Identities

Malta Gay Hotels – The Nomadic Boys

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Malta Gay Hotels - The Nomadic Boys

Magnificent, marvellous, mind-blowing Malta!

For such a small country, Malta sure packs a big punch in terms of charm, gay friendliness and having a rich cultural history. This teeny, tiny, unassuming and super Catholic nation has undergone such a huge transition over the past decade that it’s now famously recognised as being one of the most gay friendly countries in the world.

And we are living for it. We loved travelling around Malta. It’s one of the few places in the world where we felt comfortable with PDAs. In addition, the country has so much history to discover, ruins to explore, gorgeous landscapes and some pretty stunning west-facing beaches where you’ll feel inspired to renew your wedding vows at sunset.

In this article, we’ve rounded up the best gay hotels in Malta to check out based on our first-hand experience, recommendations from LGBTQ locals and from other gay travellers. We’ve included everything from five-star luxury resorts to intimate guesthouses for the more budget-savvy traveller. To read more about experience travelling in Malta, including the country’s gay scene, check out our comprehensive gay guide to Malta.

Malta Gay Hotels – Where to Start

Valletta is our hands-down favourite place in Malta. It’s a city bursting with culture and history everywhere you step! Fortified walls, medieval castles and winding streets filled with unique shops and bespoke eateries, you’ll easily lose yourself in the sheer charisma of Valletta. This is also where the majority of the gay hangouts are with many delightful gay hotels to choose from, which are mainly on the luxury end, like The Phoenicia, Rosselli and La Falconeria.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Malta Gay Travel Resources

Halifax and Nova Scotia for Gay Families – 2TravelDads

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Nova Scotia is a bucket list destination for many. After spending five days exploring and experiencing Halifax, the South Shore and Bay of Fundy, we’ve nailed down 30+ things to do in Nova Scotia that are sure to be a great experience, especially in fall. From Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to lobster grilled cheese on a secluded cove, this is the Nova Scotia itinerary you MUST HAVE!

WHEN TO VISIT NOVA SCOTIA

While summer is going to bring the best, most consistent weather, fall is THE time to visit Nova Scotia. Summer weather is ideal for long days of exploring and having the longest and most consistent operating hours for activities, but the fall colors make visiting just off season well worth it.

If you plan on visiting Nova Scotia in the spring, know that snows may continue to roll in through April, and many visitor services and tourist spots do not open until May.

By Chris and Rob – Full Story at the 2TravelDads

Nova Scotia Gay Travel Resources

Lebanon Gay Life – The Nomadic Boys

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Lebanon Gay Life - The Nomadic Boys

When it comes to LGBTQ rights, Lebanon is a bit of a blur. On the one hand, it’s renowned for being one of the most gay friendly Arab countries, but on the other, life is still a challenge for the local LGBTQ community.

Lebanon has a fantastic gay scene (by Arab country standards!), it has the largest gay club of the Arab world (called POSH), it’s the only Arab country that has a Pride event, and has a growing number of politicians that publicly campaign for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

But, this is still a place where conservative homophobic religious voices retain a strong influence in politics as can be seen by the way they try to repress Beirut Pride each year.

We were fortunate to meet the founder of Beirut Pride, Hadi Damien. In 2018, Hadi was arrested and only released on condition that he cancels the remainder of that year’s Beirut Pride. A year later, the 2019 Beirut Pride formally went ahead, but the organisers were, again, forced to cancel the opening event due to the same religious pressure. In this interview, Hadi tells us more about his experience as an LGBTIQ+ activist in Lebanon, his experience being arrested, and what life is like for the local LGBTIQ+ community.

Lebanon Gay Life

I grew up in a family that was not obsessed with gender roles and stereotypes. There were, admittedly, the occasional “you’re a boy, don’t act like a girl” comments which destabilised me and contributed to my self-consciousness. I monitored my gestures, my tone of voice, and later on my glances.

Gay or not, I’d probably have gone to the same school, but my experience with homophobia would have been different.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Lesbian Mumbai – Our Taste for Life

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Lesbian Mumbai - Our Taste for Life

Mumbai is an exciting city, bursting with energy, history, art, and awe-inspiring architecture. Previously known as Bombay, the city is the birthplace of Bollywood and home to the countries financial district. It is also famed for having a relaxed cosmopolitan vibe.

But what is it like to be Gay in Mumbai? Is the attitude towards the LGBT+ community as liberal as Mumbai’s reputation suggests? We travelled to Mumbai to find out. We learnt that following the historic 2018 decision to decriminalise homosexuality in India, the gay scene in Mumbai is in fact on the rise.

Truth be told; this was a surprise. In our experience, India was still very socially conservative. We certainly hadn’t heard of any hint of a gay scene in the likes of Jaipur, Varanasi, or even Goa! But with LGBT organisations such as ‘It Gets Better India‘ and the ‘Keshav Suri Foundation‘ continuously fighting for visibility and acceptance, times ARE changing.

As it turns out, Mumbai is indeed a city full of surprises. Asides from the gay scene, she is a paradoxical city. One that gives with one hand and takes with the other. An extreme divide between rich and poor; A city that makes dreams or breaks them; A fast-paced lifestyle that can exhilarate or exhaust. Mumbai is the epitome of crazy/beautiful India, and we loved every intoxicating minute of it.

In this travel guide, we will outline all the best places to go in Mumbai as an LGBT+ traveller. You’ll find a list of gay-friendly hotels and bars and our top tips as an LGBT couple in Mumbai. We will also touch on LGBT+ rights and social opinions in India, to help you prepare for an incredible, and most importantly, a safe, trip of a lifetime.

Lesbian Mumbai & LGBT+ Rights in India

When it comes to LGBT rights in India, the past 20 years have been a long and volatile road. A series of significant wins and disappointing setbacks saw LGBT activists taking one step forward and two steps back again.

By Charlotte & Natalie – Full Story at Our Taste for Life

Mumbai Lesbian Travel Resources

Best Caribbean Gay Cruises for 2020 – The Nomadic Boys

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“Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama…”

While there might not be a real “Kokomo” in the Caribbean (or at least there wasn’t until that Beach Boys’ song came out!) there are still so many incredibly beautiful islands to explore. From the colourful and lively San Juan to the lush and mountainous Grenada, the Caribbean has a great deal to offer.

Give us a Caribbean beach or two any day. Or better still, hop aboard a Caribbean gay cruise and you get to visit a whole bunch of them. With over 700 islands, islets and reefs to explore, island hopping this lush area of the world with a fabulous group of gay guys is definitely the way forward!

When it comes to gay cruises in the Caribbean, there are many options. Each one is unique in its own way. We’ve put together our list of some of the best ones you need to check out. Note that we have divided our guide up into two parts: the first featuring gay only cruises, the second, a gay group mixed with a larger group.

RSVP 35TH ANNIVERSARY CARIBBEAN CRUISE

RSVP is well known in the gay cruise industry, and they’ve been around! This cruise celebrates their 35th anniversary.

The RSVP Caribbean Cruise takes place aboard the Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam, which oozes style, sophistication and sass! With an innovative entertainment centre, a theatre stage, dance club, and live music bar, the days spent at sea will feel just as exciting as the days spent exploring ashore.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Caribbean Gay Travel Resources

Salou’s Gay Bar – The Globetrotter Guys

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Salou's Gay Bar

Salou has been a popular destination for sun seekers for years. It is another typical brits abroad destination with lots of families, many hotel resorts and miles of beaches along its coast. It also has a huge theme park which is well worth a visit.

We visited Salou in 2018 with our friend for a cheap getaway and being two gay guys and a lesbian immediately googled ‘gay bar Salou’ to see what gay Salou had to offer (if anything).

We found that when it comes to the gay scene in Salou, it is very small. The bar we went to for our visit has now closed, but a new bar has opened since:

G Bar – Gay Bar Salou

G Bar is Salou’s Gay Bar – part of the G-Family which has bars across France.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globtrotter Guys

Spain Gay Travel Resources

Gay Ubud – The Nomadic Boys

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Ubud – the art and cultural heart of Bali. A place synonymous with yoga retreats, rainforests, lush green countryside, and lots of vegan restaurants (seriously it’s a thing – they even have a Vegan Festival here every October!). Our Seby, who is super passionate about pure and wholesome living, was in his element, living his Julia Roberts Eat, Pray, Love fantasy, cycling through those famous rice paddies…

Ubud is a must for gay travellers visiting Bali. Yes, the gay scene of Bali is a lot of fun, but we highly recommend making time for a visit to this cultural gem. It’s tranquil in gay Ubud, giving you the much-needed mental cleanse that you seek.

The only thing we’d say is that Ubud is just that – nature, beauty, tranquillity and culture. Don’t come here expecting mad parties and crazy all-nighters. Save all that for Seminyak.

We’ve put together our complete gay guide to Ubud featuring the best gay friendly hotels, places to eat, go out, events and some of the not-to-miss highlights.

Is Gay Ubud safe for LGBTQ+ travellers?

As with the rest of Bali, we found Ubud to be very welcoming to us as a gay couple. Unlike the rest of Indonesia (which is going backwards in relation to LGBTQ rights), Bali has held fast to its open-minded values. This is because of the island’s strong Hindu heritage, a far more tolerant religion than Islam, particularly towards the LGBTQ community. In addition, thanks to the large international community of digital nomads and expats basing themselves in and around Ubud, there is a more modern and liberal attitude prevalent here.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Bali Gay Travel Resources

Gay Marbella – The Globetrotter Guys

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Gay Marbella - The Globetrotter Guys

We have travelled extensively in Spain. We love the beautiful towns you find all along the coast and best of all, we have found every single one to be very open and gay friendly, including the very trendy Marbella.

Marbellas old town is beautiful with Plaza de los Naranjas (square of the oranges) and its surrounding streets being a particularly picturesque and quaint area to explore.

To the west of the town along what is known as the golden mile of sandy beaches, you will find Puerto Banus filled with posh clubs and expensive yachts – a posers paradise.

When it comes to a gay scene in Marbella, it has a very small one. We visited with friends a few years ago and managed to find two gay bars in Marbella, one called Mikonos and one called Fenix.

These were both very small and packed to the brim with people. Part of the attraction of only having two gay bars meant that it felt like the whole gay population of Marbella was in one place giving it a very friendly atmosphere.

We had a lot of fun that night and got home at 8am…

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globtrotter Guys

Spain Gay Travel Resources

Gay Life in Romania – The Nomadic Boys

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Gay Life in Romania - The Nomadic Boys

t’s no secret that gay life in Romania is quite a challenge! Whether it’s one of online polls showing how much Romanian society opposes homosexuality or that hideous referendum in 2018 to ban gay unions (which for the record, failed!), it sure ain’t easy.

We even got a flavour of Romanian homophobia as gay travellers: when approaching a bunch of hotels in Bucharest and Brașov asking whether they’re ok to host a gay couple and allow us to share a double bed, the response we got from quite a lot of them (like the Rembrandt Hotel in Bucharest and the Aro Palace Hotel in Brașov ) was along the lines of:

“We welcome you but on condition you understand we have children in the hotel so all inappropriate behaviour should be avoided in public areas”

…of course…’cause that’s all Seb and I apparently are seen to do as a gay couple…frolic around naked everywhere, shagging everything in sight, children included….ffs!!

Yet despite the homophobic atmosphere prevalent across Romanian society, the country’s LGBTQ community has made great strides towards equality. For example, Romania has full anti-discrimination laws in place (which include hate speech), and every day, more and more politicians are coming out in favour of legalising civil unions. Oh and that awful referendum to ban civil unions in 2018? It simply failed due to lack of voter turnout (30% needed, they only got 20.4%).

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower – Keep Calm and Wander

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Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower - Keep Calm and Wander

The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower was once the tallest building in China – from 1994-2007. Then, it was later eclipsed by the modern Shanghai World Financial Center. 

Today, the tower is the 5th tallest in the world.

A friend of mine once told me that his Shanghainese friend told him that the tower resembles that of twin dragons playing with pearls.

By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander

China Gay Travel Resources