Let's Travel to Puerto Vallarta!

Where in the world can you find four competing gay cruises, more than two dozen gay bars and nightclubs, a half dozen gay hotels and a gay beach? All that and more can be found in Mexico's gayest destination, Puerto Vallarta.

Once a sleepy fishing village, Puerto Vallarta blossomed to become one of Mexico's most popular vacation destinations, getting a big boost from the 1964 film Night of the Iguana. The tourist city has also come a long way in its level of gay acceptance. It evolved since the early '90s from barely tolerating gays to welcoming the pink dollar with a variety of activities tailored to the LGBT market.

By the way, the dollar, pink or otherwise, goes far in Mexico now. You will get about 17 pesos per dollar, that is close to the peso's all time low of 19 in February. The very favorable exchange rate means everything is on sale in Mexico, from taxi rides to gourmet meals in the city's finest restaurants.

WHERE TO STAY

The luxurious LGBT resort, Casa Cupula (casacupula.com), is one of the finest boutique hotels in Mexico. It includes the wonderful Taste Restaurant, a well-appointed gym, a pool and two hot tubs. The rooms are perfectly furnished to appeal the finickiest traveler. The property is mostly gay men, but is gay, lesbian mixed and straight friendly. Breakfast at Taste is included.

Pi�ata PV (pinatapv.com) is the newest gay hotel in Puerto Vallarta. The modern chic hotel with retro and old world touches is on a quiet street in the heart of Zona Romantica, the gayest part of the city. The boutique property is clothing optional and for men only. The hotel is known for hosting parties and special events. Pi�ata PV has all the upscale furnishings of a W Hotel but with the friendly camaraderie you won't find at a big box hotel.

Hotel Mercurio (hotel-mercurio.com) is a great budget choice but gives you much more than you will find in a typical budget hotel. The rooms are very comfortable, clean but basic.The hotel's breakfast is first-rate, delicious and filling with a good selection of hot and cold dishes and made to order. Its late afternoon early evening happy hour brings the party to the hotel every day. Go-go boys entertain during the taco happy hour on Wednesday and Sundays for "Beer, Boys and Burgers." Mercurio is targeted toward gay men but lesbians are welcome.

If you are considering the above three hotels, book through the recently established site, staygaypv.com for added perks and discounts.

WHERE TO PLAY

All of Puerto Vallarta's gay bars except the stripper bar, Anthropology, are in the Zona Romantica neighborhood. (Anthropology is just over the Cuale River, which is the dividing line between downtown and Zona Romantica.) Like most of Latin America, the lounge-type bars are busy in the evenings, while the bigger discos are busiest after 1 a.m.

The biggest annual gay events in Puerto Vallarta that may be of interest to travelers include:

Latin Fever: A circuit party held every Thanksgiving weekend hosted in various venues throughout the city.

Mardi Gras: The festival was started by the gay community as an alternative to a gay pride parade and is held on the traditional Mardi Gras day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Gay Pride: Puerto Vallarta celebrates gay pride parade and festival over the Memorial Day weekend.

The nightlife scene is very changeable in Puerto Vallarta, but fortunately the city offers a couple of guides that you can check out online before you go or you can pick up a free copy once you get in town. The long-established gay guide, Gay Guide Vallarta (gayguidevallarta.com), includes a free GPS map app that can guide you to a nightspot you want to check out. Gay PV Magazine (gaypv.mx) includes a guide, party pictures and articles. A must-do for first timers is the Puerto Vallarta gay bar tour (gayvallartabarhopping.com). It is run by the publisher of Gay PV Magazine.

The hottest new bar is Mr. Flamingo, a tiki-themed bar at the corner of Lazaro Cardenas and Ignacio Luis Vallarta, which the city's gay epicenter. The small triangular shaped open air bar perfectly fits into the corner and is almost always packed with the crowd dancing to mostly American pop music. The upscale gay sauna, Spartacus, is cater-corner from Mr. Flamingo.

Paco's Ranch is just a couple of steps from Mr. Flamingo and is busiest after 1 a.m. The club plays Mexican and American music and generally has a couple of drag shows nightly with the performers speaking mostly in Spanish. Mr. Flamingo has probably taken some of Paco's customers away but Paco's can fit a lot more people. CC Slaughters is across the street from Mr. Flamingo and is a modern building that can accommodate more people for dancing than Pacos. CC's also has a separate lounge bar if you prefer a quieter space.

If you want to meet a very down to earth crowd, check out Frida's, a five minute walk from Mr. Flamingo on Insurgentes and Venustiano Carranza. It is owned by American ex-pat Tom Finley who makes everyone feel welcome. Frida's restaurant serves up delicious comfort food specials every day and is a great place to eat on the cheap and always have company.

The city's two stripper bars are Anthropology and Wet Dreams. Anthropology is a little darker, making customers perhaps a little more likely to get down and dirty with the dancers. But be advised that the strippers are very aggressive at trying to recruit you for a private show. Wet Dreams is known for a shower next to the bar where the performers dance under the shower.

Blue Chairs (Calle Malecon #4) is most popular for its sunset shows on its multi-level open-air roof. Some nights feature drag shows, other nights strippers, and there is even a gay bingo night.

WHERE TO GO

The gay Blue Chairs beach is in front of the Blue Chairs Hotel. The beach includes the section of the beach with both the green and blue chairs.

Puerto Vallarta has four gay cruises. Most go by the iconic Los Arcos, giant hollowed-out rock formations where you can snorkel and view colorful tropical fish. Diana's Tours (dianastours.com) is the oldest of the gay cruises and has a very loyal clientele. It is mostly gay men but is all-LGBT-friendly. The Wet and Wild cruise (pvsunsetpartycruise.com) is marketed to gay men and is very sexually charged with go-go "lotion boys" onboard. The On Bay cruise (onbaytour.com) has been running for about a year and like Wet and Wild, has go-go boys onboard. The Salty Dog tour (saltydogvoyages.mx) just began this spring. It is run by a lesbian and a gay man and promises to be ultra-luxury, with renowned chef Paul Salazar.

For more information, visit Puerto Vallarta's official tourism site at VisitPuertoVallarta.com