TripOut Gay Travel:
Fort Lauderdale

Wondering Where The Boys Are? Fort Lauderdale earned a bit of a rep from Spring Break-ers cramming into $20-dollar-a-night hotel rooms and puking off balconies – and, yes, the teen Spring Break movie that started it all, Where The Boys Are, was filmed there – but new levels of culture, luxury – and gayness! – are all changing Fort Lauderdale’s sunny, “beach plus” landscape.

Fort Lauderdale-natives brag about the city’s almost-year-round beautiful weather – there’s a reason the Sunglass Hut guy has a winter home there – so college kids flocking in for once-a-year time off is hardly doing the area justice. With its beautiful beaches, extensive waterways and proximity to the Florida Everglades, Fort Lauderdale has all the natural beauty you could want; forget those wet t-shirt contests!

Well, maybe not completely… A gay Fort Lauderdale visitor has plenty to soak in at the gorgeous gay beaches and plentiful clothing-optional pool areas. Oh, yeah – they’re everywhere. Not only does the city have 33,000 hotels, including a Ritz-Carlton, there are over 150 gay-owned hotels, bars, clubs and restaurants. As far as lodgings, most gay-run ones are part of a small resort strip by the beach – a.k.a. prime location. And can you say pink facades, tons of palm trees and rainbow flags?

Just a few-minute walk from said strip is Fort Lauderdale’s official gay beach, Sebastian Street, which fits in seamlessly with, yes, a few college kids and some visiting families. But this gay beach is a gay man’s gay beach; no one’s playing anything down. There are just too many of us! And it’s not Spring Break-gone-gay; most of the gay crowd in Fort Lauderdale skews somewhat older.

Armed with a hot, new tan—what about that nightlife? Again, the going-out crowd is somewhat more mature, but you can certainly find older gays acting like they used fake IDs to get in, if that’s your scene. The hub of Fort Lauderdale partying is a strip-mall area called Wilton Manors, although bars and strip clubs can be found almost everywhere. Fort Lauderdale has a large gay population, and the mix of natives and visitors makes for a laid-back, just-let-loose atmosphere.

But it’s not all about sunning and partying: Fort Lauderdale is home to some ridiculous mansions/palaces and yachts along the famous Intracoastal Waterway – some are complete must-sees – and the growing downtown scene has thrown some legitimate culture into the mix. With boutiques, museums and art festivals, the city not only has the climate to bring vacationers in, it’s got the character to get them to stay.

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