Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
Sea Court is a comfortable and homely award winning located in the seaside town of Tramore, Co. Waterford in Ireland.
It serves as the perfect place to stay during your visit to Tramore our gorgeous seaside town.
Free WiFi Internet access is available throughout and we have a free secure private car park.
Rates are per person.
See the Sea Court Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here
Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals in Ireland
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Gran Canaria is a notorious gay destination in Europe, specifically in Playa del Ingles in the South. The island has always been a beacon of tolerance whilst in the olden days, mainland Spain used to have an extremely hostile conservative attitude led by the Catholic Church. The Canary Islands were a popular place to exile people who broke social rules and thought differently.
During the harsh, repressive Franco years, Gran Canaria was too far away from the mainland to bother with, so they turned a blind eye to homosexuality there. From the 1960s, tourism really started to take off, attracting more and more foreigners and therefore even more tolerant attitudes.
Today, the island is a playground for the gay boys, particularly in the famous Yumbo Centre a shopping mall in Playa del Ingles full of mainly gay bars, clubs and boutique Clone Zone type shops. Theres so many gay hangouts in Yumbo Centre to choose from, we’ve sifted through some of our favourites in our gay guide to the best gay bars, clubs and events in Gran Canaria.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:
The beautiful old Merchant’s House apartment is situated in a wonderful Georgian building overlooking Edinburgh’s historic Gayfield Square. The apartment is in fact the whole ground floor of an original house dating back to around 1800, with private front and back garden. It feels like being in a country house as the square is so quiet yet you’re right in the middle of the city- only a 7 minute walk to Princes Street and the main train station (from there an easy walk to the castle and old town). It comprises 2 double bedrooms/2 bathrooms to sleep up to 4 people very comfortably. It’s also a stone’s throw from the fashionable Broughton Street with its great cafe culture and bistros, as well as being close to the Playhouse Theatre and the main downtown shopping area.
The apartment benefits from free wifi internet access and is non- smoking throughout, although there’s ample outdoor space for those in need!
The Drawingroom is a spacious and grand room with double Georgian windows overlooking the private landscaped front garden out to the leafy square beyond. There’s a living flame gas fire and flatscreen TV with digital channels and DVD player.
There are two cosy bedrooms both with Eurpoean king sized bed, firm but soft mattresses and fresh white linen supplied. We also supply towels and welcome toiletries. The main hall leads to a large bathroom with corner bath and shower and the rear bedroom has its own en suite shower room also. We supply radio alarm clocks and hairdryer.
The kitchen is a dream for any budding chef with large central granite island and dining table making it a very sociable place to relax and chat whilst cooking and eating. It’s fully equipped with a five burner range cooker/oven, microwave oven, fridge/freezer, coffee maker, washing machine and tumble dryer. French windows from the kitchen lead to back a private garden/patio area with al fresco dining area and seating.
We can also organise a welcome food hamper on request – no need to run to the corner shop for a pint of milk when you arrive! (Please just ask for a quote depending on size and your preferences)
There’s on street parking just outside the apartment (max 4 hours parking with ticket: Monday- Friday, weekends free) or a short walk from the edge of the parking zone (24 hours free parking- about a 10 minute walk or less), but our best advice is that unless you are doing out of town day trips, DON’T rent a car whilst here- you won’t need it since everything is easily walkable (there are also good car rental options close by for when you are departing the city- just ask!).
Amsterdam is not a huge city, so I was surprised by the amount of gay bars and clubs of the city: there is something for every taste! Yes Gay Amsterdam has a lot to offer! The city throws one of the best Gay Prides too! Its doesnt run on the streets, but on the canals: it is a procession of boats, really unique! This year, 2016, Amsterdam hosts the Europride, so an even bigger crown than usual is expected!
Most of the gay scene happen in the center of the city. There are a few hot-spots where most of the gay bars are concentrated: the choice is very vast. Amsterdam is the ideal location if you are into bar hopping, like me: as you know Scruffy Gios is a professional gay bars hopper 🙂
This is the Scruffy Guide to the top 5 bars in Gay Amsterdam!
As you will discover through my posts, all of Puglia is beautiful: I might be slightly biased in my judgement, of course, but I do really believe Apulia (the original Latin name, as it is worldwide known) is a gem just waiting to be discovered. To be fair, more and more tourists every year are heading her and enjoying the beauty of my region!
One of the most beautiful cities of Puglia? Lecce! Every time I am in Puglia Lecce is a must visit for me: I love its international vibe, the gentle elegance of its baroque historical center, the strolls around its quietly crowded streets every evening.
As one of the 5 biggest cities of Puglia Lecce is full of charme: the historical centre of the city is not very big, easy to walk around. Forget your maps, you can discover beautiful hidden corners of the city just wandering around: the so called “Florence of the South” is rich of Baroque architectural buildings, with a proper style, so original and full of expression, that has acquired its own nickname, barocco leccese (Lecce baroque).
At the end of May, I was invited to take part to an Instameet in Lecce. An Instameet is a meeting where Instagramers (that is, people who are part of the worldwide community of Instagram) are invited to take part of. The occasion was very special: the launch of the second edition of Salento Up’ n Down!
Salento Up n’ Down is an annual event organized by the University of Salento, aiming to promote the beauty of this beautiful region in the world through Social Media (mostly Instagram)! A bunch of 24 influencers from all over the world are invited to spend one week altogether around Salento, to promote its beauty to their (huge) community of followers on Social Media.
The meeting was organized to let the Instagram users of Puglia meet and greet the participants to the event, a way to welcome them to our beautiful area. Salento is the southernmost area of the heel of the boot: it is a big chunk of Puglia, a geographic region, starting more or less where the Valle d’Itria ends.
The Canary Islands are renowned for the many pride events, carnivals and orgies of colour that take place throughout the year. Some of the most colourful of all include Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas in Gran Canaria in February, offering up the sort of atmosphere that can rival Rio along with some mind blowing drag queen competitions.
We love our carnival party fun atmosphere and after the Lou Queernaval in Nice, we were keen to discover more, but Spanish style.
THE CARNIVAL OF LAS PALMAS
Drag queen fever has taken over the world, especially since THAT iconic Miley Cyrus VMA performance. The Drag Queen show at the Las Palmas Carnival in Gran Canaria includes spectacular performances from drag queens drenched in glitter, OTT lipstick, fabulous platform heels and some of the best lip syncs you’ll ever see.
After a week by the sea, I made my way up to London, deciding that I can’t leave England without at least a quick pit stop in my former adopted hometown.
Summer was in full swing when I arrived in Friday (a rare thing for London!) and I spontaneously decided to take some time off work and spend my Saturday like most other people this weekend, and like I used to spend so many of my London weekends: in the park (with a run though Hyde Park in the morning and a picnic in Kensington Gardens in the afternoon, where I snapped the picture above), with a bit of shopping (the madness that is Oxford Street seems less crazy when you’ve been away for a while) and last but not least: with a visit to the West End, where I saw Guys & Dolls, currently starring Rebel Wilson, who always makes me laugh, and it wasn’t any different in this musical.
I decided instead of boring you with yet another Polaroid from Berlin, I’d wait another day and share a photo of the place where I’m spending the bigger part of this week: Brighton, England!
When I came here for Brighton Pride last summer, I sure didn’t think I’d be back less than a year later, but as so often… I just never know where my travels take me2 (Remember how I ended up in the Amazon in March? Yeah, I had no intentions to go there either..).
Until last week I had no idea that I’d be hanging out at the beach in Brighton today, but I sure won’t complain about this! Apparently, summer and sunshine only arrived in Britain this past weekend, and I got to enjoy the most beautiful summer day on England’s south coast today.
The Land of Fire and Ice according to gay pilot Oegmundur Gislason – from the minimal gay scene to the most unearthly landscapes
It’s the magical Nordic island of lunar landscapes, wild weather conditions and volcanoes, glaciers and geysers aplenty. But gay Iceland is also known for its trailblazing LGBTI rights record; it was the ninth country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010, and ex-PM Johanna Siguroardottir was the world’s first openly gay head of state.
Icelandic carrier WOW air even revealed it was naming a vessel TF-GAY earlier this year in honour of its LGBTI passengers – and last week, it came to light that the man behind the name was openly gay pilot Oegmundur Gislason. Here, Oegmundur speaks to Gay Star Travel to give a personal insight into the unique country he calls home…
What’s it like being LGBTI in Iceland?
I can’t imagine a better place to be LGBTI. People are so openminded here. Most people don’t care what your preferences are. Here, you can just be yourself and everybody welcomes you.
Are there are downsides to being LGBTI in the country?
I don’t know if I can call it a ‘downside’, but the thing I fear is that we, LGBTI people in Iceland, don’t realise how privileged we are. We live in a very protected and accepting environment, but that’s not the case for many LGBTIs around the world. We have to remember to appreciate what we’ve got.