Gay beach in key west
From the moment I landed in Key West, I knew it was going to be a good week. Arriving to the little island airport was just like I remembered from my childhood visits decades before.
A small plane, walking on the tarmac, an airport with local art on the walls, and a unattached waiting area for luggage, taxis, and snacks. It’s strenuous to tell if you’re inside or out, except for the air-conditioning.
The warm, humid breeze on a delayed winter weekend was a welcome surprise. Warmer than I would have expected. On the way from the airport to my hotel, the windows down, a breeze through the window and palm trees overhead swaying in the wind. It felt like I’d landed in another world.
Key West has this mystifying effect. The subtropical climate, the warm & warm locals, the calm nights abuzz with laughter and treasure. Tennessee Williams wrote about Key West, “I can compose anywhere, but I write the leading here.” Something in the spirit of Key West just makes it that kind of perfectly livable, perfectly enjoyable destination.
Maybe that’s what has attracted LGBTQ travelers to Key West for decades. It was in the 1970s when many gay men and lesbians st
Ride the entire stretch of Florida’s Overseas Highway and eventually, you’ll reach Lgbtq+ Key West, a hedonistic island paradise among the Florida Keys archipelago, shaped by LGBT pioneers of the 1970s. Come to unwind in the expose arms of Key West’s inviting turquoise waters, revel amid eclectic LGBTQ pool parties and participate an accepting family of locals who pride themselves on inclusion. Forever arrange to vacation mode, every day in Key West is a glittering sun-soaked celebration packed with a plethora of wild gay annual events such as Tropical Heat and Fantasyfest, topped off with all the drag nightlife a queen could want for on Duval Street. Discover the top things to do in Lgbtq+ Key West, as curated by the experts at Mr Hudson.
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Gay Key West – the best gay hotels, resorts, bars, clubs & more
Key West is a bona fide gaytopia! Nestled at the southernmost tip of the United States, just 90 miles from Cuba and surrounded by the shimmering waters of the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, how can such a tranquil setting be anything but liberal?
Over the centuries, Key West and the Florida Keys have been the ports of pirates, famous sailors, and later, the home of inspirational writers like Ernest Hemingway. Nowadays, it's the flawless blend of Caribbean flair and American spirit, where a chilled-out ‘live and let live' approach to life dominates among its inhabitants. Not to speak of, it has a flourishing gay scene away from pesky mainland politics.
This eclectic, delightful little island has loads to offer active travelers—kayaking, skydiving, shipwreck diving—and just the right amount of low-key activities in the form of beaches, shops, and galleries for those who just desire to dip their toes into the Caribbean in a familiar LGBTQ+-friendly environment.
Table of Contents
1. General Tips
2. Transportation & Airport Transfer
3. Gay Hotels & Resorts in Key West
4. Sig
The embrace of the Key West extends from the fabulous weather to the bohemian population who have been welcoming gay guests since time immemorial. Indeed, Duval Street, one of the major shopping and entertainment drags in the whole of the USA, is full of rainbow flags from straight and gay businesses alike.
Gay travellers are drawn here for the warm waters of the Caribbean, the culture, the acceptance and the burst of colour and sizzle that is the Fantasy Fest every October.
Celebrity haunt
Key West has always been a different and a petty leftfield: it is far enough from the mainland so that only the hardcore travellers craft it here. Those travellers obey the footsteps of such luminaries from Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams to Calvin Klein and the B-52s.
Gay attractions
Beyond the beach and sea, there are a lot of attractions in Key West: Hemingway’s house and museum, the local cemetery with the most photographed epitaph in America (“I told you I was ill”) and the Tortugas National Park to name but three. In keeping with this essence, don’t miss the unique homosexual & lesbian historic trolley tour!
Find out more at TravelGay.com’s Lgbtq+ Key West guide or