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Note: All travel is subject to frequently-changing governmental restrictions—please check federal, state, and local advisories before scheduling trips.

Remember how great it was to be in college and to be given a full week each spring to completely power down your laptop (or your Grape iMac G3) and head to some sun-drenched demi-paradise to drink yourself into a coma? Spring break is not an official thing once you get older, but a week away from brittle temps definitely still is. Wondering where to go if you’re out and proud and in no mood for Cancun shenanigans? When it’s safe to travel again, here are 7 sunny spring vacation alternatives for LGBTQIA folks.

RELATED: Visit our LGBTQIA travel hub for welcoming hotels, the ultimate queer events calendar, inspiration, and more!

Palm Springs (instead of Vegas)

We’re guilty of every Vegas-style cliche in the books (and wake up with only hazy memories of them the next morning), but we’ll leave Sin City in spring to the straighties. Instead, you’ll find us in Palm Springs where gay women go wild at the Dinah (the largest lesbian event in the world) while circuit boys beeline it to the White Party. The rest of us, meanwhile, wake and bake at our gay resort, brunch at Cheeky’s, hunt for bargains at the Cabazon Outlets and drink the night away along Arenas Road. In short, it’s queer heaven.

Find Palm Springs hotel deals here.

Puerto Vallarta (instead of Cabo)

We hear Cabo San Lucas is beautiful. Not that we’d know. We’re too busy soaking up rays in Mexico’s undisputed coastal queer mecca. Maybe it’s the Liz Taylor connection (PV is where she and Richard Burton filmed The Night of the Iguana), but more likely it’s the many queer bars, the sublime and cobblestone Zona Romantica, and the gay beach at Blue Chairs Resort that make this town a rainbow paradise. Definitely book a queer-operated booze cruise!

Find Puerto Vallarta hotel deals here.

Pensacola (instead of Panama City)

If you live in Panama City Beach, you’re no stranger to the nightly sound of beer cans being crushed on foreheads each March and April. And if you live in Pensacola, you’re no stranger to the sound of queers sipping White Claw each May. That’s because otherwise sleepy Pensacola gets barnstormed every Memorial Day Weekend by tens of thousands of queer beach goers. Picture a full weekend of body baking on the beach and booty shaking in the bars. Word on this one is very much out, so yeah, book your hotel well in advance.

Find Penscola hotel deals here.

ALSO: Don’t leave rewards on the table—be sure to join Orbitz Rewards before you book your spring break!

Wilton Manors (instead of South Beach)

Decades ago we flocked to Key West. In the ’80s and ’90s we took over (and revitalized) South Beach. If we keep moving up the coast we’ll eventually need fur coats with our bikinis! But it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve permanently settled on sunny Wilton Manors, the queerest corner of Fort Lauderdale. And why not? Wilton Manors Drive is awash in queer-owned bars, businesses and eateries and the town ranks second in number of LGBTQIA folks per capita. Then there’s all the queer bodies baking in the sun along Sebastian Street Beach, mere steps away from a large collection of queer-owned hotels. Plus, there’s downtown Fort Lauderdale, clothing-optional Haulover Beach, the Everglades and Miami right at your doorstep.

Find Fort Lauderdale hotel deals here.

Puerto Rico (instead of Punta Cana)

Punta Cana may be famous for its all-inclusives, but we prefer Puerto Rico for its LGBTQIA inclusiveness, especially the capital. From Old Town San Juan’s pretty pastels (avoid on days when cruise ships are docked) to Speedo-clad hunks frolicking along Atlantic Beach in Condado, there’s plenty to occupy a full weekend (not to mention plenty of queer bars for nighttime shenanigans). Beyond the capital, the island offers a treasure trove of delights, including nighttime kayaking through Bioluminescent Bay, architectural delights in second city Ponce, killer waves in Rincon, and pristine Caribbean beaches in sparsely populated Culebra.

Find San Juan hotel deals here.

New Orleans (instead of Nashville)

Nashville is hot right now and it’s not just the fried chicken. But if the Broadway honky-tonks skew too hetero for your liking, skip this emerging spring break hangout and instead head to reliable N’awlins—a queer classic. At the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann—the city’s so-called Lavender Line—grab a to-go beverage and enjoy the street life. You might see a drag queen directing traffic, or a whole lot more if you’re willing to barter away some beads! Don’t miss drag brunch at the Country Club, a cocktail at Cafe Lafitte in Exile (the oldest continuously operating queer bar in the country), a bike ride around City Park and eclectic eats at St. Roch Market.

Find New Orleans hotels deals here.

Zipolite (instead of Riviera Maya)

Cancun! Cozumel! Tulum! The string of sunny destinations dotting Mexico’s Caribbean Coast just keeps going and going. But if you want to feel the heat with a queerer twist, bid adieu to Quintana Roo and head instead to Zipolite, a low-key homo hangout in coastal Oaxaca and home to the only legal nude beach in Mexico. Days are spent sipping margaritas on the beach while evenings are devoted to slurping oysters and applauding sunsets at gorgeous Playa del Amour. There’s even two queer bars, not bad for a town of 900.

Find Zipolite hotel deals here.

 

Tagged: California, Caribbean, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, LGBTQIA, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Puerto Rico

Note: Orbitz compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site.

Jason Heidemann

Jason Heidemann

Jason is a Lead Content Specialist for Expedia Group, and manages content initiatives across numerous Expedia-owned brands. His work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, the Huffington Post, Chicago Magazine, Passport and many others.

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