[Part of several responses on a gay travel discussion board ]
The following is a collection of separate entries that I've made on gay travel .
Warm places to visit during winter (in North America):
South Texas or San Antonio, New Mexico, San Diego or Arizona would probably feel very warm compared to those bitterly cold (but sometimes sunny) days where most people in North America live. Looking for a great travel destination - -to get away from the winter cold and blahs?
I always recommend Hawaii (of course)-- take in at least two of the islands (Oahu and the Big Island). How about the Caribbean islands - -although I've never been. Mexico and points south could be great... I want to visit Belize, Costa Rica or Honduras. Brazil and Argentina also get high marks for warmth - both temperature and cultural and subcultural too. It does not get any 'gayer' than Rio or Sao Paulo during Carnival and Gay Carnival(s).
I think Australia would be great -- in time for Gay Carnival (maybe it has another name) -- not only
Sydney but visit Cairns, or even Melbourne, Brisbane for their special features.
New Zealand is rated as one the best places to visit on the planet. There are also other great places in the South Pacific.
I'm dying to return to the Canary Islands - but it is not quite warm enough until March. However, South Africa would be a blast during our winter. Maybe West Africa -- Senegal or Ghana.
By the way, what about NOT traveling alone?
You could try finding a travel partner or join an organized trip or tour. For example, sometimes your college or a university in your area or even across the country, sometimes offers organized study-tours that may fit your schedule, budget and choice of location as well as really getting you deeply into some aspect of the culture you visit.
They are generally set-up by the continuing education division and professional association and other types of groups/organization sometimes offer them too.
Gay-oriented tours/trips
Have you (or has anyone else) had experience with joining an organized group trip as a single (gay) man? How was it? Would you recommend it?
Does anyone know of how / where to connect with some good gay (or all male) travel groups or organized trips?
I have a partial list here but hope other can add more:
Kalani (Gay men's retreat during certain weeks at this Big Island Hawaii resort (add dot com to find the web site).
You can also stay there without participating in a retreat or conference.
Gay.com has a gay travel section that may have organized trips to some place warm during the winter.
Travelocity and Orbtiz seem to have a special Gay and Lesbian travel section with some organized tours.
There are Pride celebrations in warmer spots (some already mentioned).
You might find a travel buddy -- even here on Dudenudes.com or try one of the other such as Hardbuddies.com has a travelers and expanded invitation section so that you can try to hook up both BEFORE you go and also when you get there.
QTmagazine used to have ads for travel buddies, but I don't think it worked very well or was popular enough.
Is there another site that does these kinds of things to get travel partner together?
Craig's List lets you post ads -- but they may not be your cup of tea -- so to speak.
Specialized tours or adventure or sporting trips
Gaysports.com and gayoutdoors.com may have links to some possibilities.
Also, there are a couple of tour operators for gay cruises, guided tours and scuba diving or sail boat trips, such as, alysonadventures.com
and underseax.com. These latter types tend to be quite expensive.
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Trips to Provincetown and to Croatia
Provincetown, MA (Cape Cod)
There is plenty to do in Provincetown, MA. Herring Cove is THE hot spot -- it is a national/state (?) park but it's the mecca for most people who love the sun, sand and naked butts in Cape Cod and all kinds of people across the Northeast. It is easy to drive to Provincetown from Boston, or you can take a ferry or high-speed ferry during the summer months directly from South Boston (a 10 minute walk the train station). There are also a couple of flights available daily with Cape Cod Air.
I'm not much into going to a gay bars, but there are some good ones in P-town; the streets are crowded and the restaurants are great -- the great one has long lines so plan accordingly. Renting a bike for a day and riding the National seashore park is fun. After 5 days you'll probably want to do something different -- if you have the time (and some $$ to burn), I recommend a day trip to Boston on the hydrofoil (or ferry). It's $55 round trip but you can basically walk (or take a subway) to downtown Boston and see a lot historical sights for free.
Anybody traveling to P-town may see me walking down Commercial St or Bradford in my see-thru shorts or jogging pants. Give me a hoot..
Otherwise, see you 'au poil' on the beach.. from Pensacola to Montreal this summer.
Update: I had a great trip to Provincetown in August. I stayed for 4 nights at Dune's Edge Campground, a family oriented but gay-friendly place just off Highway 6A as you approach P-town. You can find it via Google. It is a 10-minute walk from Commercial St. During the winter, you probably cannot camp -- although you might also try Coastal Acres Campground. For stays during the winter, you could try some of the B&Bs or inns or look at Redweek.com or VRBO.com or a similar site to rent a timeshare or a vacation rental.
=========== Croatia ===============
Croatia
I travelled by train from rainy Budapest but it was clear and sunny on the Croatian coast (here is a pic from Rijeka on Monday, Aug 29). It was drizzling in Zagreb that morning but clear by the time I got to Rijeka. So a cruise to some of the outer islands would have been fabulous (weather wise) if I had had more time.
I decided to return to Budapest where cruising for hot men was easier -- I also had a gorgeous day getting naked at Donau Island in Vienna on Aug 31.
So I think the weather is variable but there seems to be some likelihood for some good weather on the Croatian coast even when it is rainy inland - still locals should know better and take the advice to see local weather forecasts online.
I could not stay as long as I would have liked so I will just have to go back.
I went by train from Budapest -- of course flying would be cheaper or is there a quicker way to get to the Croatian coast. I've heard the ferries from Italy are good.. Anybody got a better idea?
Next time I want to go the supposedly great nude sunbathing beaches on the Croatian coast..
I gave up on doing so this time from Rovinj because the buses seemed to be so infrequent..where is the best place to find out gay guys interested in sun/fun and hopefully sex on the beach?
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