Sun Holiday for Gay Couple

Davyhal

Hi All,

Me (27) and my BF (24) are looking to go on a Sun Holiday this year in September. We were wondering would anyone have any suggestion of where to go that would suit a young gay couple?

I have heard that the big 4 are Mykonos, Gran Canaria, Ibiza and Sitges...
I have been to Gran Canaria with a few of my gay mates and did the whole Yumbo centre thing and I very much got the vibe that it is more suited towards the single lifestyle... I can imagine Ibiza being very similar...

Mykonos looks really good (He is into activities, I am a history nerd, best of both worlds) but I have heard it is very expensive.

Does anyone have anything to say about Sitges? Or anywhere else for that matter?

Thanks,
Dave

Aard

Does it have to be a "gay" destination? Why not any other coastal Med town/city?

Davyhal

Oh it doesn't have to be a 'gay' destination at all. I may very well end up going for something like Athens or Rome (as I said, History Nerd!) but the gay destinations is just something that we are also considering and just want to know if anyone has any experience/opinion of them that they wish to share

Aard

I don't have experience of the places you mentioned, but I would suggest not worrying about the gay-friendliness of cities. I have been told that Sitges is nice, and Barcelona is nearby for more cultural pursuits. If the budget stretches, France is suitable for young gay people. Montpellier gets a lot of positive reviews, Aix is lovely, can't comment too much on Marseille, and the coast from Cannes to Monaco is fantastic for a short holiday. In fact I would recommend the latter if Nice prices aren't too steep at peak season. Many small towns accessible by train, and a lot of history to the area too. Very gay-friendly as well, but not the main point like in places like you mentioned in the OP.

lucasmaximus

Go to Koh Phangan!

Davyhal

lucasmaximus wrote: »

Go to Koh Phangan!

Only get a week off, would rather not spend half of it on a plane

GavinusMaximus

Davyhal wrote: »

Hi All,

Me (27) and my BF (24) are looking to go on a Sun Holiday this year in September. We were wondering would anyone have any suggestion of where to go that would suit a young gay couple?

I have heard that the big 4 are Mykonos, Gran Canaria, Ibiza and Sitges...
I have been to Gran Canaria with a few of my gay mates and did the whole Yumbo centre thing and I very much got the vibe that it is more suited towards the single lifestyle... I can imagine Ibiza being very similar...

Mykonos looks really good (He is into activities, I am a history nerd, best of both worlds) but I have heard it is very expensive.

Does anyone have anything to say about Sitges? Or anywhere else for that matter?

Thanks,
Dave

Israel.

They oppress the Palestinians so much that they try to cover Human Rights abuses with liberal policies in regards to sexuality. Then they can pretend they love humanity.

Also it's been described as the Miami of the middle-east (Tel Aviv), when I went though I thought it was just a dusty **** hole. (Haifa, on the other hand was beautiful) If you do go just spare a thought for Palestine, visit it, spend money in the west bank etc...

P.S. It is renowned as being the hub of new designer drugs or "legal highs". I'm not a fan of any drugs, but if that is your thing then let loose.

P.P.S. Supposedly Boy George is a big fan and does regular tours.

lucasmaximus

Davyhal wrote: »

Only get a week off, would rather not spend half of it on a plane

Fair enough, definitely try and go at some point in life though, can't recommend it enough and not for the full moon party, thats the worst thing about the place and to be avoided. But its many secret coves for much more private parties are phenomenal! Not to mention the food and scenery and ridiculous roads Such an adventure!

GavinusMaximus

Davyhal wrote: »

Only get a week off, would rather not spend half of it on a plane

You're looking at around 4.5 hours for a flight to Israel/Palestine roughly.

Ten of Swords

Croatia,

Adriatic coast

Very gay friendly and more history than you'd know what to do with!

Young crowd too but not overflowing with Irish and British tourists like Spain or Greece

floggg

lucasmaximus wrote: »

Fair enough, definitely try and go at some point in life though, can't recommend it enough and not for the full moon party, thats the worst thing about the place and to be avoided. But its many secret coves for much more private parties are phenomenal! Not to mention the food and scenery and ridiculous roads Such an adventure!

If you aren't going for a party, there is much better places to go than Koh Phan Nang - and without a two plus days travel time (each way). Both within Thailand/South East Asia and else where.

That's not to knock K.P.N. - I spent two weeks there and loved it. But it was definitely a party island. And even the quoted areas will fill up with crowds every full or half moon party.

floggg

Ten of Swords wrote: »

Croatia,

Adriatic coast

Very gay friendly and more history than you'd know what to do with!

Young crowd too but not overflowing with Irish and British tourists like Spain or Greece

Really? Is that just the coast itself or certain resorts?

I had been under the impression that Croatia was relatively homophobic (though not perhaps as bad as neighbouring Serbia).

floggg

Davyhal wrote: »

Oh it doesn't have to be a 'gay' destination at all. I may very well end up going for something like Athens or Rome (as I said, History Nerd!) but the gay destinations is just something that we are also considering and just want to know if anyone has any experience/opinion of them that they wish to share

I've never been to a "gay" resort but I always thought they would be better suited to singletons or party animals than a relaxed couples holiday.

All you really want is somewhere not overtly homophobic and you will be doing just about everything a straight couple would I wlild have thought.

Ten of Swords

floggg wrote: »

Really? Is that just the coast itself or certain resorts?

I had been under the impression that Croatia was relatively homophobic (though not perhaps as bad as neighbouring Serbia).

There is a homophobic element in there, for instance as a country there are civil partnerships but they recently lost a constitutional referendum so now marriage is defined as a union between a man and woman (due to low voter turnout), and there are sometimes reports in the papers of fights breaking out at pride rallys but the tourist areas are on the coast are quite gay friendly.

I guess it depends what op is looking for but the main gay friendly coastal areas to look at are Rab and Hvar.

Not much to add really, bottom line is there are gay bars which are a lot of fun and nobody cares if you walk about town holding your boyfriends hand.

brownej

Sitges have their "Bear" week in September, if you are into that kind of thing.

Davyhal

The more I read about it, the more it looks like most places will have largely closed up by the time we head over in mid-September.

We are thinking of abandoning the typically gay resorts and maybe head to Crete or somewhere instead. However, from all accounts so far, most places seem to be taken over by people in an older age bracket to us (50+) by mid-September.

It shouldnt be this difficult to find a place in mid-September that has nice beaches, some activities to do during the day, and a bit of a nightlife for people our age!

J_E

Mykonos and Santorini are apparently gorgeous and very gay friendly, the flight over might be expensive depending on what time you're going over.