| Explore LGBTQ Florida | Gay Florida Travel

Contents:

• GAY FLORIDA TRAVEL GUI
• GAY TRAVEL DTATNS FLORIDA: WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO IN THE SUNSHE STATE
• LGBT GETAWAY IAS: GAY PLAC TO GO NEAR ME FL
• 12 BT GAY BEACH IN FLORIDA YOU SHOULD VIS
• GAY FLORIDA: BT FLORIDA WEEKEND GETAWAYS FOR GAY TRAVELLERS
• OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH
• THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023
• 7 REASONS TO VIS FORT LRDALE, FLORIDA’S GAY CAPAL
• GAY FORT LRDALE TRAVEL GUI
• GAY ORLANDO
• TOP 13 SAFT GAY (LGBTQ) BEACH FLORIDA

GAY FLORIDA TRAVEL GUI

And who n fet the state’s legendary activi and attractns, om the Florida Reef to Walt Disney World Rort and all the gay fanfare top astal ci like Miami, Fort Lrdale, and Palm Beach? Among them are Gay Days Orlando, Fantasy Ft Key Wt, Miami Gay and Lbian Film Ftival Miami, Prift Key Wt, and Whe Party Week South Beach, to name jt a few. South Florida: Head to Miami, Fort Lrdale, Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Vero Beach, Sger Island, or Bo Raton for red-hot nightlife, sophistited dg, upsle shoppg, and high-energy beach — not to mentn some of the swankit gay rorts Florida.

GAY TRAVEL DTATNS FLORIDA: WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO IN THE SUNSHE STATE

Florida Keys: Make your gay Florida pe to Key Wt or Key Largo for fishg, boatg, snorkelg, water sports, old-school vib, Cuban cuise, parable sunsets, and memorable road trips. Florida Panhandle: Choose Gulf Coast statns like Panama Cy Beach, Dt, Cape Coral, and Pensala Beach for laid-back gay beach vatns that put you close to nature prerv and untouched astal habats. In Tampa, a aln of gay and gay-iendly bs along the ma stretch the historic neighborhood of Ybor Cy provis a place for gay travelers to be themselv and support members of the muny.

And who uld fet the legendary gay clubs Orlando, boastg a range of experienc, om dimly l timate div to megaclubs wh dancg and entertament? You n expect the hight level of tolerance ci South Florida wh boomg gay nightlife scen and bs that wele gay travelers wholeheartedly. Gay transplants have been relotg and vatng the island paradise of Key Wt sce the 1970s, wh gay and lbian gutho proliferatg to meet the mand.

LGBT GETAWAY IAS: GAY PLAC TO GO NEAR ME FL

Along wh shops and boutiqu, you’ll fd most of the town’s gay bars along walkable Duval Street, cludg Aqua Nightclub, wh s fun shows, and La Te Da Hotel and Rtrant, which has a poolsi lounge, piano bar and baret room. The cy’s legendary Whe Party Week  November is the natn’s olst and largt HIV/AIDS fundraiser, drawg more than 10, 000 gay and lbian visors for high-energy dance parti hosted by top DJs and performers, edy shows, sports and recreatnal events.

12 BT GAY BEACH IN FLORIDA YOU SHOULD VIS

Along wh South Beach’s eye-tchg llectn of welg Art De gems and boutique hotels, the beach is a huge draw, pecially the “gay beach” at 12th Street and Ocean Drive.

The GaYBOR District – a aln of gay and gay-iendly bs that began on the wt end of Tampa’s historic Ybor Cy neighborhood – is now a formidable prence this former cigar-rollg, Lat immigrant enclave. Fortunately for film buffs, the Tampa Internatnal Gay and Lbian Film Ftival – one of the untry’s largt and longt-nng pennt gay film ftivals – hosts events and films year-round, but the height of activy happens October, when more than 8, 000 people attend films, parti and awards ceremoni. Pete is the historic Grand Central District and s adjacent gayborhood of Kenwood, wh s streets led wh Craftsmen-style ttag om the 1920s.

GAY FLORIDA: BT FLORIDA WEEKEND GETAWAYS FOR GAY TRAVELLERS

Pete’s Pri Weekend is one of Florida’s largt gay pri events, drawg more than 100, 000 marchers to a downtown night-time para the Grand Central District, as well as a street ft and ncert, every June.

OUT THE SUN: FLORIDA’S TOP 10 GAY BEACH

What started as a small group of gays and lbians drsg red and spendg the day at Walt Disney World 1991 has grown to one of the largt gay pri events the world, attractg over 150, 000 gay and lbian travelers to Orlando on the first Saturday of every June.

Sophistited and artsy, Sarasota has veloped a loyal gay followg, thanks to s cultural diversns, which range om the Sarasota Ballet to Queen Bgo Bonanza at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre historic downtown Sarasota’s East End. Well known as a gay statn Key Wt has a very vibrant and lively gay scene and Smathers Beach is believed by many to be one of the bt gay-iendly beach Florida.

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

Not only is Fort Lrdale the home to the Stonewall Natnal Mm & Archiv but you will also fd a pretty great gay beach, Sebastian Street Beach. Juttg out om the southeast ast of the US between the Gulf of Mexi and the Atlantic, Ameri’s Sunshe State radiat as one of the warmt regns the US, endowed wh Lat-Amerin flavours, gay-iendly ci and hundreds of kilometr of beatific beach.

7 REASONS TO VIS FORT LRDALE, FLORIDA’S GAY CAPAL

Once home to both Ernt Hemgway and Tennsee Williams, Key Wt’s populatn of gay natnals and ex-pats has boomed sce the 1970s, and the island is now ripe wh gay-owned hotels and B&Bs as well as an active gay nightlife centred around Duval ’s easy to gus why the regn is nicknamed ‘the Floribbean’, blsed as is wh year-round sunshe and tropil beach many led wh Caribbean-style villas and Cuban eateri.

GAY FORT LRDALE TRAVEL GUI

Photo: Ibrahim Rifath Key Wt | Photo: Michelle RaponiBis s wild nightlife, gay Tampa shows a neat selectn of mms, parks and cultural stutns all wh reach of gay St. Contued velopment has turned the Hillsborough Riverwalk to a glterg feat of urban sign, while a transformed bar scene the trendy GaYbor district now attracts many gay partygoers om across southwt Florida. Headg the Florida gay scene wh untls drag show, baret and gay club offergs along Ybor Street, Tampa also anis regular LGBTQ+ events, such as the yearly Tampa Pri and Diversy Para and the Tampa Internatnal Gay & Lbian Film Ftival.

Now known as the gay pal of Florida or ‘Gay St Pet’ to lols, the cy is nstantly cultivatg s LGBT+ crentials, now given a perfect sre by the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equaly Inx, which looks at the qualy of life for LGBT+ people ci around the world. Unofficially though, the historic Grand Central mercial district and nearby neighbourhood of Kenwood are quietly takg off as the go-to gay statns, hostg all kds of gay-iendly bs (everythg om antique stor and salons to bars and rtrants) amongst 1920s’ Craftsman bungalows and a cheery, down-to-earth atmosphere. Fort LrdaleWhile St Petersburg might be known as the newer, more downbeat gay pal, Fort Lrdale stands as Florida’s largt and most diverse gay statns, popular among gay travellers the world over.

Stay centre-stage at the Rz-Carlton or another of the bt gay rorts Florida to be close to the endls beach actn, movg land for sophistited shoppg and dg on Las Olas Boulevard or yachtg through the Venice-like waterways that grid the entire for the cy’s gay scene, Wilton Manors is the place to be wh s huge assortment of gay bars and clubs vised by upwards of 1. Bis the nightlife, the muny at Wilton Manors is also a reason to stay, wh more than 100 gay-owned bs set up here, cludg a number of hotels and gutho.

GAY ORLANDO

SarasotaTakg a somewhat softer approach for a gay weekend getaway, we travel to the artsy cy of Sarasota, around an hour south of Tampa by r. Its whe-sand beach e edged by an endls promena, while, town, vibrant gay neighbourhoods mgle wh South-Amerin enclav to create the perfect storm for a wild you’ll undoubtedly be tempted by the spirallg asters and rtoon attractns of Orlando’s many theme parks, take at least one day to experience a more unhurried versn of Orlando, wh the garns and nature prerv dottg the cy, or optg for a foodie foc among the morn rtrants and live mic bars all over.

As for the cy’s events, Gay Days at Orlando Area Theme Parks is certaly the biggt, drawg crowds of over 150, 000 red-shirted LGBT travellers to the Crella Castle gat each year, while other ocsns, such as Downtown’s Come Out Wh Pri ftival, do an equally good job of takg over the cy centre. ClearwaterHome of both the Church of Scientology and Hooters, wh a somewhat outdated approach to men’s fashn, Clearwater n be fiven for s lack of excg visuals thanks to s excellent selectn of gay beach and offbeat neighbourhoods. Pete Pri Ft, Florida’s largt gay pri of the bt day trips Florida, Clearwater Beach is perfect for a leisurely day of sunbathg and piickg across the island’s parks and quartz-sand beach, before movg to the cy’s historic Grand Central District, for world-class mms, the largt ncentratn of Scientologists outsi of Los Angel, and surely a lively night of entertament.

Clearwater Beach | Photo: Michelle Raponi Photo: Djordje PetrovicThough long-servg, Miami remas wholly smopolan wh the ft rtrants, boutiqu and gay nightlife offergs found anywhere on earth8. MiamiWh the name alone able to njure up visns of wi palm-led boulevards nnectg priste beach to poolsi rorts, Miami matas timels appeal for gay travellers the world over. For the ultimate Florida gay beach experience, vis Miami Beach Island durg one of the cy’s LGBT events, such as Whe Party Week, Wter Party Ftival or Miami Beach Gay Pri, when 12th Street Beach be the go-to place for gay socialisg.

TOP 13 SAFT GAY (LGBTQ) BEACH FLORIDA

Alternatively, for a no-holds-barred experience, try the clothg-optnal Hlover Beach wh s very own gay sectn between the 12th and 16th lifeguard well as the lotn for partygoers, South Beach also doubl up as a classy place to stay wh s llectn of Art De rinc and Mid-century hotels built on the wateront. Pete Beach, the breathtakg, stic North Beach area of this unty park has a northern expanse near the end of the island where gays and lbians ngregate. There’s an unofficial gay meet-up at Guana’s first beach accs pot, reached by a boardwalk that wds down a 40-foot-tall dune system to a priste stretch of seclud sand.

Pensala Beach cy near the Alabama borr may not seem like the most gay-iendly spot, but ’s been a beach getaway for LGBTQ folks om the South for a long time, particularly for Gay Memorial Day Weekend, which started rmally the 1980s and has grown to a huge gatherg, drawg thoands to late-night circu parti wh well-known profsnal DJs and rmal tent parti on the beach. Stonewall Beach, a swath of sand near the Pompano Beach pier, was unoffilly named by lol gay rints on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, a seri of spontaneo monstratns followg police raids New York's Greewich Village 1969.

There’s a sense of eedom to Florida's beach, the warm weather and the myriad activi – a draw for people of all orientatns, but pecially appealg to a gay muny lookg for a sense of belongg and acceptance.

The term – a phemism that dat back to the 1950s – was once ed to dite gay social events on daily cise le programs, whout explicly llg out members of the muny on board. As travel on the high seas ntu to bounce back om the COVID-19 panmic, gay and lbian travelers should nsir settg sail on a fun-filled cise vatn as their next planng a cise, vatners should first nsir what their ial sailg looks like.

Some cise operators (thk: Atlantis Events and La Demence) are known for their electrifyg, all-night parti, which may be perfect for gay groups of iends. Cisers should also thk about whether they'd like to travel aboard a gay-iendly mastream le, such as Celebry Cis or Virg Voyag, or opt for an all-gay, full-ship charter wh a third-party vatn pany. Of VACAYA's all-gay charters, he says, "For one magil week, our muny gets to be the majory and live life out loud the blissful utopia VACAYA creat on a gay cise.