By The Bartender, PubClub.com’s Roving Party Animal
I walked into a party. A pool party. With a surf band.
Surfer Joe band was ripping out tunes from the Ventures and the hard-driving guitar licks of Dick Dale. People were in the pool, island drinks in hand, on the edge or cruising around in floats.
Elsewhere, people were wandering around a Polynesian setting, taking part in rum tastings and cruising through a marketplace filled with every conceivable item needed to create their own tropical paradise. Later, more bands would be playing on two stages, indoor and outdoor, and rum companies would be hosting parties in their room suites.
This was – and always is – the scene at Tiki Oasis San Diego. I have been to three of them, the most recent in 2024 which was July 31-Aug. 4, and they are all a mini-vacation escape to a fantasyland of all thinks tiki and tropical. It’s like being on a themed cruise ship in that everyone there has something in common and everything is within easy reach.
Tiki Oasis San Diego is the world’s largest tiki festival and the details of it always amaze me. There are tiki statues strategically placed throughout the grounds of the Town & Country Inn and cutouts for people to pose in for silly photos. Decorations are everywhere. And there are hidden “secrets” to explore.
As an example of the latter, this year (2024) I poked my head into a dark room adjacent to the registration lobby and walked into a world of exotic tiki lamps. When at Tiki Oasis, I have learned, walk into any open door because you never know what you might find. Another cool thing not to miss are the classic cars parked in front of the hotel’s main lobby.
I attended three seminars – the two Tropical Tastings and Legendary Tiki Bars Reborn and wanted to do a few more but some ran concurrently and a few more started before Noon, and I did not adapt the proper “it’s 5 O’Clock somewhere” mentality. Tiki Oasis San Diego can make for some long days. And nights. Too much fun!? There’s certainly enough to keep you entertained for several hours.
Pro’s Tip: Take advantage of everything available at Tiki Oasis. It only happens once a year and you don’t want to leave saying “man, I wish I had done such and such.”
@pubclub.com Surfer Joe surf band rocks the #tikioasis pool party. Happening all weekend in SD! #tikioasis2024 #pubclub #surfmusic #surfband #poolparty #poolparty🤩 #poolpartyvibes #summervibes ♬ original sound – PubClub
@pubclub.com The San Diego Weekend Party Guide os highlighted by #tikioasis! Plus other cool #thingstodosandiego. #weekendvibes #weekendevents #pubclub #tiki #tikifest #tikifestival #tikioasis2024 ♬ original sound – PubClub
One of the most enjoyable things to do, in my opinion, is to sit down with a fellow PubClubber (in this year’s case, it was Hot Bonnie Connie, or HBC) at the main bar and look over the massive daily schedule with a drink. That bar – which does not require a ticket to access, by the way and the grounds are free too, until 4 p.m. – is full of people in all kinds of exotic outfits and the hats are a tropical version of what you see at Del Mar Opening Day or the Kentucky Derby. The people watching at Tiki Oasis is incredible.
It’s hard to pick out a highlight at Tiki Oasis but I suppose if I had to choose one, it would be the pool party scene. I mean, being in a pool, having drinks brought to you by the pool bar staff (you do have to pay for them, by the way; $8-10 for beers and $15-ish for cocktails) and a band playing poolside is something one does not gets to experience very often. That’s a big part of what makes Tiki Oasis a tropical paradise mini vacation.
And then all around you there are other things happening and, well, it’s just a heck of a fun long weekend.
Offical Tiki Oasis Link: Tiki Oasis
Tiki Oasis Photos
