Gay Patagonia – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Patagonia - The Nomadic Boys

These are our top gay Patagonia highlights including our favorite parts of this region of Chile and Argentina.

Ready for the best trekking adventures of your life?

Patagonia blew our minds. Very few places in the world can match the incredible landscape in places like El Chaltén or Torres del Paine. We had some of the most rewarding trekking adventures here and would happily return for more. And it gets better – the region also has so much wildlife to discover, like the Magellanic penguins in Chubut or the orcas in Puerto Madryn, to name a few!

Patagonia is a vast chunk of land that sits on the southern end of the South American continent, split between Chile and Argentina. It includes a mix of landscapes including the Andes mountains, lakes, fjords, glaciers, desert, steppes, and ocean – Atlantic on one side, Pacific on the other.

We spent a month traveling across gay Patagonia focusing on the Chubut region and Santa Cruz in Argentina, then in Torres del Paine in Chile. To inspire your Bucket List, we’ve put together some of the best Patagonia highlights and experiences from our trip here.

By Sebastien Chaneac – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Argentina Gay Travel Resources

Chile Gay Travel Resources

16 Facts About Argentina – The Nomadic Boys

16 Facts About Argentina - The Nomadic Boys
Following our travels in South America, we’ve rounded up our top fun and interesting facts about Argentina.

We sure did after spending half a year traveling around Argentina as a gay couple. We started our trip in the uber-cool capital of Buenos Aires and headed all the way south to Patagonia for some of the best treks we’ve ever done. Along the way, we also visited cities like Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, and Puerto Madryn.

Our conclusion? This is a place begging to be explored! Some of the most stunning raw natural surroundings, a rich cultural heritage that include Evita and the tango, a delicious (non-vegan friendly!) culinary journey, and arguably the hottest people on our planet who (in Marlene’s own words) throw themselves at you!

Marlene Dietrich was definitely on point when she said this. The Argentinians are an extremely passionate hot-blooded bunch with their own unique style of Spanish, spoken with strong Italian-like charisma. They will instantly embrace you into their lives and in return, you will no doubt quickly fall in love with them.

1. Argentina has the best steak in the world!

Argentinians are super passionate about their meat and it shows: their steak is world-famous! This is largely due to the abundance of cows. According to the Cattle Network, Argentina is 1 of 5 countries in the world (along with Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia) which has more cows than people.

Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Argentina Gay Travel Resources

Gay Arequipa – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Arequipa - The Nomadic Boys

We came to Arequipa as the base for our trek to the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world. We ended up staying a week because we fell in love with the cutesy old town and the chilled vibe of the “White City”.

On that note, the ‘White City’ nickname has nothing to do with coca(!) play or Miami-style White Parties…it is simply because the city is almost completely built out of “sillar” – a white volcanic stone.

Put simply, this is a place to come to be WOWed by nature over and above everything else. Travel + Leisure Magazine even named it as the #2 on its annual list of the top 50 best places to travel to. Whilst there is a small gay scene to explore (more on this below), we suggest saving up your partying groove in gay Lima.

In this guide to gay Arequipa, we set out the best hotels to check out, along with the queer-friendly spaces, events, our favourite places to eat and best things to do.

Is Gay Arequipa safe?

Overall we found the city to be safe for gay travelers. Tourism is a major source of income for the local economy, so businesses are used to dealing with foreigners and are accustomed to dealing with LGBTQ travelers.

That being said, remember Peru is still very conservative with a strong affinity to the Catholic Church. We took this on board and were careful not to flaunt our love in people’s faces. At the same time, we never felt unsafe anywhere in gay Arequipa. In the worst-case scenario, people just asked us if we’re brothers. All the hotels we stayed at were gay friendly and welcomed us – no one batted an eyelid that two men wanted to share a double bed.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Arequipa Gay Travel Resources

Gay Valparaiso – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Valparaiso - The Nomadic Boys

Santiago might be home to a large gay scene in Bellavista, but for our money, Valpo is even more tolerant, open-minded and downright fabulous!

Valpo (for short) is one of the country’s most popular draws, famous for its magnificent street art and unique architecture. Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet, loved Valpo so much he set up one of his homes here. UNESCO was so impressed, it added Valpo’s Historic Quarter to its World Heritage List in 2003, and The Guardian described Valpo as a “mini Berlin by the seaside“.

As Chile’s capital of culture, Valparaiso is packed with art, nightlife and creativity of every kind. This makes the city a hub for the nation’s gay community and we felt more at home in Valpo than anywhere else in Chile.

We fell in love with Valpo’s stunning seaside location, it’s amazing works of art and, of course, the drop-dead gorgeous locals. It goes without saying that by this point, Valpo is one of our favorite cities in Latin America.

To show you how great Valparaiso for LGBTQ travelers, we decided to create a comprehensive gay guide to the city and its neighboring gay resort town Viña del Mar. From the most gay-friendly places to stay to the wildest gay bars and clubs, we will cover it all in our guide to Chile’s coolest city.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Chile Gay Travel Resources

Gay Santiago – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Santiago - The Nomadic Boys

Fresh out of Santiago’s International Airport, excited to practise our Spanish which we’d spent months perfecting, only to encounter…Chilean Spanish…

As our sweet smiley taxi pickup driver tried to welcome us in Spanish we both looked at each other wondering if we’d arrived at the right place…What was this strange language?!

Ok, I’m exaggerating a bit, but Chilean Spanish is the hardest Spanish dialect to pick up. Even native Spanish speakers have trouble understanding Chileans. For example, they cut off the end of every other word, connect words together so you don’t know when one word starts/finishes, and they speak at such a rapid pace… Then there are the Chilean slang words thrown in to confuse you even more, especially “weón” – randomly placed in every other sentence! It’s actually quite a beautiful sing-songy dialect to listen to. 

Santiago is certainly the perfect base to get your head around this quirky dialect. The gay scene here is massive, particularly in the Bellavista neighbourhood – probably the largest in all of South America outside of Sao Paolo. The city is also home to an exciting wine culture with world-class wineries to visit, lots of impressive city street art to awe at, tons of outdoor adventures like paragliding to try out, and natural hot springs to relax in – remember the city has the Andes mountains right on its doorstep.

And then there are the boys! Smokin’ Hot gorgeous Latino looking Chilean studs everywhere you look…

Trust us when we say you WILL have a fantastic time in Santiago! 

And we’ve got you covered right here with our detailed gay guide to Chile’s capital city. We’ve put together all our practical tips from our firsthand experience travelling in Santiago as a gay couple, including the latest info on the best gay hotels, bars, clubs, parties and events, which we always keep updated thanks to the help of our local gay friends in Santiago.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Chile Gay Travel Resources

Gay Quito Travel Guide – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Quito Travel Guide - The Nomadic Boys

Panting for breath after walking just 5 steps…that was our first memory of Quito as soon as we touched down at the Mariscal Sucre airport. Standing proud at 2,850 metres (9,350ft) high, tucked away in the Andes Mountains, Quito is the second-highest official capital city in the world after La Paz in Bolivia. And bloody hell you certainly feel it!

Other than panting for breath every 5 minutes, Quito packs a punch for gay travellers. It’s not only a cultural gem with a really pretty Old Town to explore, it also has an impressive and vibrant gay scene. The capital city of Ecuador is also located right by the equator line from which it takes its name. Locals nickname Quito as “la mitad del mundo” or the middle of the world.

We spent half a year based in the middle of the world during our big trip to Latin America and fell in love with it. It’s an inexpensive place, extremely pretty, never too hot and never too cold. It’s also a very rewarding destination due to the variety of food to try and the variety of hot guys to meet!

We’ve bundled all our first-hand experiences from Quito into this comprehensive gay guide covering the best gay bars, clubs, hotels to stay, things to do and more.

Is Quito safe for gay travellers?

Quito is the touristic and LGBTQ capital of Ecuador – a country that legalised gay marriage in 2019 and was one of the first in the world to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation back in 1998. The city has a very active LGBTQ community, along with quite a diverse LGBTQ scene and a popular Pride every June that has taken place almost every year since 1998.

As a gay couple, we never had any problems in any of the hotels we stayed in. We always felt welcomed and never faced any issues when asking for a double bed. The only thing we’d say about Quito, which applies to all travellers (straight or gay), there are parts of the city which are a bit dodgy, such as the Old Town in the evening after dark.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Ecuador Gay Travel Resources

Gay Colombia – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Colombia - The Nomadic Boys
  • Gay mega clubbing with 5,000 Colombian boys in Bogota? Tick!
  • Swimming in a rainbow river, the Caño Cristales? Tick!
  • Remote paradisiac Caribbean Islands like Providencia? Tick!
  • Partying in the most exciting Carnival of South America outside of Rio? Tick!
  • Sniffin’ up tons of fresh cocaine in Pedro-Escobar-heartland: Medellin? Ti…no wait…

…you may also have been inspired to visit this incredible country from Netflix’s Narcos series, but as every Colombian will rightly tell you, the awful cocaine industry that gripped the country with an ugly civil war for decades is now ancient history. And good riddance to it!

Colombia has evolved to not only become one of the best and safest tourist destinations in all of South America, it has also become one of the most gay friendly.

We spent 6 months travelling in Colombia during our big trip in Latin America, using Medellin and Bogota as a base. We cannot rave enough about it! We were captivated, mesmerised and totally impressed. Colombia is such a rewarding destination offering beaches, culture, gay scene, loads of partying, beautiful landscapes, and some of the hottest people to walk our planet!

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Colombia Gay Travel Resources

Gay Cusco – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Cusco - The Nomadic Boys

“Stefan look: rainbow flags are everywhere…it must be Cusco Pride right?”

Seby wasn’t wrong. One of the first things you notice when walking the streets of Cusco are all the rainbow-like flags flying proudly all across the city. But to our disappointment, it has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community. This is the Inca flag, similar to our Pride rainbow flag, but with an extra blue stripe added. Unless you’re in Cusco in late-June, that’s the extent of any gay Pride you’re going to see happening here…

Cusco was once the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Today it is Peru’s #1 tourist destination, receiving almost 4 million annual visitors who mainly come to visit Machu Picchu. We’ve been to Cusco, loved it so much, we visited a second time a decade later, doing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu on both occasions and also exploring the stunning Sacred Valley surrounding the city.

We’re not gonna lie – Cusco is not a party destination, not by a long stretch! It’s a small city, a very beautiful one, but one where you come for the rich cultural heritage and impressive landscapes over anything else. Whilst there is a small gay scene here, we suggest you get all the partying out of your system over in the big coastal capital city, Lima before heading over. Cusco is instead a rewarding cultural journey into Peru’s historic Inca civilisation, one that we loved and would happily return to in a heartbeat!

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Peru Gay Travel Resources

Gay Lima – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Lima - The Nomadic Boys

Lima – famous for its ceviche, Paddington Bear and the birth city of a very handsome chef (have you seen THAT video of Franco Noriega cooking in his boxers?!)…
The “City of Kings” is the transport hub and capital city of Peru – also rated by many as THE foodie capital of South America. And we can’t agree more! Lima is a melting pot of culinary creativity with a handful of world-famous top 50 restaurants including Central, Maido and Astrid y Gastón. Even venturing into a local market is a top foodie highlight in Lima such as the Festival Gastronomia every Sunday in the Plaza Municipal in Barranco.

Lima is also a pretty sweet base for gay travellers. There are around 9 million people living here. That’s statistically almost 1 million gay boys waiting to have a few Pisco sours with you. The gay scene of Lima is certainly exciting. On weekends, the gay bars and clubs are buzzing with local Peruvian gays (and their fans!) getting their groove on to the latest Latino beats.

We’ve been several times to Lima as part of our big trip around Latin America and loved it. It’s an inexpensive city to base yourself and also an important transport hub in South America. Most gay travellers to Peru will enter the country from Lima and spend a few days here.

We’ve put together this detailed gay guide to Lima from our firsthand experience with practical safety tips for LGBTQ travellers, the best gay hotels to stay, top gay bars, club, events, and more.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Peru Travel Resources

Gay Montevideo – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Montevideo - The Nomadic Boys

“Guys it’s true, trust me: 98% of guys in Montevideo are either gay or bisexual!”

…so claimed our Uruguayan friend, Rodrigo, when we were chatting with them in Chains Pub about what gay life is like in Montevideo. Whether or not our friend is right, one thing’s for certain: the guys here are smoking hot!

Montevideo is often described as a “sleepy South America city“ – slow-paced, old fashioned, and nostalgia-tinged. Sleepy or not, we had a ball exploring the gay scene of Montevideo, its cutesy old town and the impressive coastline avenue, the Malecon.

And the bit about 98% of men here allegedly being homosexually inclined in some way? Well whether it’s true or not, this simply speaks volumes about how liberal, open-minded and chilled Montevideo is.

We’ve put together our experiences of Montevideo in this detailed gay guide to inspire your trip to include the best gay hotels, bars, clubs, events, things to do and more.

Is Montevideo safe for gay travellers?

Definitely! Montevideo is frequently rated as one of the most gay friendly cities in the world and based on our personal experience, we certainly rate Uruguay as one of the most gay friendly countries in the world.

To start with, Uruguay has a history of being extremely progressive, lenient and open-minded. It legalised abortions in 2012, established a welfare state all the way back in 1903 and legalised marijuana consumption in 2013. With regards to LGBTQ rights in Uruguay, they have long been secured and respected. For example, homosexuality was decriminalised as far back as 1934, anti-discrimination laws have been in place since 2003, adoption laws since 2009 and gay marriage implemented in 2013.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Uruguay Gay Travel Resources