Anchors away! 5 unforgettable floating bars for maritime boozing

Cloud 9: Photo courtesy of Anais Photography

If you’re like us, your idea of a perfect summer day is sunny with a chance of drinking. So why not do it with gentle waves crashing around you and expansive views in every direction? Check out these floating booze barges perfect for lounging, sunning and even nighttime carousing.

Related: Also, check out 2015’s hottest summer destinations.

Tiki Barge Pool Club and Bar, Baltimore
Join bikini-clad Pele at this seasonal bar, grill and private pool which looks like a slice of Polynesia that broke away from the South Pacific and somehow landed in B’more’s Inner Harbor. Access to the swimming pool at palm tree-lined Tiki Bar Pool Barge and Club isvia private membership, which ranges between $250-$400 for the summer season (weekday-only passes are available for as little at $116) and includes complimentary towel service, discounted drinks and food, a shuttle to the barge and access to exclusive events. The rest of the boat is open to the public. Note: No need to pack your beach bag full of Dramamine as this floating booze bar is anchored at Harbor View Marina in Federal Hill. Just order a piña colada, soak up the 360 degree views and let Charm City work her magic.

Suada Club, Istanbul
Remember in Star Wars when Luke and Han Solo zero in on the Death Star and Obi-Wan Kenobi proclaims, “That’s no moon, that’s a space station”? You might just have the same feeling when you see Suada Club which, unlike the rest of the entries on this list, isn’t a floating barge at all but is actually an island comprised of several large stone blocks and located just 165 meters off Istanbul’s mainland. Located along the Bosporus Strait—which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and is thus literally situated between Europe and Asia—Suanda contains an alluring Olympic-sized swimming pool, six restaurants and multiple bars. Open year round, but most enticing in summer, Suada allows for boozing and sunbathing with a continent on either side.

Jicoo Floating Bar in Tokyo, Japan | Photo: Reina Watanabe

Jicoo Floating Bar, Tokyo
That floating vessel you see cruising around Tokyo Bay like a futuristic, partially submerged swamp ‘gator is Jicoo, a seafaring booze bar and nightclub designed by anime and manga artist Leiji Matsumoto. Glowing with colored lights, the craft shuttles back and forth between Hinode Pier and Odaiba every half hour on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and features live entertainment. We have no idea what Matsumoto was thinking when he sketched out this watercraft, but Jicoo’s sturdy and sleek frame looks like it was imagined by Tom Clancy as a warship crafted to fight off Russian submarines, but with an interior drenched in every color of the rainbow and furnished by George and Judy Jetson. In other words, Jicoo is totally awesome.

Related: Take a look at Florida’s ultimate beach bars.

Breakwater, Chicago
This one doesn’t have its water wings just yet, but with any luck will be setting sail on America’s third coast sometime soon. An ambitious project to be sure, the Breakwater (pictured, top) imagines a thrilling, year-round entertainment complex roughly the size of a football field that will entice Midwestern sun seekers, lounge lizards and booze hounds with a swimming pool, wading pool, three restaurants and a dock that lets boaters pull their boats right up to the barge or access it via water taxi. To be sure, the Breakwater will combine family-friendly adventures with after hours entertainment geared exclusively toward adults. And, seeing as it’s in arctic Chicago, it will also include a retractable domed roof so that maritime adventures can take place year round. Should this one ever set sail, be prepared to be swept away.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Cloud 9 Fiji

Cloud 9, Fiji
With its wood construction and grassy thatched roof, Cloud 9 looks like something the castaways from Lost might’ve created if they hadn’t been so fixated on getting off that damn island and instead just focused on enjoying the good life. This two-story floating bar smack in the middle of Fiji’s azure blue waters—but only a stone’s throw from the main island Viti Levu—gives up to 100 guests the chance to imbibe freely while a rotating lineup of international DJs drop thrilling beats. Sunbathers can dangle from a hanging chair, recline on a day bed or snag a spot on the sun deck while the more break the surface for maritime adventures like snorkeling and kayaking. Hungry? There’s an Italian wood-fired pizzeria on board with both vegetarian and gluten-free options. Cloud 9 indeed.

Tagged: Caribbean, Cruise, Destinations