Sunshine and sangria await! Explore the top gay bars, clubs, events and hotels in Torremolinos for an unforgettable LGBTQ+ getaway.
Overview – Nestled on Spain's sun-soaked Costa del Sol, Torremolinos offers everything from beautiful beaches to electrifying nightlife, making it a top destination for LGBTQ+ travelers. Torremolinos also has a long history of LGBTQ+ acceptance, dating back to the 1960s. Today, it’s one of the most welcoming and progressive places in Spain. With its year-round sunshine, stunning coastal views, and countless gay-friendly venues, it’s the perfect spot for your next vacation.
Hotel Ritual Torremolinos
Where to stay - Not only is Hotel Ritual Torremolinos the best gay hotel in Torremolinos, its also the largest gay hotel in Southern Europe!
Main Pool, Restaurant & Bar
With an absolutely massive pool and bar, plenty of sun loungers, and fabulous LGBTQ+ events, Hotel Ritual Torremolinos is the place to be. Located in La Nogalera, known for its lively gay scene, this central and modern hotel is steps from the best gay bars and clubs. Ritual also offers direct access to Bajondillo Beach. Other amenities include a gay barber, gift shop, and delicious restaurant-cafe with both indoor and outdoor seating.
Rooftop Nudist Zone & Pool Bar
Pink Sun Loungers
Infinity Pool with Sea Views
Up on the 9th floor, you'll find an infinity pool at the nudist area and rooftop bar. It’s a bit of a maze to find the right staircase given the size of the hotel, but when you do, it’s totally worth the extra effort. As you step out onto the deck, there are dozens of colorful pink sun loungers which you can enjoy in your birthday suit if you wish. They also offer umbrellas for shade. Better yet, this entire area is open til dawn!
Standard Double Room with Patio
On our last visit, we stayed in a standard double room with patio on the ground floor just steps from all the action. In terms of room options, this pet-friendly, adults only hotel also offers superior double rooms, triple rooms, and junior suites.
For a budget friendly gay hotel, look no further than Hotel Sireno. This sister-property to Ritual is located right by the train station, making it super accessible. It's also only about a 10-minute walk to Hotel Ritual. Room options include singles, doubles and triples.
🌟 Pro tip - Guests at Hotel Sireno receive complimentary access to all of the amenities at Hotel Ritual.
Caminito del Rey Hiking Tour
Things to do - If it's your first time to the Costa del Sol, we highly recommend one of two day trips in addition to exploring nearby Malaga. For the best wine and tapas tour, book taste of Malaga to explore the gastronomic highlights and culture of the city.
If you love hiking as much as we do, don't miss the Caminito del Rey. Once one of the most dangerous hikes in the world, it's now completely safe following a massive investment for infrastructure. Guided tours from Malaga regularly sell out, so definitely book your tour well in advance. We took the train to Malaga last time and caught this tour from there. If you aren't afraid of heights, don’t miss this unbelievable experience.
Lastly, Ronda is a unique, must-see town straddling the high El Tajo Gorge. See the famous Puente Nuevo gorge bridge, Mondragon Palace, and many other historic and cultural sights on this private Ronda trip from Malaga.
Where to eat and drink – On the beach, gay popular beach clubs include Banana’s Beach Club and Paraíso Beach with its rainbow enclosed shower and sun loungers from just €7 euros (approximately $8 USD). Our favorite is Eden Beach Club which is by far the most upscale in terms of ambiance, service and food.
Eden Beach Club
In between the beach and the restaurant is the mostly shaded bar area. It’s perfect for groups of friends ordering cocktails or a bottle of cold white wine or bubbles to share.
Sun Loungers for Rent
Hamacas or sun loungers are available for rent for €8 euros (approximately $9 USD). Thankfully, rentals include the use of umbrellas, so make yourself comfortable, order a pitcher of sangria, and enjoy the cool sea breeze. Arrive before 11am or at opening for the best selection. We also recommend bringing your own towel, sunscreen, plenty of water and of course sunglasses.
Eden Club & Eden Salad
For lunch, we order two signature mojitos, which are super refreshing on a hot day. We also enjoy their Eden Club, a classic since 2012. The Eden Salad with chicken and honey mustard dressing is also an excellent choice.
El Gato at the Beach
With locations at the beach and across from Ritual in town, El Gato is another top choice for the LGBTQ+ community in Torremolinos.
Pasaje Verdiales
For dinner, head to the Pasaje Verdiales from Ritual for La Piazzetta (Italian) or Limao Sushi Nikkei (Japanese). Our review from Limao Sushi now has more than 200,000 views on Google Maps! In addition, both restaurants are excellent and very popular with LGBTQ+ travelers as close to the gay nightlife.
Gay Nightlife Complex in La Nogalera
Where to find gay nightlife – After dark, Torremolinos transforms into a dazzling playground. La Nogalera, the heart of the gay scene, is a bustling complex brimming with bars, clubs, and lounges catering to diverse tastes. From drag queen shows and pumping dance floors to intimate cocktail bars and karaoke nights, there's something for everyone.
Eden Nightclub
For the best gay bars and clubs, we recommend Eden Nightclub, which is one of the liveliest in town. Other popular bars include El 12 with daily happy hour from 6pm-9pm, Men's Bar, and the Aqua brand of somewhat connected gay bars and clubs. Aqua offers great music, indoor and outdoor tables, and even a dark room.
Walkway to Bajondillo Beach
When to go - Torremolinos enjoys a warm and sunny Mediterranean climate, making it a fantastic destination year-round. For the best weather, we recommend visiting from April to October with summer peak travel occurring from June to August.
How to get here – Located near Malaga, which was recently ranked the best city in the world for expats, Torremolinos sits on Spain’s Costa del Sol. Most visitors arrive by train or air, with Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport (airport code: AGP) situated in between Malaga and Torremolinos. For reference, Torremolinos is a quick 20-minute train ride west of Malaga or just 10-minutes drive from the airport. Both Uber and public transportation are easily accessible and reasonably priced.
Travel Resources
Hospiten Riviera Maya Emergency Room
Travel Insurance – Don’t forget to add global travel medical insurance that covers you while traveling outside of your home country. We recommend and use Safety Wing. They offer plans for travelers, digital nomads and expats. If you're already abroad, no worries. Safety Wing makes it easy to purchase insurance even if you are already abroad.
Most health coverage in the U.S. or your home country, for example, does not cover you outside of the U.S. or your home country. As such, it’s extremely important to protect yourself from out-of-pocket costs due to a medical emergency. We learned this the hard way which you can watch on YouTube: Our First Trip to the Emergency Room in Mexico. To learn more about Safety Wing, check rates and availability.
Hotel Discounts – Book with Booking.com to save 10% or more on over 100,000 hotels with Member Prices. We regularly find better prices as a member and love the free room upgrades when available. Join for free!
Travel Experiences – Discover authentic, unforgettable experiences and explore the world with Viator, a TripAdvisor company. We consistently use Viator in our travels, and they offer excellent customer service when needed.
Pro tip – When we visit a new destination, we like to see what tours are available from local providers. We suggest you sort or filter the results by rating versus recommended for you to find the best tours in the area.
Car Rental – Should your travel plans call for hiring a car, we use rentalcars.com to search the best prices among the major car rental companies. With flexible rentals, no hidden fees, and price match guarantee, we feel confident booking with them. Just make sure to book with your Chase Sapphire Reserve for extra protection like primary car rental insurance.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – Enjoy unrestricted access worldwide, enhanced privacy, and complete security while on the go. More specifically, ExpressVPN hides your IP address and encrypts your network data so no one can see what you’re doing. One click, and you’re protected. In addition, ExpressVPN defeats content restrictions and censorship to deliver unlimited access to video, music, social media, and more, from anywhere in the world. For CNET's Best Overall VPN and our favorite for travel, we strongly recommend you add ExpressVPN to all of your devices.
The easiest way to support Two Gay Expats is to
subscribe
(free!) to our YouTube channel and tell your friends and family about us to help us grow (also free)!
And if you find our content helpful and/or entertaining, please consider
joining our channel membership
to directly support our videos and gain access to exclusive content. You can also
buy us a coffee
or two (and we love coffee)! We greatly appreciate your support!
Did we get something wrong?
Has a business we highlighted closed or perhaps something new and fabulous opened? Are
you interested in working with us? In all cases, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at
hello@twogayexpats.com.
Hi gorgeous, and welcome to our LGBTQ+ travel blog! We're Andy and Trai, a gay couple traveling the world with PRIDE 🌈 …and our rescue dog, Pattie!
After meeting in San Francisco in 2018 and later moving to Chicago, we decided to quit our jobs in 2021, sell everything, and become Two Gay Expats. For over two years, we explored the best of gay Mexico while waiting for our house, Casa Cangrejo, to be completed in Tulum. We got married at The Beach Tulum in 2020 and became Mexican permanent residents in 2022.
Today, we continue to travel around Mexico and the world to show you our favorite places. If you'd like to follow our adventures, subscribe on YouTube and join us on Instagram.
