How's the nightlife and entertainment in and around Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?

Chapala and Ajijic tend to cater to the expat market so we have what we call “neighborhood bars”. They typically close by 9 or 10 PM but they start early.  For example, the Rotary Club of Ajijic organizes dinner meetings. Back in Chicago where I am from, a dinner wouldn’t start until 7 or 8 PM but here, they start at around 4 or 5 PM.

 

There is also a biker bar here. There is a place called BarCo, which is pretty popular. The expats...

Chapala and Ajijic tend to cater to the expat market so we have what we call “neighborhood bars”. They typically close by 9 or 10 PM but they start early.  For example, the Rotary Club of Ajijic organizes dinner meetings. Back in Chicago where I am from, a dinner wouldn’t start until 7 or 8 PM but here, they start at around 4 or 5 PM.

 

There is also a biker bar here. There is a place called BarCo, which is pretty popular. The expats tend to leave and go home at around 10 PM but some of the younger expats and the locals may stay there until 1 AM.

 

You can usually find a lot of peace here in the Lake Chapala area even on the weekends. What some expats tend to complain about are the fireworks going off during the festivals for the local patron saints.

 

For people who enjoy the big city, cosmopolitan nightlife, then Guadalajara is definitely is a good choice. It is a lot safer if you go to the city, rent a room, and stay there overnight than driving back and forth in the same day. There are world class restaurants in Chapala, Ajijic, and in Guadalajara but if you want to go to the theater and see a movie, I recommend going to Guadalajara, which is 40 minutes away from Chapala by car.

 

One thing I really enjoy about Mexico is the movie theaters. They are by far a lot nicer than the ones I have been to in the Chicago area because they have stadium seating, 3D movies, 4D movies, etc. There is a local theater in Chapala where people in the local community put on shows.  There are two movies theaters here as well. 

 

The restaurants in Chapala are very good; they are world class. The competition is very stiff for that market so staying slim here is hard to do!  

 

(Live music at El BarCo, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

Chapala and Ajijic certainly has a nightlife that you can explore or not explore if you don’t feel like it. There are two kinds of nightlife here. There is the early nightlife for people who are not party animals, which includes theater that’s in English. There are places that offer jazz music or other kinds of music. So if you’re a person who likes to be back at home by 10 PM, there are nice restaurants that you can go to that offer entertainment. There are also two...

Chapala and Ajijic certainly has a nightlife that you can explore or not explore if you don’t feel like it. There are two kinds of nightlife here. There is the early nightlife for people who are not party animals, which includes theater that’s in English. There are places that offer jazz music or other kinds of music. So if you’re a person who likes to be back at home by 10 PM, there are nice restaurants that you can go to that offer entertainment. There are also two movie theaters here but there are no iMax theaters. You can pretty much see whatever movie you want to see in English. You would have to bear with the subtitles in Spanish underneath, but who cares? Just don’t pay attention to that.

 

If you are the kind of person who likes to go for a drink after dinner to a place where there is dancing, there are plenty of bars in Chapala that are for everybody. There are a lot young Mexicans living in the area and those are places that you can insert yourself without any problem. They won’t ask you, “You’re an expat, what are you doing here?” That doesn’t happen. You can go have a drink and mingle with people if you feel like it. If you don’t feel like mingling with people, there are bars that are mostly for expats but there is definitely something you can do before 10 PM and after 10 PM. 

 

You can also go dancing here. If you are more of a ballroom dancer, there are few places that would offer that kind of music that you can dance to, but they do exist. There are restaurants that offer live music that you can dance to. We don’t have comedy clubs here but the theater would fulfill that. We have the Lakeside Little Theater (LLT) and Bravo Theater. LLT has a website so you can see what plays they show next. There is always a musical and at least one comedy show.

 

The price to go to the movie varies depending on the day. There is a day where you pay half the price. The last time I watched a movie, I paid 40 pesos ($2.25) for a first run movie in English. You can buy popcorn, soda, and chocolate and whatever you want on your own budget. You can also go to a play, which would cost from 200 to 250 pesos ($11 to $14).

 

(Lake Chapala Ballroom, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)

I love the nightlife in Ajijic. I’m 44, and I have my special places. You may find live music around Chapala and Ajijic, and you may find nice restaurants. You always find friends, or make new ones. The only problem is everything closes early. There are only two places that close late- El Bar Co., which is in Ajijic, and Iron Horse in Riberas del Pilar. Iron Horse is newer than El Bar Co., which has been around my whole life, and is very nice. That’s where people go when...

I love the nightlife in Ajijic. I’m 44, and I have my special places. You may find live music around Chapala and Ajijic, and you may find nice restaurants. You always find friends, or make new ones. The only problem is everything closes early. There are only two places that close late- El Bar Co., which is in Ajijic, and Iron Horse in Riberas del Pilar. Iron Horse is newer than El Bar Co., which has been around my whole life, and is very nice. That’s where people go when the restaurants close later. Both have live music, cold beer, and different kinds of people. 

 

Iron Horse is a biker’s bar, and there are more interesting people there. The one, the “bar of the town” is also very nice, and you can have sushi and dine there.

 

I would also recommend Café Adelita in San Antonio town because it’s the place I love to go to on Fridays to dance to live music, and to have a great dinner. Café Adelita is in San Antonio, which is about 10 minutes to the east of Ajijic Village. 

 

You can also see a movie if you want to. There are very good cinemas at the Libramiento at Centro Laguna, which is centrally located right between Ajijic and Chapala. 

 

There are also comedy clubs in Ajijic, but comedy clubs are not a Mexican thing- they are organized for the foreigners, like Americans and Canadians. There are two or three theaters where they perform different kinds of plays. There’s one that’s just across the street from me called the Naked Stage. The Naked Stage used to be in Ajijic, but now it’s here at Riberas Pilar. I’m longing to go there because I like that kind of performance, but I haven’t been there because it’s always full.

 

 

There’s another theater called the Little Theater, which is also in San Antonio. I think that the actors in the plays are volunteers, and they perform really well. I have been to one, and I just had a great time. The play was perfectly organized, and everybody was very punctual. You can have a glass of wine, and you can share it with people there during recess. It’s nice. I know they also have American lecture clubs or book clubs.  

 

(Iron Horse Bar with cows grazing, Ajijic, Mexico, pictured.)