#gay travel
City Spotlight: Rio de Janeiro
Brazil is known as one of South America’s most gay-friendly countries with advanced legal rights for LGBT people including equal age of consent, health benefits, immigration equality, the right to change legal gender, anti-homophobia laws, and most recently in May 2013, same-sex marriages were made legal nationwide. Brazil is a very diverse country and a popular holiday hotspot for many people,…
Rome is the epitome of a European capital city that has a rich history and culture, and is proud to keep it that way at its forefront. Its gay scene is not as prominent as other cities such as Paris, Berlin and Madrid – and you can probably “thank” the fact that the Pope resides there for that – but in the past decade or so has begun to catch up and cater towards its LGBT community and tourists…
Review: The Bodyguard, the musical
In 1992, Rachael Marron was brought to life as one of the most iconic divas on the silver screen in the 90s by, funnily enough, one of the world’s most iconic divas of all time – Whitney Houston. “The Bodyguard” was a huge commercial success, grossing over US$400 million worldwide and its soundtrack became the biggest-selling of all time, with over 45 million copies sold. Then, since 2012, not…
Top 10 singles from 10 Mariah Carey albums
Today marks the 20th anniversary since the release of one of Mariah Carey’s biggest singles (well, one of her many hit singles), “Dreamlover”, taken from her most successful album, Music Box. The song became her 7thNumber One single (of her overall 18 chart-toppers) in the US and the album has sold an astounding 30 million copies worldwide. Mariah is still one of the world’s top-selling artists…
While the UK experienced a white Christmas a whole month after Christmas itself and the coldest January it has had in years, team member Choon decided to escape the bad weather with a trip Portugal – namely the Algarve and Lisbon. Although January in Portugal is quiet in terms of tourism and the temperature is unlikely to exceed 15 degrees centigrade, the relaxing atmosphere and mild weather…
Top 10 Whitney Houston love ballads
A year ago on 11th February (3 days before Valentine’s Day no less), one of the greatest female artists and one of the world’s most praised vocalists of all time, Whitney Houston tragically passed away.
Goodbye Winter Hello spring! ☺️
Winter is behind us. Woooo! Spring is upon us. Time to say hello longer, brighter days. I have compiled 10 ways for us to greet spring with a warmer heart and a clearer head. 1. Channel your inner Cinderfella, clean away every one of those cobwebs away. Cleaner house, cleaner head, right?! 2. De-clutter. Make room for new memories.…
February is nearly over if you bored of 2016 already or ready for summer. Don’t forget Easter is not far around the corner. Here I will discuss how we can escape reality in the chocolate heaven season like a pro. Okay so if you’re truly hardcore and still manage to stick to your new years resolution giving up chocolate, don’t fret it’s not all about the chocolate. Or is it….? :o No, seriously it…
Last time we charted 10-6 of our top 10 celebrity lesbian coming out stories. It was hard to pick a top 5, but here are 5 great lesbian coming out stories. You may not be a celebrity, but if you are thinking of coming out, we hope we can provide a source of inspiration!
5. Lauren Morelli
Orange Is The New Black has some brilliant lesbian characters and actresses, like Samira Wiley who plays…
Top 10 Celebrity Lesbian Coming Out Stories: Part 1
Gay Homestays is celebrating the L in LGBT. If you’re a lesbian who’s thinking of coming out, you may not have to worry about being famous, but here’s how some of our favourite lesbian celebrities did it. 10-6!
10. Jodie Foster
In a Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech at the 2013 Golden Globes, the actress made light of long-standing speculation about her sexuality: ‘I have a sudden…
Best gay films: 5 messed up gay love stories that are better than 50 Shades of Grey
Gay love stories… why are they never straight forward?
There’s one freaky sexy film that everyone’s talking about… but most gay people I know who have seen it say it’s tame! Here are five of the best gay films featuring original, crazy, sexy, dangerous, tragic, unrequited and generally messed up love stories that make 50 Shades look like Frozen…
5.Velvet Goldmine
A cool non-linear film et in…
Gay Homestays’ Top Ten Gay TV Shows
There’ve been loads of great gay TV shows on over the years, and since we’ve done our Top Ten Gay Anthems andTop Ten Gay Anthems of the 21st Century, we thought it was about time we gave gay TV shows the Gay Homestays Top Ten treatment.
10. Cucumber/Banana/Tofu
So this is really 10, 11, and 12… three gay TV shows for the price of one! Set in Gay Homestays’ native city of Manchester, Cucumbersho…
Pride Preview: London Pride 2015
Now Christmas and New Year have been and gone and it’s still freezing cold, is it just us or are you also counting down to summer already? Or as we like to call it – Pride season!
If you live in London, Saturday 27th June 2015 is the day for your London Pride this year. And if you’re not from London, why not take the trip to check it out? It is of course a wonderful city, and an amazing Pride…
“Couchsurfing” is a travel trend that has been growing for a number of years now. The idea: instead of booking a hotel or hostel, you travel around the world staying in the homes of other like-minded people, and when you get back, maybe host a few travellers yourself. Cheaper than a hostel or hotel, and you get a personal host and a potential new friend for life.
As the the couchsurfing…
2014: Gay year in review part 2
We’ve already posted 10–6 of our ten biggest news stories, people, events and moments of 2014, and as we begin 2015, it’s now time to look back at our top 5:
5. Leelah Alcorn
The latest story in our 2014 countdown ended the year on an upsetting note, as this trangender teen from Ohio queued a suicide note on her Tumblr before walking in front of a vehicle on the Interstate Highway. If…
Year in review: Gay moments that shook the world in 2014
What a year 2014 has been! Here’s the first part of our rundown of the top 10 most important gay moments, people, events and news stories from the past 12 months.
10. Coming out in sport
This year, US footballer Michael Sam (above), US baseball player Derrick Gordon, Germany and former Aston Villa footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Australian Olympic swimming legend Ian Thorpe all came out as…
Gay Homestays Top 10 Gay Anthems
There are so many great gay anthems out there it’s almost impossible to choose the top 10! I tried to focus on not just my favourites but ten of the best, most iconic gay anthems of all time. Let us know if you agree and be sure to comment any that we left off!
10. Janet Jackson – Together AgainOkay, I failed already. I put this on…
There’s no Halloween like gay Halloween! Is it just me or has Halloween really stepped up its game in recent years? All the high street fashion shops now seem to be running a whole Halloween LINE. But really, if you’re heading to a costume party, you know you want to stand out from the crowd, and no one does a costume party like the gays! Here are some ideas for anyone stuck on how to look…
Top five: Pop stars out right now
5. MikaMika is known all over Europe, currently splitting his time between appearing as a judge on the Italian version of X Factor andthe French version of The Voice. He said in 2009, “I’ve never ever labelled myself. But having said that; I’ve never limited my life, I’ve never limited who I sleep with… Call me whatever you want.”…
After our honeymoon, Scott and I jumped back into normal life in New York pretty quickly, replacing days on the beach with days in the office, and nights on the town with nights at home with our dog. By mid-January we were starting to get a bit of cabin fever and decided we needed a break to give our relationship that burst of excitement we’d grown so used to. We booked a weekend in one of our favorite neighborhoods in New York, SoHo, and checked into the luxury, boutique hotel, Arlo SoHo.
The first thing we were greeted by is ultra-modern lobby where we waited until our room was ready. Strangely enough, we ran into a writer friend who lives in the neighborhood. She was working on a script and remarked,“this place is my best-kept secret.” It really did seem to be one of the largest and quietest places in the neighborhood if you need to get some work done.
Our room itself, while somewhat small (all NYC hotels are, even the fancy ones), used its limited space thoughtfully, with a giant king bed tucked into a modular type wooden cave. It was incredibly cozy and provided a view of the modern buildings of downtown. Storage was built into the cabe so we didn’t have to worry about tripping over our bags while walking around. After happy hour drinks (hotel guest get complimentary wine and beer!), we spent a night eating and drinking our way through the adjacent West Village and SoHo before climbing back into our comfortable bed.
The next morning we were greeted by thunderstorms but we were lucky enough to have access to the Arlo’s outdoor “igloos.” They provided the perfect cover from the rain while keeping us entertained and still feeling like we could enjoy being outside without having to open an umbrella.
In the end, we did less exploring, and more vegging out at the hotel, something that harkened back to the relaxation we’d gotten so used to on our honeymoon. It was a welcome departure from our busy New Yorker schedules and the perfect reset to our happy newlywed lives.
A tourist in my hometown. Where are you from? Comment with your city and country flag emoji
(Central Park, NYC)
Our good friend Isaac had a milestone birthday this year, and to celebrate he invited some of his closets friends to one of his favorite places on earth — Ibiza, Spain!
A small island located off the east coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea, Ibiza is a mecca for beautiful beaches, ancient ruins and a legendary nightlife scene (it’s basically the birthplace of EDM, or electronic dance music).
Because we were traveling with a large group, we forewent a hotel in favor of a large apartment in Ibiza Town just steps from the popular Playa D'en Bossa.The Ibiza Royal Beach Apartments provided luxury accommodations with a giant rooftop where we could watch the sunrise (after leaving the clubs about twenty minutes beforehand, of course).
On our second day, (after sleeping off the jetlag), we boarded a ferry to the smaller, picturesque island of Formentera, where the warm turquoise water went on forever — it felt like the world’s biggest swimming pool.
One of our favorite things about Ibiza is how well preserved the ancient old town (Ibiza Old Town) is. We spent the afternoon wandering the romantic cobblestone courtyards of the Plaza de Vila.
We made our way up to the top of the city, where the views from the Our Lady of Snows Cathedral are simply breathtaking.
Back in the States, when we mentioned we were going to Ibiza, everyone gave us that look — “oh, so you’re flying 4,000 miles just to party.” And it’s true! Ibiza has one of the most wild and infamous nightlife scenes. Beginning at midnight and lasting well until sunrise, the parties are raucous, decadent and very, very fun. As LGBT travelers, Ibiza is also one of the friendliest cities in Europe, with many events catering to gay travelers. Our favorite party, Glitterbox, featured draq queens, disco music and glitter makeup stations.
The area of Ibiza we frequented most was another gay destination — Chiringay. After a taxi ride and a fifteen minute hike, you arrive at secluded beach with a chiringuito,or beach bar, catering to LGBT sunbathers with strong drinks and great music.
Don’t be surprised to encounter swimsuits ranging from the itsy bitsy to literally nonexistent. We honestly felt a bit prude donning our American bathing suits, but were welcomed with smiles and the best (i.e. deadliest) margaritas we’d ever tasted.
Scott and I are not huge partiers and we worried that Ibiza would be a little bit wasted on us, but beyond the hazy nightclubs lies one of the most beautiful natural landscapes and picturesque old towns in all of Europe. Even if you aren’t big into nightlife, Ibiza has plenty to offer, especially to an LGBT traveller.
Mornings are always better with you
Chris was pretty sure no one saw him wipe out on those damn algae covered rocks. They were slippery and that worm with the trashy friend on Sesame Street….Whats his head.
So gross.
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