Los Cabos Nightlife Guide: Bars, Clubs and Live Music in Los Cabos Mexico

Spotlight

Los Cabos

Nightlife

Cabo San Lucas nights sizzles like fajitas on the grill, offering everything from strip joints to wine bars, salsa clubs to sports pubs, hookah lounges to a Hard Rock outpost – all within a compact 10-block radius. Happy hours often last from 7am to 7pm. Anything goes no matter what the time of year (or day), though Mexico's Party Central is particularly in/famous for rowdy Spring Break shenanigans. Bar-hopping along the Tourist Corridor requires a taxi, while quieter, sophisticated San José is less about copping body shots off strangers than getting jazzed over music, wine, and perhaps a cigar.

Bars & Clubs
The evening starts early in Cabo – with happy-hour specials at three popular spots. The indoor-outdoor Nowhere Bar (Blvd. Marina 17 at Plaza Bonita; 624/143-4493; www.nowherebar.com) enjoys a marvelous marina setting that's perfect for people-watching and is the place to warm up before clubbing (the 5-9pm Happy Hour is joyous indeed) or cool off later after working up a sweat (though the mix and dance floor here remain packed all night). For the best sunset views, head for the western-facing bars on Médano Beach and on the Pacific side of El Arco; The Office (Médano Beach; 624/143-3464; www.theofficeonthebeach.com), like Médano's other bars, offers solid gringo-Mex fare, but adds good jazz several nights and a sunset fiesta on Thursdays. Crowning the craggy cliff above Solmar Beach, the Hotel Finisterra's Whale Watcher Bar (624/143-3333; www.finisterra.com) provides kick-ass margaritas, appetizers, the occasional mariachi trio, and sublime views of the sun's pyrotechnics.

Cabo Wabo (Cardenas & Guerrero; 624/143-1188; www.cabowabo.com) – motto "Face Down in Cabo" – is Sammy Hagar's cantina and adorned with Mexican kitsch, rock 'n' roll memorabilia, and dangling undergarments. Sammy and famous pals make impromptu appearances to jam with the house band, and his branded tequila flows freely, keeping patrons "Waboed" (and wobbling). El Squid Roe (Cardenas & Blvd. Marina; 624/143-0655; www.elsquidroe.com) has a "beachier" look, but the vibe is just as spring break (for all ages); the collection of silly signs and graffiti on the hallucinogenically-hued walls are worth the visit alone. You can't miss the third of Cabo's traditional trouble troika: A leviathan fish in sunglasses and golf visor adorns the façade of The Giggling Marlin (Blvd. Marina & Matamoros; 624/143-1182; www.gigglingmarlin.com); this club reels partiers in earlier than its cohorts, thanks to legendary audience-participation dirty-dancing floorshows that start at 8pm – beware the legendary Skip and Go Naked cocktail (drink it all and it's free). Zoo Bar & Dance (Blvd. Marina & Lazaro Cárdenas; 624/143-5500; www.zoobardance.com) has a trendier mix and vibe than the big three and anytime 2-for-1 national drinks (including tequilas). Mango Deck (Médano Beach; 624/143-0901; www.mangodeckcabo.com) is always rocking and rollicking – imagine Real World meets Girls Gone Wild, complete with regular steamy dance contests on the raised alfresco stage. Nikki Beach/Passion Lounge & Nightclub (Meliá San Lucas, Médano Beach; 624/144-3253; www.nikkibeach.com) puts the sin in scintillating, offering the chic chain's model (in both senses) waitstaff and clientele, superb sushi, and wild entertainment (Argentine dancers in leather working up a sweat during the day).

Live Music
Expect cover charges and lines on weekends at the wildly popular Mambocafé (next to Hotel Tesoro, Blvd. Marina; 624/143-1484; www.mambocafe.com.mx), the hottest venue for live Latin music, with Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Caribbean bands playing mambo, salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata, and Latin pop. High-energy Las Varitas (Gomez Farias behind Puerto Paraiso; 624/143-9999; www.lasvaritas.com) showcases local acts and occasional leading Latin rock and cumbia bands like Los Enanitos Verdes, El Tri, Jaguares, Café Tacuba, Maldita Vencidad, Molotov, and Mana.

When you tire of the overgrown frat boy-sterous vibe, the cleverly named Barometro (Blvd. Marina next to Puerto Paraiso; 624/143-1466) is a hip, minimalist lounge with cozy outdoor couches with smashing marina (and people) views and live acts ranging from multi-genre guitarists to belly dancers to tango instruction to fire swallowers. Sancho Panza Wine Bistro & Nightclub (Hotel Tesoro behind lighthouse, Marina Blvd.; 624/143-3212; www.sanchopanza.com) is always jammed and jamming with Boomers and Gen X-Cellers thanks to wonderful jazz and blues singers, a cool Dalí/Miró-inspired décor, and an extensive wine list.

San José counters with two luxe lounges. Los Amigos Smokeshop and Cigar Bar (Calle Hidalgo 11; 612/142-1138) is where la gente guapa (beautiful people), including many a celeb, puff stogies and sip single malts in the plush living room of a century-old house. The equally civilized La Santa Wine Bar (Obregón & Hildalgo, San José; 612/142-6767), serves up top-flight flights of tequila and vino, plus guest DJs and slinky live bands.