Our 10 Favorite New York Gay Bars – Nomadic Boys

Our 10 Favorite New York Gay Bars - Nomadic Boys

Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned scene queen, here’s our roundup of the top gay bars in New York City to check out now! Everyone knows that the New York City gay bar scene is nothing short of vibrant and the city’s nightlife is unquestionably busy.

New York is also one of the gayest cities in the United States! The problem is that sometimes it can feel overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time visiting the city. It can feel like there is too much to do and not enough time… where do you even start?

Here is a list of the top New York gay bars, whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned scene queen ! And the best part… most of them are on the west side either in the West Village, Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen, so really, depending on how long you are in the city, you can bar hop and visit most, if not all of them!

New York Gay Bars – The Stonewall Inn

This NYC landmark is where the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement started in 1969. Popular with tourists and locals alike, it’s no surprise that the crowd varies in age, gender, and geography. You’ll meet people from everywhere in this bar.

Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

New York Gay Travel Resources

Lesbian Chiang Mai, Thailand – Our Taste for Life

Lesbian Chiang Mai, Thailand - Our Taste for Life

Chiang Mai is one of the most liveable cities in Asia, but what is it like for us in lesbian Chiang Mai? We travelled to Chiang Mai to find out and found it to be one of the most gay-friendly cities in Thailand. With an abundant selection of gay and gay-friendly bars, nightclubs, hotels, cafes, and activities, gay Chiang Mai has a lot to offer LGBTQ+ travellers.

Don’t get me wrong, when you compare to gay Bangkok or Phuket, Chiang Mai’s gay scene is relatively tame. However, there is still plenty of fun to be had both during the day and at night. The gay scene aside, Chiang Mai is a cultural city, popular amongst backpackers, digital nomads and LGBTQ+ travellers alike.

What we love most about Chiang Mai is that it has all the perks of being in a city, such as great food, temples, nightlife, markets, cafes, and shops. But in as little as an hour, you can immerse yourself in nature. Escape into the jungle for hiking adventures and elephant sanctuaries, or go ziplining or cliff jumping at a nearby canyon.

It’s impossible not to fall in love with Chiang Mai. And this guide aims to provide you with all the information you need to have an unforgettable time. I’ve listed all of the hottest gay bars and nightclubs; gay-friendly hotels and hostels; the best LGBT+ centred events; as well as all the top things to see and do.

Is Lesbian Chiang Mai Safe for LGBT+ Travellers?

In short, absolutely yes! Thailand, in general, is one of the most gay-friendly countries we’ve ever visited. Here’s a statement from the Go Thai Be Free website:

“In Thailand, we believe that diversity is amazing. As the most LGBTQ+ welcoming country in Asia, we’re proud that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community – and all people – no matter how they identify; and whom they love; feel free when travelling in Thailand on vacation or holiday.”

Full Story at Our Taste for Life

Chiang Mai Gay Travel Resources

Gay Germany – The Globetrotter Guys

Gay Germany - The Globetrotter Guys

Gay Germany is notorious for being one of the most open and friendly countries in Europe. Like many countries in Europe, Germany has a troubled past when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights but now easily can class itself as one of the most gay friendly destinations worldwide.

Same sex marriage has been legal since 2017, same-sex couples have full adoption rights, there are strong discrimination protections and transgender people can legally change their gender without surgery. From the vibrant and diverse scenes that you will find in its main cities, to the welcoming attitude of the people, you can feel at home here.

We have been lucky enough to spend time in some of Germanys biggest and gayest cities, including celebrating pride (aka Christopher Street Day) in two of the 3 gay Germany cities in this list.

Berlin – The Hedonistic Capital

Three words to describe our visit to Berlin – liberating, insane and gay! Berlin probably eats other gay cities for breakfast! There is an attitude of open mindedness across Berlin that seems to be embedded into its culture. People don’t seem to care if you are different and we really felt a sense of ‘anything goes’ and ‘you do you’.

Not only that, but it is a beautiful city, steeped in history and activities to keep you entertained all weekend unless the nightlife takes you first. Berlin has a wealth of gay nightlife, from casual bars to huge clubs and more cruising clubs that you could shake a stick at.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globetrotter Guys

Gay Germany Travel Resources

Checking Out Rome Gay Bars – The Globetrotter Guys

Rome Gay Bars - Apple Maps

Searching for Rome gay bars? There are a few small bars in Rome along Via di S Gionvanni in Laterano (next to the Colosseum). If you are looking for larger venues, then it’s more often the case that you will find a gay club night hosted at a club (rather than that club being an official gay club).

Rome Gay Bars: Coming Out Bar

We visited Coming Out bar during Roma Pride and found that it was a great option to hang out during the day for drinks and food. The food menu stood out with Paninis categorised into ‘Jock’, ‘Wolf’, ‘Daddy’, ‘Twink’ and so on. This put a smile on our face. Of course, there are plenty of pasta and pizza options on offer as well. For drinks, this place is incredibly reasonable for Rome (this city is expensive!).

Drinks range from €5 for an Aperol Spritz, a must have, to €6 for standard cocktails and €8 for something a bit more fancy. In comparison, head into the posh tourist bars and you are looking at €10-20 for an Aperol Spritz.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globetrotter Guys

Rome Gay Travel Resources

Gay Vancouver – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Vancouver - The Nomadic Boys

Greenpeace, Ryan Reynolds, Hayden Christensen, and Botox – what do they all have in common?
Vancouver!

That’s right, they were all created in this super cool city located right on the far West coast of Canada. Vancouver is the capital of the British Columbia Province, famous for being one of the most diverse regions of Canada. It is also nicknamed “The Hollywood of the North” due to its popularity as a filming location for TVs/movies after LA and NYC. Oh, and did we mention the part about Ryan Reynolds and Hayden Christensen?

We visited Vancouver several times on our trips to Canada and always have a fantastic time. As well as a bustling Gay Village over at Davie Street, Vancouver has tons of fun things to do, with the mountains on its doorstep and the natural paradise of Vancouver Island a short ferry ride away.

Most importantly of all, we found gay Vancouver to be a very tolerant city, accepting of everyone. We frequently saw many gay couples walking the streets hand-in-hand all across town and felt comfortable to do the same. Of course, this comes as no surprise as this is Canada, a country we absolutely adore and rate as the most gay friendly country in the world.

In this detailed gay guide to Vancouver, we summarise our experience discovering the gay scene of Davie Village, as well as some of the best things to do in the city, gay hotels to stay and more practical tips for LGBTQ travellers.

Davie Street: The Gay Vancouver Village

Vancouver’s gay village, also known as the Davie Village, is the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community. It is based mainly along Davie Street between Jervis Street and Burrard Street. This is where the majority of the queer bars and clubs are. Although it’s not as big as the scene of Montreal or Toronto, it’s just as fun.

There is also a more bohemian area popular with the lesbian community of the city at Commercial Drive, called “The Drive” over in East Vancouver, which we did not visit so have not covered in this guide.

Gay Palawan – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Palawan - The Nomadic Boys

The Philippines have occasionally been called the treasure islands of the Pacific, but if you were to ask us, we’d say that the largest gem of all can be found within gay Palawan!

As adventurers, we’re always on the lookout for the most exciting destinations to share with the LGBTQ world. So, what if we told you that Palawan is a top-of-the-line oasis where you can find the softest and whitest sand? The deepest and most mysterious caves? Mountains, covered by vast and verdant jungles? Well… It’s true! Palawan has everything that explorers could ever want from a thrilling vacation.

And while there is no primary hotspot for gay activity amongst the various islands and municipalities throughout Palawan, there are still several LGBTQ-owned businesses to be found. Also, just based on our own personal experiences from traveling across the seas to the Philippines, we have met a lot of queer folk flooding into these gorgeous islands. Filipinos are incredibly welcoming and gay friendly, many of our friends have even weighed in on why the Philippines is so gay friendly.

From our perspective, Palawan is not only a safe place for both local and foreign travelers, but it is also a must-stop, bucket list-worthy location. We want to help you plan the best possible island holiday, which is why we’ve created this all-inclusive, gay travel guide!

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Palawan / Indonesia Travel Resources

Stockholm Gay Bars – The Globetrotter Guys

Stockholm Gay Bar - The Globetrotter Guys

Stockholm is an incredible destination for gay travellers with so much to offer – it is a very liberal and welcoming city. As a result, the bars (and scene) here are quite unique.

Given Stockholm is such a progressive city, you will find yourself welcome as a traveller in bars all across the city. However, whilst this is great to see, we were very keen to check out as many ‘actual’ Stockholm gay bars as possible during our visit.

Best Stockholm Gay Bars: Club Backdoor

Club Backdoor markets itself as ‘the best gay club north of Ibiza’. Backdoor is open till 5am Friday/Saturday and naturally becomes the final stop for everyone on a night out in town. On Fridays it plays hits, hip hop, RnB and 90s, Saturdays plays dark house and techno (check Facebook for updates). This club can tend to attract more of the circuit crowd and can be found just outside the city centre.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globetrotter Guys

Gay Amsterdam – The Nomadic Boys

Gay Amsterdam - The Nomadic Boys

We love visiting gay Amsterdam. Whether it’s for a city break, romantic weekend or a party, we always know we’re going to have a terrific time.

Whilst Amsterdam is most famous for its “coffeeshops” where you can smoke joints legally, it is also culturally rich with world-class museums and has the most distinctive urban landscape. The city is dominated by water, with 165 canals, around 500 bridges, lots of cute narrow cobblestone streets and many many many bicycles! It’s so picturesque that the network of canals in the 17th-century historic old town (called the “Canal Ring“) was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

The city is also super gay, which is unsurprising given that it is the capital city of one of the most queer friendly countries in the world. It is one of the few places where we feel comfortable walking the streets holding hands and don’t feel like we first have to look over our shoulders to do that safety check! It also has some fantastic parties, plenty of LGBTQ+ hangouts, lots of events and the most unpronounceable gay village ever! We’ve summarised it all right here in our detailed gay Amsterdam travel guide.

First time in Gay Amsterdam?

One of our favourite ways to get a feel of Amsterdam is on a gay tour, in particular the ones offered by Gaily. They do a series of different tours in Amsterdam which we’ve tried, love and highly recommend, especially to first-timers. A local will take your hand and guide you through the touristic highlights of the city by day and will also show you around the Reguliersdwarsstraat scene by night.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Gay Amsterdam Travel Resources

Gay New York City – The Globetrotter Guys

Gay New York City - The Globetrotter Guys

When it comes to LGBTQ+ friendly cities, New York is one of the greatest to visit with its thriving queer scene, a deep-rooted history and some of the most iconic sights and buildings in the world. Each of our visits to gay New York City has been a truly magical experience.

We have always been wowed by its grandeur and palpable buzz, kept incredibly busy and each time left wanting more – it really is the city that never sleeps. NYC should be on everyone’s travel bucket list without a doubt.

In our ‘Gay New York City Travel Guide’ we will cover everything from where to find the queer areas here, to the best gay bars, hotels, the top things to do and many other helpful travel tips.

Why is New York so Gay Friendly?

We found the city to be very gay friendly and it should come as no surprise.

The Big Apple is considered to have one of the most well established, largest, out and proud LGBTQ communities in the world and home to one of the biggest pride celebrations.

This is likely to stem from the fact that New York is well known for being the birthplace of the gay rights movement – aka the Stonewall Riots.

Full Story at The Globetrotter Guys

Gay New York City 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