The Best Bars in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

As the name suggests, the Sand Bar sits on Medano Beach, overlooking the waters of the crook-shaped Bahia San Lucas and the Land’s End rock formations in the distance. Choose to sip your drinks from a lounge chair or at a table on the bar’s wooden deck. Wherever you sit, be sure to cast your eyes over the out-of-the-ordinary cocktail menu. It features drinks like malbec margaritas and the Bloody SB, which comes with a squid-and-onion garnish.

Breakfast shots with a side of streaky bacon instead of lime are the way to start a day at Sancho’s Bar. From there, move on to the daily drink special and the bar’s popular white sangria. Of course, time here doesn’t have to be that boozy. The whole place overlooks the marina, so it’s a great place to yacht-spot with a cold beer.

The name of this circular tiki-hut bar, near the marina, translates as “one more”. It’s easy to get into that mindset when you visit. The drinks menu begins with breakfast drinks like the Bloody Caesar with vodka, clamato juice and a chili salt rim, before moving on to lunch, dinner and dessert tipples. Don’t miss the “snack” shots – they come in mini glass steins and look like shrunken pints of Bavarian beer.

You may hear this place before you see it. There’s live music on almost every night of the week, and the bar’s open front means the sound spills out onto the street. When popular bands play, the dancers spill out, too. It’s mainly cold beer that flows over the Zebra-print bar here. However, those with a sweeter tooth can order jam-jar cocktails like raspberry mojitos.

The rooftop bar at Cabo Villas Beach Resort and Spa, on the edge of Medano Beach, serves up grandstand views of the Bahia San Lucas. Bahia Brewing Company runs the space, so the menu showcases all its artisanal beers. Not sure which one you want? Order the beer flight, which gives you six to try. On hot days, a mister keeps the temperature down. On cool nights, a fire pit nudges it back up.

Van Halen rockstar Sammy Hagar founded this psychedelic bar and restaurant in 1990. It’s remained true to its musical roots ever since, and there are acoustic sets on throughout the day and night. The cocktail menu is tequila heavy. If you’re feeling brave, try the Can’t Drive – it’s made with Hagar’s own brand of tequila as well as rum, gin, vodka and a fruit juice mix.

A stone archway with intricate filigree iron gates welcomes you to Bar Esquina, which is part of the Bahia Hotel near Medano Beach. Beyond here, you’ll find an open-air courtyard and a bar lit by dozens of lanterns. A lot of TLC goes into the cocktails here. Highlights of the menu include the lychee martini and the passion fruit margarita, which is garnished with salt and thyme.

There’s no missing this bar. Its entrance is sculpted to look like a giant blue marlin wearing a sun hat, sipping a 6ft (2m) bottle of beer. The cocktails are the size of football trophies here. The bar has its own brand of tequila, too. If you don’t want to drink your shot the regular way, get the bar staff to hang you upside down like a freshly caught marlin and down yours with your feet in the air.

The walls and ceilings at Happy Ending Cantina, near the marina, are papered with peso notes signed by the people who have visited the place over the years. You can afford to part with a peso or two when you drink here, because everything is reasonably priced. The bar often offers drink deals, like two beers and two tequilas for a handful of change. The food – try the El Jefe burrito and fries – is budget friendly, too.