It’s been an especially long winter this year, but those screams of “Keep those carbs away from me!” heard echoing from gay haunts across the northern hemisphere can mean only one thing: Summer 2013 is finally on its way.
Just in time, we’ve compiled our annual spring list of the world’s top gay beaches, complete with visuals sure to put you in your best sunny seaside mood.
It’s a big world, so if your favorite gay beach didn’t make the cut, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.
We’ll be back next week with our naked picks for the world’s best nude beaches.
Meanwhile, enjoy the view.
Photo by Ernesto Sarezale.
Click through to our sister site Gay Cities to see our 2013 picks for the world’s best gay beaches.
First up: Rio’s Ipanema
Farme, Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro
Easily one of the most famous and beguiling gay beaches on earth, the Farme section of Rio’s Ipanema is home to the city’s “Barbie” set – that’s local lingo for the city’s seemingly endless supply of stunningly hot muscle men. Bears and trans gals prefer Copacabana’s Bolsa, but all are welcome at Farme, and the vibe is Rio-ifically relaxed and unabashedly gay. If you’re thirsty after the beach, hit Bar Bofetada on nearby Rua Farme de Amoedo.
Photos by chikk0, bernardo_costa, GayCities’ member BosGuy, & HardieBoys
Next up: New York’s Fire Island
One of the world’s first gay beach meccas is still one of its best, New York’s incomparable Fire Island. Despite a couple of tough hits from Mother Nature in the past few years (a fire swept through one of its most popular clubs at the end of 2011, then Hurricane Sandy struck a year later), New York City’s queer beach is back in business and fully ready for the usual summer onslaught of gayness. The hub of the party action is at The Pines, though some prefer the more mixed and eclectic (and more nudity-friendly) Cherry Grove.
Photo by vitofun
Next up: Gran Canaria’s Maspalomas
Maspalomas, Gran Canaria
It may not be well known to many gay Americans, but for Europeans, Gran Canaria is gay beach nirvana. Part of Spain but so far south that it actually straddles the bottom of Morocco’s coast, Gran Canaria is the most popular of the Canary Islands, and its biggest town of Maspalomas is gay central, especially in the Playa del Inglés area. The dunes at Maspalomas are famously gorgeous and cruisy, and the nearby golden sand beach – especially around Kiosk 7 – is filled with gays from across the continent. What’s more, a brand new Axel Hotel opens here next month.
Photos by superbobbie & Ernesto Sarezale
Next up: Sydney’s North Bondi
North Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
Far more peaceful than the raucous main beach at Bondi, North Bondi is also where the gays go – the further north one heads, the gayer it gets here, especially around the outdoor workout area by the North Bondi Surf Club. No booze is allowed on the white sands, but plenty of pubs line the beach and fill with bronzed bodies toward the end of the day. Gay Sydney nudists often prefer the more secluded Lady Jane or Obelisk Beaches.
Photos 2 & 3 by HardieBoys
Next up: Fort Lauderdale’s Sebastian
Sebastian Beach, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale’s strong gay populace means that pretty much all of its beaches are at least a little homo-fied, but this lovely strip at the end of Sebastian Street is gay sand ground zero. Most of Lauderdale’s gay resorts are within blocks, and both local gays and visitors from around the country flock to Sebastian, especially on Sundays.
Photos by VISIT FLORIDA & df1hx
Next up: Mykonos’ Elia
Greece’s enchanting island of Mykonos has been luring gays for decades, and when they’re not strolling the quaint alleyways of Mykonos Town, they’re often here on the other side of the island at Elia Beach. (Super Paradise, the island’s former gay beach of choice, has straightened up in recent years.) As one of the island’s largest beaches, Elia boasts fine sand and shallow, clear waters, plus a great view of Naxos, the next island over. The gay (and partly nude) section is on the right, and you’ll find lots of cruising on the rocks.
Photos by gmichaelreilly, matthead, & Paul Reitz Photography
Next up: Provincetown’s Herring Cove
Lying at the very tail end of Cape Cod, Provincetown’s Herring Cove is the area’s most popular beach, drawing straights, lesbians, and gay men, who largely keep to their own kinds in different sections here. From the parking lot, head left and pass the lesbians to find the guys, and go even farther for the nudist area (though be warned, it’s not legal, and tickets are not uncommon). In the nearby dunes happens everything one would expect to happen in gay beach-adjacent dunes.
Photos 1 & 2 by letsgosf, 3 by somanymen.com
Next up: Tel Aviv’s Hilton
Having had a bit of a gay presence for decades, Hilton Beach is now the best known and most popular gay beach in Tel Aviv, a city that’s seen a remarkable recent explosion onto the global gay travel radar. As one might guess, the beach is near the Tel Aviv Hilton, along the sea just north of it, directly across from Independence Park and the large cliff-top eagle statue. The vibe here is lively, friendly, rather cruisy, and Mediterranean-ishly sexy.
Photos by Ernesto Sarezale
Next up: Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio
Manuel Antonio Beach, Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio has long been one of the gayest areas of Costa Rica and all of Central America, and its huge public beach has its own unofficial gay section – known locally as La Playita – at the northwest end, beyond the rocks (just don’t make the journey at high tide). Though the nearby opening of a luxury hotel a few years back mostly put the kibosh on naturism, Playita’s beauty still draws gays from across the world.
Next up: Cape Town’s Clifton 3rd
Clifton 3rd , Cape Town, South Africa
Clifton is one of Cape Town’s toniest suburbs, and it’s here that you’ll find its best and best known beaches, simply named Clifton 1st through Clifton 4th. The gays have long preferred Clifton 3rd, with its gorgeous west-facing setting making for incredible ocean sunsets. For the more cruise-minded and/or birthday suit-wearing, Sandy Beach is just a couple miles away.
Photos by GayCities user patelsmith, RobW_, & lovedub
knoxxy2008
Cool pics.
PS to self: Damn! I have to work out more. LOL
Vince Smetana
LOL. Isn’t that Andy Towle in Mykonos?
wildale
You left out one of the beast beaches in the world. Little Beach on Maui.
Dan Allen
@Vince Smetana: I thought the same thing when I first saw that photo, Vince! But it’s actually a guy called Matt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthead/
Thomas
Certainly think that the gay beach at Sitges deserves a strong mention. And then there’s the gay beach at Ibiza …
But I do believe that Sebastian Beach in Ft. Lauderdale wins first prize.
rlbuford
Love this article content about beaches. Just one request to Queerty — Please think more about diversity. People of color love the beach as well. :-)I laughed when we got to South Africa and there were no people of color — even there! Thanks for hearing this. Otherwise great article. If I have missed a person of color here or there, it’s the gestalt that matters. Let’s strive to make the world a better place by practicing and expanding the vision of equality in everything that we as a community present.
TVC 15
Oof, I want to go to Tel Aviv
Flyguy from Canada
What about Little Congwong, Botany Bay, La Perouse in Sydney Australia or Little Beach, Makena, in Maui?
Gregg
rlbuford:
I laughed when Cape Town, South Africa, and Ipanema, Rio de Janero, Brazil, were lumped into an article on Northern Hemisphere Beaches!
Nice pics, tho.
Cheers,
Gregg
Dan Allen
@rlbuford: I hear you, and agree. There are indeed a few people of color in the mix here, but not as many as I would’ve liked. Will try to change that next week for the nude beaches. 🙂
Dan Allen
@Gregg: You forgot Sydney, Australia. But the article never claimed to be about northern hemisphere beaches.
gaym50ish
I would cast a vote for Queen’s Beach in Honolulu and the San Gregorio nude beach (the gay end, not the straight end)south of San Francisco.
Yelper
What is this? How could you possibly miss the best of the best gay beaches, Haulover near North Miami. It’s where all the in the know tourists and in the know residents of Miami and Fort Lauderdale go.
Not only gay but “clothing optional.” That alone puts it far ahead of most of the other beaches mentioned.
djdez2
Rehoboth Beach, DL is pretty nice place as well.
rlbuford
@Dan Allen: YAYY!
reesielover
What happened to Miami’s 9th Street Beach? My God, what a collection or gorgeous men of all races (especially those luscious Latinos). I call it my lucky spot
Raquel Santiago
only 1 U.S. Beach really?
car
This is a terrible thing to confess, but I have never been comfortable at a gay beach. I know, you’re thinking he must be ugly or something, but that doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.
There is a thing that gay men do, call it constant appraisal where one is sized up and should one possess the fault of a weak chin, a minor stomach, an undeveloped crouch, you are dismissed. I suspect many people feel this, but it appears to be bitter to mention it. There is a harshness to all this, so while it’s sweet to celebrate the little patches of sand where we can freely frolic, i generally head for the mote integrated territory where people of all colors, all persuasions, looks, desires and longings are hanging out.
dbdonovan
Another vote for Rehoboth, one of the first gay beaches in the US, Lets hear it for Poodle Beach & North Shores
ChuckF
you missed the best nude beach that’s only half an hour from my home but I’m not saying its name because all of us who go there understand it’s a secret.