Puerto Rico has long been known as the most gay-friendly vacation destination in the Caribbean, thanks in no small part to its pro-LGBTQ laws and its generally accepting attitude about diversity (my husband is from Puerto Rico, so I’ve experienced this firsthand). And while San Juan, the largest city and the capital, is obviously a hub for LGBTQ life, nightlife and tourism, the second-biggest destination for LGBTQ travelers is a surprisingly small coastal town on the island’s west coast: Boquerón.
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A barrio in the municipality of Cabo Rojo, Boquerón has only about 5,300 inhabitants, but it’s one of the top tourism destinations — including for gay travel — in southwestern Puerto Rico. Home to two wildlife refuges and a wide, usually uncrowded beach, the barrio has a tiny, waterfront downtown that seems right out of central casting for a laidback Caribbean beach town: colorful buildings, tiny tourist shops and cute restaurants and bars, with not a chain in sight.
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Here’s the cool and fascinating thing about Boqueron: it’s totally gay and yet not specifically gay at all. There are no exclusively LGBTQ dance clubs or gay bars, no LGBTQ shops or gay hotels. But you’ll see rainbow flags plastered at all different kinds of businesses, including bars, restaurants and stores. Many bartenders are openly gay or lesbian. And it’s not uncommon to see same-sex couples dancing together at any of the venues on the main strip.
In addition, Boquerón hosts Puerto Rico’s largest LGBTQ pride celebration, Orgullo Boquerón. It takes place every year on the second weekend in June, one week after San Juan’s pride event. This has helped to cement Boquerón’s popularity as a gay travel destination, as thousands of LGBTQ people and their friends fill the town for an entire weekend of sun, sand, nightlife and open-air pride festivities.
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Regardless of what time of year you visit Boquerón, you can experience some of its rainbow-hued ambiance. Here are a few of the bars where you can have a drink, perhaps play some pool, listen to live music or dance. And the laidback, small-town vibe makes it easy to meet new friends of every orientation and gender. These are some of our personal favorite venues:
Bohemia: I’ve enjoyed singing karaoke at this bar, and you can take a seat indoors or outdoors to enjoy the music and some people watching. The food here is surprisingly good, considering this is a bar — I really liked the mofongo, which is one of my favorite dishes in Puerto Rico.
DownTown Boquerón: For high-quality, chef-designed cuisine in Boquerón, it’s hard to beat DownTown, which is headed by Chef Jose Carles.
El Schamar: The closest thing to a disco in town, this small bar has a pool table in the middle of its main space, but they move it out for weekend dancing. The cute, twinkish bartenders are friendly and the drinks are cheap. On some afternoons and evenings you can also buy empanadillas from the on-site vendor.
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Flamingo’s: This colorful, festively decorated restaurant has a large menu of good food; the burgers are especially huge and inexpensive.
Los Remos: This small bar is the best place to see live bands play a variety of music, and there’s dancing as well as indoor and outdoor seating, and a decent bar menu.
Sunset Sunrise: This small bar has a friendly staff, cheap drinks, a juke box and indoor and outdoor seating. It’s a lively, chatty place to enjoy a drink (but don’t bother buying pizza from the truck across the street; it’s most likely frozen, and it’s overpriced).