Costa Rica: Gay winter destination of your dreams

Aug. 16 2013

by Marc Dedonder

Even though summer is not over yet, winter is fast approaching and maybe faster than you think! as winter approaches, Touristiquement Gay thought it would be a good idea to offer you a new complete gay travel guide to Costa Rica including the cities of San José, Manuel Antonio and Quepos.

In all these 13 cities that are you, propose. Costa Rica remains an excellent choice for a gay friendly winter destination. In high season, you will find many tourists from all over the world who like to party or relax.

Costa Rica's lesbian and gay population has made significant gains over the past decade. Although a gay traveler who was in Costa Rica in 1990 would hardly recognize the lesbigay life he would be amazed to see the changes. Gay and lesbian life in Costa Rica can now be legally protected by the courts.

Costa Rica, which likes to call itself the "Switzerland of Central America," is a mountainous country with a population of 3.5 million people, nestled between Panama on the south and Nicaragua on the north. San José, the most populous city in the country.

The majority of lesbians and gays migrate to San José because of the monotony and conservatism of the more rural areas. Costa Rica decriminalized homosexuality in the 1970s. Since then, a series of legal acts, both at the juridical level as well as the administrative level, have taken place.

Costa Rica's gay scene is also beginning to develop. in San José, you can choose between a dozen gay bars and clubs, a few saunas, gay-friendly fitness centers, and several gay-friendly restaurants. Several hotels are not shy about advertising themselves as gay friendly. There is a small gay area, just south of Central Park, where you can usually find gay friendly establishments. These are, of course, the gay hangouts of San José.

On the streets next to these bars, male and transvestite prostitutes are protected from police harassment by court decisions - though not necessarily from muggers and queerbashers. The neighborhood, though dull, is decidedly gay and relatively safe to walk around in the early evening hours. But anyone leaving a bar after midnight should catch a cab back to their hotel.

Avispa, is one of the oldest gay bars in Costa Rica. It celebrated its 22nd anniversary in May 2008. The lesbian owner, Ana Vega, has been an advocate for gay rights in her country. Downstairs, hundreds of men and women dance on two smoke-filled floors to the latest music imported from the United States. Upstairs, there is a restaurant and several pool tables.

More recently gay saunas have been allowed to set up shop. The Paris gay sauna, just two blocks west of the downtown Holiday Inn, has earned its reputation as a chic, American-style bathhouse. The Paris Sauna has also become part of the history of the struggle for gay rights in Costa Rica. Officials of the municipality of San José closed the sauna several times in 1999, just after its inauguration, claiming that its presence was against norms of the country by asserting that
"appropriate behavior and public morality. "

But the owner of the sauna, Sebastian Degand, took his case to the Supreme Court of the country. On January 11, 2000, the court upheld the gay sauna owner's petition to be reopened, arguing that "subjective criteria of morality and appropriate behavior have no legal basis...and represent a violation of the fundamental rights granted by our constitution. "

Deja-Vu, which is located eight blocks south of Central Park near an old railroad station in, has become San Jose's go-to spot. The dance floor features elaborate strobe lights and the midnight shows on Friday and Saturday nights are spectacular.

Almost all organized gay life in Costa Rica takes place in and around San José. However, the town of Quepos, near Manuel Antonio National Park on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, has become famous for its large, out-of-town gay community. Quepos can claim several gay hotels and a beach.