Travel for Gay Couples

Two Times the Fun: Palm Springs Is the Ideal Destination for Gay & Lesbian Couples

By Kevin Perry

Partnership is a dance with dichotomies. It is both a joy and a responsibility. It is a commitment and an exploration. Every choice you make impacts your better half, so you often consider your options with couplehood in mind.

And the most exhilarating decision of all is where to vacation.

Travel courses through our collective LGBTQ blood. We look at the globe and say “Yaas please!” Every city presents a bevy of architectural finds, culinary curiosities, and opportunities to build lifelong memories with your partner gleefully by your side.

All the more reason why Palm Springs is the perfect getaway for you and your boo.

Stay In Style

When straight couples arrive at their respective love shacks, they do crazy things like carry one another over the threshold or… unpack? Us gays are too busy for such nonsense. We must survey our surroundings and rule our kingdoms/queendoms royally.

Palm Springs offers regal rental options that cater to the most discerning aesthetic appetites. Lounge in midcentury modern esteem at your own private enclave, decked out with spacious grounds and an inviting pool.

Or, to amplify your splash factor, see and be seen at one of the many clothing optional gay resorts in town. You and your betrothed can rekindle your passions under the alluring desert sun while enjoying some eye candy from across the way. If discretion is more your vibe, retire to your room and enjoy the most accommodating accommodations in Southern California.

Bottoms Up

The gayborhood that makes Palm Springs an LGBTQ Mecca is Arenas Road. Packed with smiles and suggestive winks, Arenas features a wide array of bars that welcome everyone from rugged bears to bingo queens.

Though the pub scene has struggled during recent months, Palm Springs has found a way to reopen responsibly. Saloons have transformed into food service destinations, all while emphasizing safety precautions like masks and social distancing. You and your partner can get your flirt on without encroaching on others’ six-foot buffer zone. After all, your attractiveness spans vast measures – you are a star, right where you are.

And the reopening of Arenas continues to evolve, welcoming local fave Streetbar into the fab festivities. Gay couples can canoodle in their expanded outdoor serving space, sharing the love with onlookers and well-wishers alike. Cheers supreme!

Feast on Acceptance

To soak up the boozy fun of Arenas Road, enjoy a hearty meal at one of Palm Springs’ many gay-friendly restaurants (well, they are really all gay-friendly). Supporting local businesses is always a great move, but patronizing an LGBTQ-owned establishment is icing on the proverbial cake.

You have lived in a predominantly straight world your whole life. You managed to find someone who adores you unconditionally, and vice versa. Congrats and a half! Now it’s time to give back to your beloved queer community by spending some gay dollars at one of our fantastic eateries. Treat your same-sex sweetie to a romantic meal and fuel up for even more fun to come. Empowerment is served.

Bond-building activities

If you are the type of couple who likes to spend their gaycation on the go, get out! Palm Springs has a bevy of activities perfectly designed to bring you together while safely apart from crowded situations.

Escape Room, for example, presents an intriguing adventure for your curious minds to explore as a team. You will have your own private puzzle room, which you can conquer as a pair or with close friends and/or family members. Solve the day and share a gay “hooray!”

Now that your imagination is ignited, send it to the moon and beyond. Stargazing is a wonderful pastime here in the Inland Empire, especially with your special someone by your side. Spoon under the stars and peer up at the celestial bodies that encircle our earthly reality. Count your blessings and capture your spark with a romantic rendezvous that is out of this world!

Live It Up Downtown

One of the supreme gifts that Palm Springs affords the LGBTQ community is respect. You are strong, you are sexy, and you are appreciated. Now, let’s go shopping!

Though you may feel self-conscious holding hands with your partner in other vacation destinations, it is encouraged on the streets of downtown PS. Stroll arm-in-arm through our open-air plazas, peruse fashions and finds to buy one another, and live out loud, courtesy of Palm Springs.

We love you (almost) as much as you love your significant other. Celebrate your next gay excursion in the capital of inclusion: our open-minded, openhearted hometown.

You are eternally welcome here.