Gay Bars in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico's lively ambiance, vibrant LGBTQ community members, and outlook on life establish it as one of the supreme American destinations for evening entertainment. Peruse my experience investigating San Juan's best bars and clubs...
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Touring San Juan's gay nightlife
My initial night out in San Juan definitely wasn't what I was anticipating. I'd only arrived in Puerto Rico a couple of hours prior—just ample time to dip my feet into the Caribbean and stroll barefoot on the sand.
Back at my gay-owned guesthouse, I got some suggestions for a night out. Initial destination was Calle Loiza—a lengthy expanse of road in the Ocean Park neighborhood of San Juan. Numerous individuals had described the area to me as a "hipster neighborhood," so I was thrilled to explore.
Along Calle Loiza, I discovered the ordinary accoutrements of any American travel location. But, this is Puerto Rico, so things were also a bit… distinct. In a good way! Fast-food eateries, a bar with salsa dancing, a street food market. Numerous Puerto Rican restaurants with all of the local specialties. There were a few international cuisines on offer, too. Even a gay bar (one for bears).
I had supper at an Italian restaurant. The proprietor, from Italy, had been living in Puerto Rico for a while, but there was no disputing the conventional Italian flavors in the homemade lasagna and classic margherita pizza. Carbo-loading for a night out in San Juan.
After-dinner drinks & a drag show
Subsequent to dinner, I went to San Juan's gayborhood in Santurce. Calle Condado is where most of the gay bars and clubs are situated. It was a Thursday evening, and kind of early, but my companions and I made our way to Puerto Rico's most renowned gay club: Circo Bar. It's cited in every guidebook—and for a beneficial reason! It's one of the most regular hangouts and appeals to a fairly varied crowd.
We were at Circo Bar for that weekly gay bar tradition: a viewing party for the newest episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. Bartenders offered us drinks while in jockstraps and alluring undergarments. Multiple TV screens exhibited the show, and once it concluded, a local queen presented Drag Bingo. I had a handful of bingo cards (one from each drink I ordered) but didn't end up victorious.
Subsequent to more than a few beverages at Circo, we were on our journey to the following club. We hitched a brief five-minute ride with a friend of a friend from the bar and reached El Local en Santurce. From the exterior, it merely appeared like a house along a busy road. There was a multitude of individuals in the street outside, congregating under the streetlights.
Discovering San Juan's queer hipsters
Striding up to the gay club, it was conspicuous this was going to be a unique kind of festivity. Much more inclusive of the entire LGBTQ spectrum, all genders (and gender-non-conforming) were a component of the assemblage. It was refreshing and exhilarating to behold, and even before I stepped inside the queer club, I realized I was going to like it.
Yet, before I could even get inside, the empty lot just beyond the entry transformed into a performance space. Music commenced, and a performer arranged in the background. An oddly captivating performance ensued. With strings affixed to the performer's physique and illuminations reflecting their distinctive movements, I was promptly captivated.
Once inside, with an inexpensive beer from the bar in my grip, I witnessed a second act from a handful of other drag queens and drag kings. Then, I commenced to take in the remainder of the space. A steamy dance floor with a DJ booth in the far back was the entertainment space. A queen presented me a cherry lollipop; a room to the side functioning as a lounge with furniture you'd expect to find in your grandmother's residence. A glass bookshelf in a corner with an odd collection of items: a calculator from the 90s, a toy dinosaur skeleton, a comic book.
Performances proceeded throughout the night. There was fire twirling outside and gatherings of locals and tourists chatting away. In between acts, the DJs executed a few distinct categories of sets—there was techno music and a type of pop. The room rebounded with the beats.
By the time the club started to wind down, wearied from my initial night out in San Juan, I opted to Uber back to my guesthouse. Upon my arrival, tipsy from the drinks and the dancing, invigorated from all of the conversations, I noticed the pool was lit up pink. A signal if there ever was one that I was in the right place, the right city, the right night.
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San Juan Nightlife
My other nights out in San Juan were all similarly entertaining and stimulating. Friday night I was out at a slightly sleazy gay club in a basement with a plethora of go-go dancers. There was the rooftop techno club decorated with a million live plants. An early evening out at the queer student pubs beyond the city center with inexpensive drinks and street food (and dancing in the rain).
San Juan's nightlife is diverse and pleasurable. And astonishing. Gay bars and clubs are disseminated throughout the city, and with classy cocktail bars and a plethora of rooftop venues, it's the type of place where you truly never know which way the night is going to unfold.
Below—some of my favorite bars & clubs I had the chance to visit on my many nights enjoying San Juan's nightlife.
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Read more LGBTQ travel tips for Puerto Rico on VisitGayUSA.com.
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San Juan Nightlife
7 Cool Bars & Clubs to Visit
1. El Cojo
A concise taxi (or Uber) ride from San Juan's main tourist destinations, you'll locate a handful of gay pubs at the juncture of Avenue Eleanor Roosevelt and Calle 12 de Octubre. El Cojo is the most celebrated of the three main bars, but A Pedir De Boca and La Esquina de Polo are all popular (and adjacent to one another).
The three LGBTQ pubs are most prevalent on Thursday evenings when San Juan's university students flood the street. While the pubs play dance hits and top-40 music, the dance floors are compact, and these bars are commonly most popular earlier in the night prior to going to the larger gay clubs in the city.
2. El Circo Bar
San Juan's most prevalent LGBTQ+ hangout is this spacious gay club on Calle Condado. As Puerto Rico's most substantial LGBTQ club, it hosts a quantity of entertaining events. With two dance floors, multiple bars, and regular parties, it's most popular on weekend nights. Though if you visit on certain evenings, you can catch drag shows and TV viewings of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Drag Bingo is hosted in both English and Spanish on Thursday nights, as well, so it's a superb club for tourists—and a pleasurable opportunity to socialize with locals.
3. El Local
Part dive bar, part art gallery, and part club, El Local En Santurce is one of San Juan's most fashionable nightlife spots. Queer, alternative parties take place in the cozy interior (and outdoor patio) of this bar. Weekly drag shows (of both drag queens and drag kings) take place on the small stage inside.
4. Santos Rooftop
While it's not an exclusive LGBTQ club, Santos Rooftop (located across the street from gay pub Tia Maria's), is one of San Juan's most sizzling nightclubs. It's a very welcoming space, and the rooftop club with indoor and outdoor dance floors renders it a great location to dance into the sunrise. Most DJs here play techno and electronic music.
5. La Factoria
La Factoria is one of San Juan's more renowned cocktail bars—it's actually more of a speakeasy because it's so well-concealed! Unparalleled drinks on the menu make it one of the most significant cocktail bars in Puerto Rico. Its relatively expansive space (in spite of being hidden behind a door in the back corner of a separate bar) make it great for groups.
6. The Mezzanine
On the second level of a historical building in Old San Juan, The Mezzanine also serves some of the finest cocktails you'll discover in San Juan. Classic, conventional cocktails like Manhattans and Negronis are on the menu, but don't miss the ones with local rum and even some craft beers.
With a high ceiling of wooden rafters, ancient paintings on the wall, and plush armchairs, it's the type of place you could readily get lost in for hours. Some craft cocktail tours even visit the bar as part of a nightlife experience! Don't miss the happy hour specials when there are food deals, as well.
7. Jungle Bird
Just around the corner from La Placita in the Santurce neighborhood is the super hipster Jungle Bird tiki bar. The fun and funky atmosphere, elaborate cocktails, and cordial bartenders render it a comfortable escape from the street bustle.
There's even an outdoor patio which makes it particularly popular with groups of friends. A food menu is also obtainable so be cautious: you could end up expending a substantial amount of money here without even noticing the time pass!
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Read more San Juan, Puerto Rico travel tips here.