Where To keep The Party Going After NYE
One of the things about NYE – be it epic or just mildly entertaining – is the letdown on the next day. There’s simply no great party on the horizon.
Or so it seems.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. The world has just offered its inhabitants an entirely new year and the way we look at it, the party has only just begun!
With that in mind, PubClub.com presents The Best Places to Spend New Year’s Day. So get ready to let that “shampoo effect” (that is, one or two drinks triggering a near-instant left-over buzz from the previous night) do its role and put you on a roll each Jan. 1.
– TOP NEW YEAR’S DAY PARTY PLACES –
• #1 – LAS VEGAS
The fireworks along the Strip are but a memory, the confetti from Freemont Street is gone and Las Vegas returns to what amounts to normal in this city.
Well, not exactly. It’s New Year’s Day and in Las Vegas that can be nearly as much fun as New Year’s Eve itself.
That’s because there’s always a party in Vegas.
Days should begin with champagne at bunch (for those who got enough bubbly the night before there’s always mimosas or Bloody Marys), the sports books in the casinos are absolutely the best place to park it to watch the bowl games (make a few wagers and drink the day away for free) and when the games are done, there’s all that great Las Vegas nightlife.
Here are other reasons Las Vegas is PubClub.com’s #1 Place to Spend New Year’s Day.
There are plenty of places to find a lively atmosphere, prices for hotel rooms drop after NYE and the crowds are manageable because many revelers have headed back home on the 1st but there’s still plenty of people around who want to party.
Top Tip: If NYD – that’s New Year’s Day – falls on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, as will happen in 2015-17, make a weekend of it. Things loosen up considerably and prices are much cheaper. CES doesn’t start until the next week (Jan. 8) so room rates will be good thru the weekend.
Weather: Poolside warm by day, chilly when the sun goes down. Definitely pack a jacket.
• #2 – NEW ORLEANS
Just the fact that it’s New Orleans is enough. After all, the Big Easy is our top pick for Where to Party on New Year’s Eve. On NYD, things start slowly but finish strong.
The 3-for-1 drinks kick in at the Bourbon Street bars at 4 and that goes until 7. After that, well, things are jumping by then and there’s the bowl games to watch with a beer (or rhree) in hand. And the Sugar Bowl is that evening.
Top Tip: Don’t turn on the party pulse too early in the day. A couple of lunchtime drinks are to be expected, but save the charging ahead for the 3-for-1s in the late afternoon.
Weather: Could be cold or warm, sunny or rainy. Check the forecast before packing.
• #3 – SYDNEY
After an explosive NYE bash with fireworks by the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, take a ferry ride to Manley Beach. After a walk and dip in the water, go to the Sugar Lounge tiki bar!
There’s also a good bar by the ferry dock and then all of Sydney!
The best place to be on as New Year’s Day starts to turn into New Year’s night is the open-air Opera Bar below the Opera House. From there, go to any of the city’s bars or clubs.
Top Tip: Go to Opera Bar in the late afternoon thru sunset.
Weather: T-shirt and shorts temperatures. Pack a light jacket in case there’s a cool breeze.
• #4 – SKI RESORTS
An invigorating – as well as incredibly inspiring – way to begin the New Year is atop a ski slope. A full day of fun runs down a beautiful mountain followed by Ski Apres activity and capped with a night on the town combines vigorous physical activity with vigorous partying. Our top two picks are Lake Tahoe and Whistler.
For scenery from up top, it’s hard to top Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. Many of the runs stare directly down on Lake Tahoe and if the cool air doesn’t immediately wipe away any hangover from the previous night, the view will certainly will do the trick.
Whistler/Blackcomb mountain has the ability to take the breath away entirely and the skiing and snowboarding is outstanding.
One area where it stands above Tahoe is nightlife; the Apres spot is the Longhorn (watch out for the World’s Most Dangerous Canadian, who is the one ordering all those shots) and there are dozens of other good bars and clubs all within walking distance in the Village.
Then again one could leave the skiing or boarding for the next day and simply plop down at a table in front of a TV at the Longhorn or with an order of Sex Cheese and view of the slopes at Garibaldi Lift Company and waste the day away.
Top Tip: In Tahoe, get in as much skiing/boarding as the legs can stand. In Whistler, do a “half-and-half.” That’s half a day on the slopes and half chillin’ in the bar(s).
Weather: 20s on the hill, 30s in town (F) unless a sudden unexpected chill hits.
• #5 – LOS ANGELES
New Year’s Day traditionalists can argue there is no better way to start things off than at the Rose Bowl Parade. It’s a 75-plus year tradition that really SAYS the New Year is here. While other parades have come and gone (like the Orange Bowl) this one continues year after year.
And then there is, of course, the game. The Rose Bowl. The Granddaddy of them all, which for 2016 refused to budge off its traditional Jan. 1 date, causing the College Football Playoff semifinals to be played on New Year’s Eve.
But there’s a heck of a lot more here than the Rose Bowl. There’s Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu and the party-time South Bay Beach Cities (keep reading)
Top Tip: For the Rose Bowl Parade, llne up along the parade route on NYE – and dress warmly! – to get a good spot for the Rose Bowl parade. For the game, tailgate on the golf course or by “the backstop.”
• #6 – HERMOSA BEACH, CA
Stagger out late morning and join the mostly-singles of this party community for bottomless moms and Bloody Mary breakfasts at the pier (American Junkie, Patrick Molloy’s and Sharkeez. Another good place is BALEENKitchen at the Portofino hotel in King Harbor, Redondo Beach).
Rent a bike from Beach Cities Bike Tours and end the day at sunset with a few rounds of the Fire Chief over the breaking Pacific Ocean in Redondo Beach.
Top Tip: Hit one of the bottomless breakfast places.
Weather: Mid-70s and sunny in the daytime but could be chilly at night (in the upper 50s or low 60s with a breeze)
• #7 – SAN DIEGO
There’s nothing specific happening in San Diego for New Year’s Day but this place is so awesome there’s few better places to start your new year than here.
Start with breakfast at the oldest tavern in San Diego, the Waterfront in Little Italy. Either that or a champagne bottomless-mimosa brunch in the Gaslamp.
Take a ferry to Coronado Island (catch it behind the Convention Center) and check out the crowds by the Hotel Del, go up to Mission Beach and sit out at the Wave bar (behind the rollercoaster) and ride a bike to Pacific Beach (recommended drinking stop: Lahina).
Then be back in the Gaslamp at night.
Top Tip: Don’t be in a hurry and do as many of the above things as possible.
Weather: Perfect. Bring a jacket or sweatshirt for the cool nights.
• #8 – WAIKIKI BEACH, HONOLULU
How about breakfast overlooking the ocean from the open-air restaurant/bar Lulu’s for starters? Then a walk down Waikiki Beach. Maybe some surfing, perhaps a ride in an outrigger canoe. Or just tanning in the sand.
Followed by a sunset booze cruise. Drinks at Duke’s, rum concoctions at Rum Fire (have Charlie be the bartender) and nearly all night out at the leid-back bars and/or clubs. Just hang all your worries on a giant coconut tree.
Top Tip: Bring – and use – suntan lotion.
Weather: Warm and a bit humid.
• #9 – AMSTERDAM
One thing about Amsterdam, with the Red Light District you’re guaranteed to get laid the first day of the year!
Beyond that, the canals provide a nice, smooth transition from the wild night before to the day, and you can always go for a smoke to ease into the New Year. By the night, you’ll be roaring again in the pubs and clubs of the Leidesplein and Rembrandtsplein.
Top Tip: Go to Cafe Luxembourg late afternoon to re-start your partying.
Weather: Chilly or cold, possibly rainy or damp. Could also be sunny but definitely cool.
• #10 – BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
How about cruising the Caribbean, island-hopping from beach bar to beach bar on different islands?
That’s why it’s like in the British Virgin Islands, or the BVIs.
After a legendary night at the legendary Foxy’s on NYE, this is the drill.
You start by jumping in the warm blue waters and then you go kill your pain at the Soggy Dollar Bar. By that time you’re on a roll again.
This wold be higher on the list but you pretty much need a boat to pull off this one. And a captain.
Top Tip: Kill your pain with Pain Killers at the Soggy Dollar.
Weather: Swim trunks and flip flops.
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