If Florida’s a family of blockbuster travel destinations – with Miami and Orlando as the energetic kids – Fort Lauderdale’s like the cool older brother. The one who doesn’t need to raise his voice to command your attention. Located on the state’s east coast a 38-minute drive from Miami, and three hours from Orlando, this city of 172,000 is the perfect foil to both.
It’s less intense and touristy than its neighbors, while sharing their year-round temperate weather. It’s almost perpetually sunny, and the sea is warm in summer and refreshing through winter. But Fort Lauderdale’s best quality sets it apart from the pack: it’s found in Broward County, the most progressive (read: gayest) of all Floridian counties.
It’s firmly Democratic in a region where Republicans reign supreme and, according to the US census, has the second highest proportion of LGBTI residents in America. Furthermore, Greater Fort Lauderdale has long been recognized for its efforts to attract gay and lesbian tourists, and in recent years, trans travelers specifically. Perfect for gay beach lovers.
By Andrew Gonsalves – Full Story at Gay Star News
Fort Lauderdale Gay Travel Resources
Photo by Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau]]>
Aloha.
I am getting lazier by the day. Kat and Darrell are both busy all day long, and I either swim, read, take a walk or a nap. The lanai keeps beckoning me.
Sunday was a day when neither of them worked. We went to brunch in town at the Daylight Coffee Company, where we had some very good food, and just enjoyed the ambience of the sea nearby, the breezes and a little cooler weather.
The surf was fairly quiet at first, but the clouds coming off the mountain were pretty dark. Later, the surf did pick up. The waves, while not enormous, were foamy white and the sea became a grayish-blue.
There was a local man, fishing right below the deck of the restaurant. His catch was interesting.
We all love Rehoboth Beach, Del. Fire Island remains a popular and iconic destination for gay beachgoers, especially from the New York area. And Provincetown continues to draw LGBT crowds for its laid-back vibe and welcoming atmosphere.
But if you’re looking for something new, there are gay-friendly beach towns off the beaten path. Here are a few within driving distance of Washington.
Colonial Beach, Va.
Chris Adcock and Ted Tait were drawn to Colonial Beach in 2011 for its reputation as a great boating town. Once docked, they discovered its gay life. For those wanting to skip the fast-paced partying and slow-moving traffic of Rehoboth Beach, Del., Tait and Adcock recommend Virginia’s second-largest beach for its quaint, small-town feel and warm acceptance.
“They’re drastic opposite ends of the spectrum in a good way,” Adcock says. “Rehoboth is the new, modern, clubby younger scene where as Colonial Beach is much more sleepy and neighborhoody. Everybody knows everybody.”
Lovely week – as every year – at our Beach House in Fire Island PINES. filled with beach walks, quire relaxing time, friends and family visits, cooking and glasses of wine and lots of breathtaking sunsets over the bay.
Lucky enough 6 more weeks ahead await for Rubin, Bruna and I. Very few places in the world give me so much peace and happiness. Fire Island is one of them, and lucky enough this island is only two hours away from New York.
No need for long-haul flights. Hope you enjoy my report in photos on this experience. You can also check and follow me on Instagram to see all my past-current-future posts and experiences while in Fire Island.
Mi Cayito, which is Havana’s unofficial gay beach, on Sunday afternoon turned into quite the party. Beachgoers were dancing perreo (an overtly sexual dance to reggaeton music) that leaves very little to the imagination. A group of men were playing volleyball while a lesbian couple cuddled under a makeshift umbrella they set up nearby. A young boy was flying a kite.
It was a relaxing afternoon on my first full day in Cuba, which brought me to this section of Playas del Este that is roughly 15 miles east of Havana. The trip thus far seems a bit less uncertain — and dare I say less complicated — than when I visited the Communist island for the first time in May 2015.
The process through which an American must go in order to travel to Cuba remains unnecessarily complicated, even though the Obama administration has formally restored diplomatic relations with the country. The cost of a 45 minute charter flight from Miami to Havana is simply absurd. The need to check into it four hours before its scheduled departure — which was at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday at Miami International Airport for me — is even worse. With this complaining aside, the little things appear to have been made a bit less complicated on this side of the Florida Straits.