - across from El Christo Square

Lamparilla Tapas & Cervezas

El Dandy

Jazz Café

La Vitrola

Los Dos Hermanos

La Bodeguita Del Medio

La Floridita

 

The last 3 on the list appear to be a bit too "touristy" for our taste, but may stop in and share a drink depending on how the day/night goes. Los Dos and La Bodeguita are very near the cruise terminal so could be a good spot for the last stop on our "tour".

 

We likely will start at El Patchanka and walk there from the terminal. Meander to several other places and end the evening by taking a CoCo cab back to the pier. A CoCo cab ride is on our to do list for this trip so after an evening of middle aged bar hopping might be the perfect time for this!

 

Here is what we did..Several people have asked about going out at night on your own. I highly recommend it. It was our favorite night. This is what we did the first night. Left the ship about 5 and started walking to El Del Frente. We took our time and made some friends along the way. The ladies we met ran a shop out of their homes. They were not pushy. BF bought a hat and I handed out candy to the kids and make-up to the ladies. We then walked to eat at El Del Frente. It is upstairs....so look for the door...it can easily be missed. Passed a flea market and a vendor on the corner selling fruit. The food/drinks at El Del Frente was excellent. They have a roof top that you can eat dinner/have drinks or chose to stay in the a/c . We went from there to La Dichosa. Great music!!!! We made a slight change in our original plan and headed to the Malecon .. Was the best decision we made. Sitting on the malecon with the locals to watch the sunset....beyond words....beautiful! Our absolute favorite memory. We then headed over to walk down the Paseo del Prado. It was filled with kids playing

Would have been a great place to hand out gifts/toys. We made our way to the Capital and the Ballet theatre ,Gran Teatro, to take pictures at night. Gorgeous!!! After the Gran Teatro. We went to El Floridita but it was too crowded, El Patchanka..too crowded, Art Pub...no music going on. La Reliquia was our last stop and the best. Free salsa lessons!! Lots of dancing. We felt totally safe walking the streets. We stayed there until midnight then started walking back to the Majesty. We ran into a fellow passenger and joined her in a Convertible ride to Hotel Nationale. She had negotiated a great deal ...ten CUCS!!!! Unfortunately we couldn't get that great deal coming back. ..we paid 15. Got back about 1:30 am Hotel Nationale is beautiful! !!

[KCmomof5]

What agency did you book your "private Strawberry Tour" with? Strawberry does not operate on the evening we are in Havana.

 

Thanks.

 

You could easily do your own bar hop. I have a map I created but I do not know how to up load to here.

[cpayne]

Here is what we did..Several people have asked about going out at night on your own. I highly recommend it. It was our favorite night. This is what we did the first night. Left the ship about 5 and started walking to El Del Frente. We took our time and made some friends along the way. The ladies we met ran a shop out of their homes. They were not pushy. BF bought a hat and I handed out candy to the kids and make-up to the ladies. We then walked to eat at El Del Frente. It is upstairs....so look for the door...it can easily be missed. Passed a flea market and a vendor on the corner selling fruit. The food/drinks at El Del Frente was excellent. They have a roof top that you can eat dinner/have drinks or chose to stay in the a/c . We went from there to La Dichosa. Great music!!!! We made a slight change in our original plan and headed to the Malecon .. Was the best decision we made. Sitting on the malecon with the locals to watch the sunset....beyond words....beautiful! Our absolute favorite memory. We then headed over to walk down the Paseo del Prado. It was filled with kids playing

Would have been a great place to hand out gifts/toys. We made our way to the Capital and the Ballet theatre ,Gran Teatro, to take pictures at night. Gorgeous!!! After the Gran Teatro. We went to El Floridita but it was too crowded, El Patchanka..too crowded, Art Pub...no music going on. La Reliquia was our last stop and the best. Free salsa lessons!! Lots of dancing. We felt totally safe walking the streets. We stayed there until midnight then started walking back to the Majesty. We ran into a fellow passenger and joined her in a Convertible ride to Hotel Nationale. She had negotiated a great deal ...ten CUCS!!!! Unfortunately we couldn't get that great deal coming back. ..we paid 15. Got back about 1:30 am Hotel Nationale is beautiful! !!

 

 

GREAT feedback! Exactly what I was hoping for to help tweak my original plans! Couple of questions:

 

1. From dinner you went to La Dichosa and then to the Malecon. Did you take a coco cab?

 

2. How far of a walk from the Malecon to Paseo del Prado?

 

3. La Reliquia: Were the free dance lessons all night long or only for a set time frame? We really want to do this!!

 

Thank you again!

[KCmomof5]

GREAT feedback! Exactly what I was hoping for to help tweak my original plans! Couple of questions:

 

1. From dinner you went to La Dichosa and then to the Malecon. Did you take a coco cab?

 

2. How far of a walk from the Malecon to Paseo del Prado?

 

3. La Reliquia: Were the free dance lessons all night long or only for a set time frame? We really want to do this!!

 

Thank you again!

The malecon from La Dichosa was maybe 6 or 7 blocks. We enjoyed walking it because we were looking at everything. ..lol. I used MapsMe app and downloaded Cuba. It actually works in airplane mode!!! It is fantastic. We never got lost. We could see The paseo del Prado from where we sat on the Malecon. Just one block down and boom...there we were. I have it all Maped out on Maps Me. I just can't figure out how to upload the screen shot to show it to everyone. I will work on that. In the meantime feel free to email me and I will attach the screen shot so you can follow our route. As for the free salsa lessons. When we arrived there was nothing going on but shortly aftee we arrived a small tour group came in. The instructor got up and thet did some salsa line dancibg. That group left and the instructor sat down. Then another group came in and the instructor got up again to teach everyone to salsa or line dance. I have a video and pictures that again...if I could attach I would. I'm not very tech savy. There were a few dead times. So... After that group left we figured out we should tip the instructed 3 cuc to teach us another salsa if we wanted to keep dancing. It worked. After that people started pouring in and the dancing was nonstop until we finally left about midnight. My guess is that after 10 is when the dancing really starts. Please feel free to email me and I can give you my directions. Your original bar hop was a great idea. I'm glad we got to try it out and add a little to it! Dawn

[McDebbie]

Thanks for the tips, I'd love to see DH trying to salsa!

[cpayne]

The malecon from La Dichosa was maybe 6 or 7 blocks. We enjoyed walking it because we were looking at everything. ..lol. I used MapsMe app and downloaded Cuba. It actually works in airplane mode!!! It is fantastic. We never got lost. We could see The paseo del Prado from where we sat on the Malecon. Just one block down and boom...there we were. I have it all Maped out on Maps Me. I just can't figure out how to upload the screen shot to show it to everyone. I will work on that. In the meantime feel free to email me and I will attach the screen shot so you can follow our route. As for the free salsa lessons. When we arrived there was nothing going on but shortly aftee we arrived a small tour group came in. The instructor got up and thet did some salsa line dancibg. That group left and the instructor sat down. Then another group came in and the instructor got up again to teach everyone to salsa or line dance. I have a video and pictures that again...if I could attach I would. I'm not very tech savy. There were a few dead times. So... After that group left we figured out we should tip the instructed 3 cuc to teach us another salsa if we wanted to keep dancing. It worked. After that people started pouring in and the dancing was nonstop until we finally left about midnight. My guess is that after 10 is when the dancing really starts. Please feel free to email me and I can give you my directions. Your original bar hop was a great idea. I'm glad we got to try it out and add a little to it! Dawn

 

Here’s my email: cpaynetx@aol.com

 

Send me whatever you have and I will be grateful!

[KCmomof5]

I thought that too about just wandering around, but figured it might not be wise to wander around in the dark in areas unknown to us not quite knowing where we were going, not knowing the language, etc. Especially after a drink or two! :p

There really are no dark areas. People are out and about. They locals have their doors open and they are socializg with family/friends. We felt very safe everywhere we walked. Even at midnight. The little park we passed was crowded with locals escaping the heat of their homes and using the free wifi in the park. Many locals are hanging out on the Malecon...even at 2 in the morning. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is probably the safest place I have visited.

[Fogfog]

Our post dinner evening:

 

We hadplans to go to the Fabrica de Arte Cubano (bar)after dinner. Then plans to do a pub crawl in Old Havana later in the evening.

The plan was to catch acab. However our day tour guide Elvis (via Blexie) was able to secure us a car/driver for the evening from6:50pm til 11:30pm -- who would take us wherever we chose and would wait forus. It was a great choice and we were glad to do it. Elvis explained that afterhaving such a great day he felt it important to keep us safe... and withsomeone who could be trusted to get us back to the ship on time.

As it turned out--when wearrived at Fabrica de Arte Cubano we found out it was"teen"/youth night! And so we needed to make other plans. Wewere grateful to have a car/driver with us

I had the list of bars mapped out for the bars -- and our driver spoke with the other drivers--

and then advised us thatseveral of the choices were not good ones. Especially one

Unfortunately we ended up at Sloppy Joes which was NOT what we wanted in style etc.

The driver was doing his best to find us something appropriate—We stayed at Sloppy Joes for a few rums and beers. (We know that Elvis had discussed taking good care of us and keeping us safe and so the driver did do a good job with that!)

 

From there we had thedriver drop us off close to Floridita just so we could walk down Obispo back tothe port. Along the walk we had hoped to find an open bar/jazz. Itis important to note that Havana is DARK at night. The buildings are notwell lit. There are few street lights. We were in Miramar for dinner andthe roads to the Fabrica was poorly lit. Around Fabrica was so poorly litit is a bit frightening. And the road back into Old Havana was so sodark.

Walking the streets --theyare were dark and smelly. The sewer/urine is bad during the day and seems worseat night. Certainly the stench at the ship was coming from dumping intothe water.

We (over 50s) went back tothe ship a bit disappointed with "pub" offerings and the dark smellystreets. I asked Guest Services about the smell INSIDE the ship and they toldme it was “Havana” and they have the issue every time they dock there. (think across between propane and septic)

 

HOWEVER our 20 somethings (determinedto party in Havana) met up with some other young adults from the ship, grabbeda cab and went back out to a club in Miramar sometime after midnight. Oneof the other pax had a "list" of hot spots that only get startedafter midnight

They paid 180 CUC forbottle service (extra CUC for the Red Bull) and were out til 5am...

While that sounds"cheap" compared to US club prices for bottle service--

--my guess is they paid fartoo much because they are Americans. Between cab/bottle service and such—our sonburned through several hundred CUC between Midnight and 5am. From the storiesthey shared--they had a blast...so it is what it is. Two of the group arrivedat the ship at 5:35am and a LINE of staff/security was there to greetthem!

 

Our two won't say what thelast two were up to between 4:15am and 5:35--I gather its isn't something youwant your mom to know. Thankfully our two were in before 5am (knocked on ourcabin door with the "all safe" signal)

We'd go back to Havana, would use a car/driver and would get some advice for jazz etc and clubs... plus use a local as a "guide" for the night again. Totally worth it.

[cruizinfools]

The malecon from La Dichosa was maybe 6 or 7 blocks. We enjoyed walking it because we were looking at everything. ..lol. I used MapsMe app and downloaded Cuba. It actually works in airplane mode!!! It is fantastic. We never got lost. We could see The paseo del Prado from where we sat on the Malecon. Just one block down and boom...there we were. I have it all Maped out on Maps Me. I just can't figure out how to upload the screen shot to show it to everyone. I will work on that. In the meantime feel free to email me and I will attach the screen shot so you can follow our route. As for the free salsa lessons. When we arrived there was nothing going on but shortly aftee we arrived a small tour group came in. The instructor got up and thet did some salsa line dancibg. That group left and the instructor sat down. Then another group came in and the instructor got up again to teach everyone to salsa or line dance. I have a video and pictures that again...if I could attach I would. I'm not very tech savy. There were a few dead times. So... After that group left we figured out we should tip the instructed 3 cuc to teach us another salsa if we wanted to keep dancing. It worked. After that people started pouring in and the dancing was nonstop until we finally left about midnight. My guess is that after 10 is when the dancing really starts. Please feel free to email me and I can give you my directions. Your original bar hop was a great idea. I'm glad we got to try it out and add a little to it! Dawn

 

Thank you for all your helpful information, especially per the MapsMe app! I am definitely going to get it and download the Cuba map. The DH and I certainly want to take in some Havana nightlife while we are there.

 

Marilyn

[KCmomof5]

Thank you for all your helpful information, especially per the MapsMe app! I am definitely going to get it and download the Cuba map. The DH and I certainly want to take in some Havana nightlife while we are there.

 

Marilyn

Your welcome! The places I listed are easy walking distance from the ship. You will like the MapsMe! It was so handy. Have a great trip!

[cruizinfools]

Your welcome! The places I listed are easy walking distance from the ship. You will like the MapsMe! It was so handy. Have a great trip!

 

Hey Dawn, hope you are still monitoring this thread. Could you email any screen shots of the maps or whatever you think might be helpful? I would really appreciate it. Trying to understand how to 'plan' routes with MapsMe. gypsynoels at gmail dot com

[Magnetchief]

Certainly the stench at the ship was coming from dumping intothe water.

 

I can 100% assure you it's not the ship dumping sewage into the sea.

Thier sewage treatment plants treat any waste.

 

Now the local sewars, I can only assume they dump straight into the port. I certaily would not want to go into that water

[KCmomof5]

Hey Dawn, hope you are still monitoring this thread. Could you email any screen shots of the maps or whatever you think might be helpful? I would really appreciate it. Trying to understand how to 'plan' routes with MapsMe. gypsynoels at gmail dot com

So Sorry for not seeing this post! I will email it to you. I cannot figure out how to share a picture on this page.

[bellaa]

So Sorry for not seeing this post! I will email it to you. I cannot figure out how to share a picture on this page.

 

If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could either of you send me a copy?

lac at cfl dot rr dot com

 

thank you!

[cruizinfools]

If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could either of you send me a copy?

lac at cfl dot rr dot com

 

thank you!

 

Done! I am assuming the map in the email is the route that Dawn and company actually took rather than what was originally planned. (Thanks, Dawn!)

[KCmomof5]

Done! I am assuming the map in the email is the route that Dawn and company actually took rather than what was originally planned. (Thanks, Dawn!)

It's just a map and a bar hop tour we did by ourselves. Let me know if you got it. If not my email is mcclouddawn65@ Gmail . Com

[karrus]

Thanks for the info. We would like to follow this when we go in October. Would you mind sharing your directions? kim_ruschak@hotmail.com

[janjan3839]

Karrus, when are you going in Oct? We leave 10/22 on the Paradise. Can't wait!

[cruizinfools]

Thanks for the info. We would like to follow this when we go in October. Would you mind sharing your directions? kim_ruschak@hotmail.com

 

 

 

I will forward Dawn’s email to you later this morning. Need more caffeine first. [emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruizinfools]

Thanks for the info. We would like to follow this when we go in October. Would you mind sharing your directions? kim_ruschak@hotmail.com

 

You've got mail! :')

[MDTrip]

We started  in the rooftop bar at the Inglaterra Hotel – great view of Parque Central, Gran Teatro, etc. This is BEAUTIFUL after dark. I highly recommend it for the view!!! The other thing to note is that our guide told us that El Floridita usually closes at 10 PM. Felt safe walking everywhere, even at midnight (two women in their 60's.)

[ebslcc]

Below are the screenshots from Dawn (thanks Dawn!!!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are TripAdvisor links to places mentioned above:

El Del Frente https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d9814512-Reviews-El_Del_Frente-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Bar La Dichosa https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d3722376-Reviews-Bar_La_Dichosa-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Gran Teatro https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147271-d662838-Reviews-Gran_Teatro_de_La_Habana-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

El Floridita https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d801366-Reviews-Restaurante_Floridita-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

El Patchanka https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d7082862-Reviews-El_Patchanka-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Artpub https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d6352242-Reviews-ArtPub-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

La Reliquia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d9706688-Reviews-La_Reliquia-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 
Bar La Liuvia de oro https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d2709766-Reviews-Bar_La_Lluvia_de_Oro-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

La Vitrolia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d7597099-Reviews-La_Vitrola-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

 

You may want to check out: Buena Vista Social Club at Cafe Taberna It is only a 5 minutes walk from the port.  See https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2592064-info-on-the-many-places-with-buena-vista-social-club-shows-ship-excursions/

 

Here is the link to Strawberry Tours' free Havana nightlife tour: https://strawberrytours.com/havana/tours/free-havana-nightlife-tour

 

If your cruise stops in Cienfuegos I have posted map of musical venues and DIY tour suggestions here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2593423-private-excursion-findings-cienfuegos-trinidad-cuba/ scroll down!!!

 

 

If your cruise stops in Santiago de Cuba.  Guruwalk's Stoycho has a free 2 hours evening musical tour https://www.guruwalk.com/santiago-de-cuba.  A paid tour goes to midnight!!!: http://cubacitytour.com/musical-tour-santiago.html

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by ebslcc

[KCmomof5]

12 hours ago, ebslcc said:

Below are the screenshots from Dawn (thanks Dawn!!!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are TripAdvisor links to places mentioned above:

El Del Frente https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d9814512-Reviews-El_Del_Frente-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Bar La Dichosa https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d3722376-Reviews-Bar_La_Dichosa-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Gran Teatro https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147271-d662838-Reviews-Gran_Teatro_de_La_Habana-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

El Floridita https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d801366-Reviews-Restaurante_Floridita-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

El Patchanka https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d7082862-Reviews-El_Patchanka-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

Artpub https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d6352242-Reviews-ArtPub-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

La Reliquia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d9706688-Reviews-La_Reliquia-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 
Bar La Liuvia de oro https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d2709766-Reviews-Bar_La_Lluvia_de_Oro-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

La Vitrolia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147271-d7597099-Reviews-La_Vitrola-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html 

 

You may want to check out: Buena Vista Social Club at Cafe Taberna It is only a 5 minutes walk from the port.  See https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2592064-info-on-the-many-places-with-buena-vista-social-club-shows-ship-excursions/

 

Here is the link to Strawberry Tours' free Havana nightlife tour: https://strawberrytours.com/havana/tours/free-havana-nightlife-tour

 

If your cruise stops in Cienfuegos I have posted map of musical venues and DIY tour suggestions here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2593423-private-excursion-findings-cienfuegos-trinidad-cuba/ scroll down!!!

 

 

If your cruise stops in Santiago de Cuba.  Guruwalk's Stoycho has a free 2 hours evening musical tour https://www.guruwalk.com/santiago-de-cuba.  A paid tour goes to midnight!!!: http://cubacitytour.com/musical-tour-santiago.html

 

 

 

Thank you so much!!! I could never figure out how to do that.

[seastar2]

some great info...thanks all!!

🍹

[eltigre]

OH!!! thank you so much. We are in our mid 60's and wanted a walking bar/music evening to participate in not to watch like the Tropicana.You saved the night... If anyone has more experiences before my sailing in March, please post here.