Honeymoon....

MrsTate2014 · September 2013

Hello all, we are looking at honeymoon locations right now for August. I just wanted to see where others are honeymooning or have honeymooned and what your experiences are planning or were while there?

We are currently considering Puerto Rico, Cancun, and Key West... Let me know your thoughts!!!

manyetteba18 · October 2013

We're getting married next August too

I am actually going to surprise her with our honeymoon. I'm renting a log cabin in North Carolina for at least 3 days (the length of us staying here is still debatable). We are both homebodies, neither of us go out and party and really see the world, so staying in a log cabin for a weekend is perfect.

QueerFemme · October 2013

We went to Puerto Rico. We LOVED it. It was amazing and beautiful. But I will say, they aren't super gay friendly. So, you have to be a little more reserved with public displays of affection.

orwhatuwill · October 2013

We're planning our Honeymoon to go to the UK, but we've been a couple of places that might be fun:

San Francisco & New Orleans. We felt safe and comfortable at both places.

MrsTate2014 · October 2013

Thank you all for your responses..... @ QueerFemme-- we are really leaning towards Puerto Rico.... do you mind me asking where you all stayed? In San Juan or another area? What activities did you all do? Did anything happen that makes you think they are not that gay-friendly?

If you want, you can answer in a PM.... just want as much input as you're willing to give! :-) Thanks!

QueerFemme · October 2013

MrsTate2014

We flew in to San Juan and then drove to the other side of the island and stayed in Rincon for the first 5 days. Rincon is BEAUTIFUL and must more low key and relaxed than San Juan.

We really wanted to stay at locally owned spots, and not big resort areas. We stayed at the Coconut Palms Inn in Rincon. It isn't fancy, and it's off the main drag in a residential area. It has 10 rooms I think, and it was absolutely perfect. The owners and the staff were super nice. They have a grill on the deck so you can go to the grocery store and make food there if you want. They also gave great ideas for food in the area.

http://www.coconutpalmsinn.com/

We then drove to San Juan and stayed another four days at the Tres Palmas Inn. Also, beautiful and perfect location. San Juan is a LOT busier and tourist focused. Tres Palmas is close to everything, but not in the guts of tourist central, which we really enjoyed. But, still, a short car or bus ride away from Old San Juan.

Activities:

When we were in Rincon, we drove to Ponce and went to the Ponce Art museum. It is a beautiful museum and had the original of one of our favorite art pieces.

We were also there during the three kings celebration over Christmas, so we were able to enjoy a lot of those festivities in surrounding neighborhoods.

From San Juan, we went to the Rainforest, and also, took a snorkling trip. That was FUN. Even if you don't like to snorkel, the boat was fun and they feed you lunch. We booked through East Island Excursions. The staff was super friendly and helpful. I am told we should have taken the night time bio-bay trip, but we just ran out of time. East Island also does that trip.

http://www.eastwindcats.com/

A lot of time, we just relaxed on the beach or on our deck, or, wandered around town and got lost in neighborhoods and ate local food.

As far as the "not super gay friendly" thing. Nothing "happened" really, but we got a lot of stares (my spouse is very butch in appearance) and one night, we went to a salsa club and danced together once, and the locals were NOT thrilled with that idea. It was so uncomfortable with the stares and snickers, we actually left the club. I am from the bay area. People don't generally make a fuss when they see two females or males together. Even if they don't like it, they just sort of mind their own business.

Also, we couldn't find a queer bar or club to save our lives! we asked hotel desks, we even posted to craiglist to see if anyone could recommend anything. We didn't care if it was a male or female spot, we were just looking for a place to get a few cocktails and not be stared at. We found one little spot in Boquerón, Cabo Rojo. And it was really fun. the bar was tiny, but the surrounding area didn't seem to have any issues with queers in general. So, we spent some time there (that is on the Rincon side of the island, but still about 20-30 minute drive from Rincon).

I'm not suggesting you will be assaulted in PR... but, just be aware that public displays of affection or being too "out" is pretty frowned upon. We actually were with two friends for a portion of our stay, one of which grew up in Puerto Rico, and she was like, yeah, don't kiss in public. It's just not safe.

with all of that said though, we LOVED it there. We would absolutely go back and stay at the same hotels. We had more fun in Rincon, just because it was more our speed. But, if you like tourist, busy busy, lots of shopping, etc., San Juan has a lot to offer as well.

Good luck!

QueerFemme · October 2013

Forgot to give you the link to Tres Palmas

http://www.trespalmasinn.com/

Also, rent a car. There are shuttles and buses, but having a car made our trip SO much better. Everything is very spread out. One more thing... it's VERY dense jungle there. So, sometimes you feel like you are driving into the middle of no where, and all of the sudden, a little city appears. (driving to Boquerón was like that, I felt like we were about to drive into swamp land!)

MrsTate2014 · October 2013

@ QueerFemme ..... you are AMAZING!!! Such great information. That's exactly what I was hoping for. We have been looking at Rincon, as we didn't really want the whole tourist atmosphere, at least not for the entire time. We also did not want to do the resorts as they are a waste of money for us, because we try to get out and see the "real deal holyfield" when we travel, not the pretty & over-priced stuff they want us to see... (although we love to shop)... Thanks for the heads up about the PDA.. as we researched it says the Puerto Rico is very gay-friendly, but I guess that just depends on when and where you are.....

Thank you very much for your time and attentiveness to my question!
Take care!

QueerFemme · October 2013

MrsTate2014 said:

@ QueerFemme ..... you are AMAZING!!! Such great information. That's exactly what I was hoping for. We have been looking at Rincon, as we didn't really want the whole tourist atmosphere, at least not for the entire time. We also did not want to do the resorts as they are a waste of money for us, because we try to get out and see the "real deal holyfield" when we travel, not the pretty & over-priced stuff they want us to see... (although we love to shop)... Thanks for the heads up about the PDA.. as we researched it says the Puerto Rico is very gay-friendly, but I guess that just depends on when and where you are.....

Thank you very much for your time and attentiveness to my question!
Take care!

You are very welcome. If you decide to stay at the Coconut Palms Inn, spring for the "Coqui" room. It's the only room that is upstairs, and has a little private balcony. (Well, the owner also has an upstairs unit and lives on premises). It's only a tiny more expensive and the room and bathroom are both decent sized! The owner also rescues feral cats, so you'll see a cat or two lounging on the deck. The whole place is very much like you are just staying at someone's really nice beachfront house.

Also, be forewarned. Puerto Rico has a LOT of poverty. Unless you are IN the tourist area, you will likely see a lot of stray dogs and cats, and even horses along the highways. You'll see chickens in front yards. People are really poor. If you are coming from the U.S., that is really shocking for some people. Often, folks would rather have the "cleansed" experience at resorts, so they aren't faced with how poor the rest of the island really is.

I don't know which sites you were looking at that said PR was gay friendly. I never got the feeling it was gay "friendly" as much as "we tolerate it, but we don't like it" feeling. I was only concerned for my safety that one time at the salsa club, but I've heard it worse for gay men.

We spent 10 days there, and it was absolutely wonderful.

QueerFemme · October 2013

This is a photos of our hotels balconies. The first one is from Tres Palmas in San Juan. The second is from Coconut Palms.

beachek · October 2013

we went to PR last summer for a week, and stayed in san juan. we found a few gay bars there. never felt uncomfortable or stared at. different experiences for everyone though.

QueerFemme · October 2013

klily58 said:

we went to PR last summer for a week, and stayed in san juan. we found a few gay bars there. never felt uncomfortable or stared at. different experiences for everyone though.

It may depend on how "gay" you present. As you can see, my partner is pretty butch. People were not too thrilled about that.

Honeymoon....

Re: Honeymoon....

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