The gays have been getting together around the globe in hopes for hot hook-ups, community connection or just a good time for ages. Places like Sitges, Gran Canaria, Mykonos and Ibiza have been hot ticket items for years.
However, these gay destinations have become expensive and over commercialized as bars and restaurants take advantage of “pink” money, also known as the purchasing power of the LGBTQIA+ community, leading to overpriced flights, hotels and drinks.
Torremolinos in the south of Spain has been gaining a lot of traction ever since the pandemic, due to, in large part, investments from the local government and the gays looking for a cheap destination.
New gay bars and restaurants pop up every couple weeks and have been largely successful. A lot of gay events take place throughout the whole year, mostly because of the warm sunny climate, and the locals are very gay friendly.
I love to travel, I’ve tried it all –or almost everything– and I’ve have landed happily in Torremolinos for over a year now. I am biased of course, but I really think Torremolinos got what it takes. I’ve also seen it transform even within the short time I’ve been here, so I also urge you to get in while the going is good.
Torremolinos Gay Travel Guide Quick Links:
- Introduction
- Torremolinos Prices
- Where to Stay
- Where to Eat
- Events / When to Travel
- Day Trips in The Area
- Where to Party
- Useful Tips
Torremolinos: Location, Location, Location
All the way in the south of Spain, Torremolinos is another sun soaked gay beach destination. Torremolinos has a decent population of about 70,000 people, which is 2.5 bigger than Sitges and 7x bigger than Mykonos.
It’s a sprawling, exciting city that lends itself to more exploring, adventures and places to dance and eat. Torremolinos has a thriving local gay population, which is a huge plus. It doesn’t feel like a tourist trap as there is an actual gay community living in the city.
Malaga, Spain’s sixth biggest city, is nearby, you can get to Torremolinos with little effort and have access to a big city if need-be. Most people fly into Malaga and take a 10 minute/ €15 Uber or a €2.5 train ride that takes all of 15 minutes. It’s all too easy. Once here there’s lots to explore.
Torremolinos Town and Its Gay Vibes
The old city centre is cute with an old winding shopping street which can take you from a cliff, to the center of the city, to the beach in one afternoon stroll. Torremolinos really has an authentic Andalusian feel to it and is a delight to walk around.
The massive strip of beach all along the town makes for a dreamy backdrop to any morning, afternoon or evening. Granted, the beaches don’t have dreamy-white sand or super-blue water, but they are still very nice. In fact, the water is comfortable to swim in from May to November.
The town itself, outside of the cute center, has its fair share of unattractive 70’s style buildings. This is because the town’s experienced an economic boom in the 70’s when block-y buildings were in style. While I don’t love the architecture, this is still Europe and you don’t have to go far to lay your eyes on some beautiful old buildings.
For example, you can take the train to Malaga (25 min) and you end up in one of the oldest and prettiest cities in Europe, plus they have amazingly cheap tapas and good shopping. However, the male sightings are more important anyway, and there is plenty to look at in Torremolinos.
There are more than 20 gay bars, five dance clubs, a gay beach club, six cruising bars and multiple gay-friendly hotels in Torremolinos. Most of the bars and clubs are located in La Nogalara, which is the name of a block of apartment buildings. The neighbourhood is where the majority of the gays live. You will never go wrong just turning up here and walking around.
The history behind these three blocks is that it used to be a covered shopping mall back in the 70’s and 80’s. Now, the gays have taken over and turned everything into cute bars, patios, night clubs and gay shops. I’ll talk about recommendations of my favorite bars, clubs and restaurants later in this blog post.
Southern Spanish Climate – The Gays Love It!
Placed snuggly in an area called ‘costa del sol’, meaning the sun coast, Torremolinos has one of the hottest and sunniest climates of Europe – brag. During the winter months, December, January and February, we still experience high temperatures of 19-22. Outside of those three wintery months Torremolinos boasts warm to hot temperatures, ranging between 20-35 degrees on the daily with August being the hottest month.
March is technically considered the only wet month of the year but in my experience is only a handful of rainy days, say like five or six. The rest of the year it is pretty much sunny all the time. It’s sun lovers heaven.
Torremolinos Prices
Expensive and cheap are relative terms. But when comparing, it’s 30% cheaper than Sitges for example. You might pay about €2-3 for a beer or wine in a gay bar and between €6-8 for a gin and tonic or mojito. I find it very reasonable for drinks. Coffee will run you about €2 and dinner will cost you about €13-17 depending on the vibe.
You can pay almost anywhere with a debit or credit card. If you want an easy card to travel with, I recommend using Wise. I find it very convenient because there are almost no extra fees when it comes to the currency exchange, they take the real exchange rate. You can upload money to the card and use it in any country, no matter what currency you upload. Wise automatically converts it with a really good exchange rate whenever you pay in a different currency. I find it to be an essential for the travelling gay.
Where to Stay In Gay Torremolinos
The gay Hotel “Ritual” has a prime location, minutes away from the happening. Rates are around €120-130 per night. For this price it really shows up. It has two outdoor pools – one main pool where clothing is options and a smaller pool on the rooftop that is nude only. The rooftop pool overlooks a cliff and is obviously a huge highlight.
Hotel Ritual also has a nice spa downstairs that you have access to with your stay. I sometimes go there during the winter months when its rainy or cold. If you don’t stay at the hotel you can still enjoy the spa for €20 per person.
Some other gay-friendly hotels are Sireno, Hotel Fénix and the Melia. Melia is more expensive, but it’s right at the beach and has an amazing rooftop. If you want to rent an Airbnb, I recommend finding a place in or around La Nogalera.
You could also stay in the city of Malaga itself and commute to Torremolinos. Keep in mind that trains only run until 12:30AM, but also don’t worry, clubbing can go on until the morning light here so you can grab the first train at 6:30AM. If you do want to make it home at night an Uber ride from Torremolinos to Malaga will set you back about €25-30.
Where to Eat – Gay Torremolinos
Like most sunny beach destinations, a lot of the easily accessible restaurants in Torremolinos can be a bit overpriced and overrated, they also feel the need to deep fry everything. A Spanish friend taught me a few tricks to find good restaurants: try to stay away from restaurants that have photos of their dishes on their menus. These restaurants cater to the “fish and chips” kind of tourists that go by pictures. Another trick is to stay away from the main tourist streets and look at restaurants where you see a lot of locals (or other gays) eating.
If you want good restaurants, stay away from the main street. Most good restaurants where the locals (gays) go are outside of the center. A majority of the best spots can be found on Calle Casablanca or in the beautiful Pueblo Blanco.
Some great restaurants with fabulous food:
Pizzaria Simo – this place has fantastic authentic pizza owned by Venetians.
Ruths Tacos – Mexican restaurant with good tacos and sandwiches (tortas).
La Pepa – this place is an affordable tapa eatery, right next to the gay bars. Mostly locals and gays. One of the more authentic places where you order a drink and get a free tapa with it.
Sabores – a unique Finnish-Spanish fusion restaurant. We recommend getting the Great Balls of Fire.
Estragon – is another great tapa place, a bit pricier but definitely high end food, they have great fish dishes.
IBIZA Restaurant – a great Mediterranean restaurant, lots of fish and meat options. Gets busy quick.
Casero – has a unique Spanish, Mediterranean and Moroccan fusion. I recommend the Tajin Of The Day or the lamb dish.
It is recommended that you make reservations for restaurants, especially in the Summer and weekends as they fill up quickly and people hang out in restaurants for a long time (they don’t pressure you to leave like they do in other countries). To make reservations you can either call, or if you are not comfortable making a reservation in Spanish you can use the app called “The Fork”.
Gay Events And When to Travel
There are plenty of reasons to visit during a festival week. Torremolinos has created quite the calendar for themselves. So either book for one of these festivals, or keep them in mind if you want to avoid the crowds these bring.
Torremolinos Pride is at the beginning of June. Expect a week of events and a big stage performances. The majority of the shows (drag queens, comedians, and presenters) will be singing or speaking in Spanish, so keep that in mind. Bars and clubs get full quickly so book tickets for events beforehand. There is a parade through the town on the Saturday of prideweek.
Mad Bear Week is at the beginning of August. A lot of Spanish gays escape the Madrid heat in search for the ocean. There are lot of festivals on the beach and there are amazing pool parties. The Made Bear Week organization throws a party every night and you can get a wristband that gives you access to all of them. One of the most fun time to be in Torremolinos.
Matrix Sun Festival happens in the middle or end of August, after Mad Bear Week. It is similar to Mad Bear Week, but with a younger crowd. Another one of the best times to be in Torremolinos.
“Ferria” or the Town Fair is at the end of September. All the locals party in town for a couple days straight. The streets are filled and there are tents of people selling things, and a lot of gays coming to town. It’s good fun to experience a more traditional event outside of the gay events.
Winter Pride is at the beginning of November. The first is going to be 2022, so I’ll have to report back.
Day Trips in The Area
As mentioned before, Malaga is a quick skip-and-hop away and worth the visit. A 20 minute transit ride or €8 Uber drive will bring you to a huge nude beach called Playa Nudista Benalnatura. The beach is right under the landing strip of the airport, allowing you to watch the planes fly overhead. There are dunes where people go to have enjoy some of their own private ‘lift off’ sessions a well.
A magical village called Mijas Pueblo is only a 20 minute drive away. Known for it’s all white housing, and incredible vistas you can overlook the valley and village to see the ocean, making for quite the whimsical background. If you take a two hour train you will land in Granada to see the Alhambra, the famous fortress, or go to get a taste of real tapas culture, meaning if you order a drink you’ll get a free random tapa to go with it.
A different two hour train ride will plant you firmly in a Game of Thrones filming location, also known as Sevilla, beautiful in its own right. A 2.5 hour bus ride away from Torremolinos and you can climb the Rock of Gibraltar and hang out with the wild monkeys.
The province of Andalucia, home of Torremolinos and Malaga has a lot of beautiful landscapes and is packed with history. Day trips galore if you love to explore or want to escape some of the gorgeous gayness in Torremolinos for the day.
Where to Party In Gay Torremolinos
There are loads of bars and clubs to choose from, but some of them are hotter than others and at the moment, these are the best of the best!
Eden Beach Club is the place to spend the day getting hit on and sun-kissed. They make exceptional cocktails and the crowd is the perfect local, tourist mix.They have a restaurant, cabanas, and single laying beds you can rent. They usually have a DJ playing chill, deep house music. Sometimes they have foam or dance parties. There are a lot of hot guys dancing later in the afternoon. Eden Beach Club is only open between the months of March and November.
Armario is a Spanish sit-down bar, perfect for drinks and tapas. A lot of local (well-dressed) Spanish gays mingle here. Perfect for a couple drinks in the sun during the day, or evening. The staff is very flirty and friendly. Though their English may not be the best, they are very accommodating (plus you are in Spain so it’s to be expected). Note that the tapas are only offered at night.
Three Monkeys is another sit down bar, across from Armario, great for drinks and food all day. The owner is a British guy so the food is a bit more pub-style. It’s the fantastic place to go pre-drinking before clubbing. They have €5 pitchers of beer. Their potato skins with bacon and cheese are very good and they go around with free shots once in a while.
Vida Bar is a sit down bar owned by a Dutch guy and attracts a mostly older crowd. The service is friendly and professional. It’s the perfect people watching spot as a lot of gay walk by here. The inside of the bar is very “Amsterdam bruin cafe” style, meaning it has a mature and cosy feeling.
Mens Bar is the oldest gay bar in town, making it a classic. There is a dark room downstairs and a great place to dance after midnight. Cover costs €10-12 but gets you two drink tickets. They have a big screen on which they play video clips. It’s mostly a mix of 80’s, 90’s, pop, and house music.
Aqua Bar is probably the biggest bar for pre-drinks. The service is a bit mediocre and the drinks are more expensive than the other bars. There are usually a younger, mostly Spanish crowd. They have a lot of seating and the interior is modern. It get’s busier a bit later in the night. If you get a drink there before midnight you get a discount for Aqua Club which is a dance club across from the bar with the same owner.
Havanah Bar is a new bar located in the Pueblo Blanco. This bar has the best aesthetic and a wide range of high end cocktails. It’s situated on a beautiful square with a big fountain and is surrounded by authentic, white, Andalusian buildings.
Kiko Bar this chill, British owned pub style bar that has a monthly leather event. The terrace is nice on hot summer night. Inside there is a cosy English pub feeling and the drinks are very affordable.
Aqua Club is one of the best dance clubs in town. The cover will cost you about €15-20 and gets you one drink ticket. The demographic is mostly young guys, muscle gays, and locals. It doesn’t really get going until 2AM. There is a big dance area and big dark room area that gets pretty busy. They play mostly circuit party music, very loudly, so we recommend you protect your ears by not getting too close to the big speakers.
Centuryon has a similar vibe to Aqua club, but is bit cheaper. It’s really big and usually doesn’t fill up so if you want more space to dance you have that there. I haven’t seen a dark room there. The crowd there is a bit more welcoming and friendly than the crowd in Aqua club.
Martha, Cariño is a Spanish dance club. It’s pretty small so it gets packed quickly. There are mostly young locals who hang here. The music is very Spanish and a lot of the people sing along to the songs. There are drag shows once in a while, if the queens find out you don’t speak Spanish they will make fun of you. Entry is €10 and gets you one drink.
Exxxtreme is a big cruising club and costs about €10-15, which gets you two drinks tickets. There are lockers to put your clothes and you can rent a towel. Hygiene is a bit questionable as there are no real showers. As the night goes on, the crowd gets younger and younger. On the weekends, it gets fairly busy.
Useful Tips For Gay Torremolinos
I recommend studying a bit of Spanish before coming here as not everyone speaks English. The basics will help you a lot around town. Take a couple of weeks of Spanish lessons or use the Duolingo app and you’ll see how easy it is to pick up the basics.
Tipping is not required or expected at restaurants and bars. If you feel like you had good service and are feeling generous you may of course tip. Usually people give a couple Euros on top of the bill, maybe like 5-10%.
A lot of the local stores are closed between 1:30pm until 4:30pm for siesta time. The good thing is that they stay open late.
There are 2 main gyms in the town. I recommend going to Basic Fit. A day pass costs around €8 and can be purchased in front of the building gate.
If you want a list of all the essential items you’ll need on a trip to Torremolinos, check out my blog post “23 Best Gay Travel Essentials“
Conclusion
I love it here and want you to have the best possible visit! If you come around, reach out and we can go out!
