Learn about Gay life in Portugal. Travel, Hotels, Restaurants, Nightlife, Events. Gay and Lesbian travel center including accommodations, transportation, cruises, tours, package travel, entertainment and travel products in Portugal.
I wanted to recommend a really nice Guest House for Men in the Algarve region (South Portugal).
THERMAS PRIDE, Gay Guest House 1 Spa for Men
GUEST-HOUSE
First Gay Only Sauna and Guest House in Algarve, Albufeira - Portugal.
With confortable rooms and also 1 large suite with sunny balcony.
All rooms equiped with Satelite TV, Wireless internet (free with no usage limits).
Having as target the homosexual public they are the first and only Guest House & SPA exclusively Gay in the Algarve and make use of Reception (from 07:00 am until 02:00 am); 4 comfortable Double Rooms, one of which is a Suite, Bar, Breakfast Room, TV Room, and a SPA that places for the use of their customers modern equipments like a Sauna, a Turkish Bath, a great Jacuzzi, Relax Room, Rest Cabinets, Massages Room, Dark Room and Conviviality Room (with Vending machine).
They are located in one of the main arteries of Albufeira, the Av. dos Descobrimentos , about 50 mins from the City Firemen (Bombeiros), and therefore also very close to the Beach, Center of the City, public transports, Bars, Restaurants, Discos and other animation points.
Facilities and services
Bedroom amenities
Terrace / Solarium
Jacuzzi/Whirlpool
Turkish bath/Hammam
Finnish sauna
Nudist area
Computer with free internet access
Video room
Train station / Airport transfers
Guided tour of the area
Bar
Darkroom
TV
Air-conditioning
Private bathroom
ROOM DESCRIPTION Standard rooms:
Máximum occupacion: 2 persons (1 double bed)
LCD TV, Wifi, Stereo, Refrigerator
1 Suite:
Máximum Occupacion: 3 persons - 1 double bed with possibility of 1 extra bed.
Shared amenities and services
available to renters
Living room, Bar e Communal TV room
Computer, ADSL Internet, E-mail and Wifi
SPA
Bar
Relaxing Body Massages
GENERAL INFORMATION
Bed & Breakfast in a house/villa:
What´s to know:
First Gay Only Sauna and Guest House in Algarve, Albufeira - Portugal.
With confortable rooms and also 1 large suite with sunny balcony.
All rooms equiped with Satelite TV, Wireless internet (free with no usage limits).
Reservations confirmed only after 50% deposit (refundable until 2 weeks before check-in day)
Not Allowed:
Pets not allowed
Not allowed guest under 18 Year old.
Exclusivamente Gay Only SPA
Private Access
SCHEDULE
RECEPTION
Open all days
SAUNA - NEW Schedule from September 2010
Open from Wednesdays to Sundays:
Wednesdays, Thurdays and Sundays from 20h00 to 02h00
Fridays and Saturdays from 20h00 to 04h00
Location:
Close to access from railway, motorway, nightclubs and sandy/rocky beaches nearby
Five minutes walking to the Beach, Bus to Cruising Beaches
Faro: 40 km
Beach: 900 m
Shops: 100 m
Restaurant: 100 m
Supermarket: 200 m
Bus stop: less than 50 m
Airport: 35 km
Activities in the vicinity:
Mountain Biking/Cycling
Golf
Horseback riding
Beach with lifeguard
Water sports
Tennis
Museum
Night club
Boat Trips
Means of access:
30 minutes from Faro Airport
10 Minutes from Train Station
5 minutes from Bus Station
Hints and Tips:
Rent a Car
Rent a Bike
Excursions and Cruises reservations
Water Park reservations
GUEST HOUSE IDEAL TENANT
Gender: Male preferred
Sexual Orientation: Gay preferred
Age: Above 18 years old
Language: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese spoken preferred
Children: Not advisable
Smoking: Don't mind
CONTACTS Company: Thermas Pride - Guest House & SPA for Men Address:
Avenida dos Descobrimentos, Lote 21
(near fire Station and City Hall)
8200-260 Albufeira | Algarve | Portugal Mobile.: +351 963 686 142 Fax : +351 282 576 270
I Love Portugal. It is a country on the rise with wonderful and accepting people. This sites regularly promotes sites and events aimed at Gay and Lesbians, but this country has tons of things to see and do, wether you ar Gay or Staight. To that end, I found this great little video to promote PORTUGAL. Have a look !!!
Pride Bar in Porto is sponsoring the Erotica Salon in Porto EROSPORTO'11 from February 3rd to 6th, 2011 at the Pavilhão Multiusos de GONDOMAR. (suburb of Porto) Opening hours are Thursday to Saturday 3pm to 2am and Sunday 3pm to 10pm.
Tickets are available at the following locations. FNAC, WORTEN, C.C., DOCE VITA, EL CORTE INGLES, LOJAS VIAGENS ABREU, LOJAS MEGA REDE, or OnLine at www.ticketline.sapo.pt.
If you're in town, check it out, It should be fun!!
If you want to check out other events at the PRIDE BAR, check out their site
Here is another quality Gay Bed & Breakfast located in the heart of Lisbon.
It Labels itself as Lisbon's Finest Gay Bed & Breakfast
MY RAINBOW ROOMS
My Rainbow Rooms is Lisbon's finest private gay Bed & Breakfast. Our luxurious apartment is centrally located in a quiet residential area in the heart of the capital, only two minutes walk from the Saldanha subway station, on both the Metro's Yellow and Red Lines.
We're confident that you'll feel at home, enjoying a smoke-free environment, in our 200 square meter private residence located on the second floor of a completely restored 1920's neo-art deco building. At My Rainbow Rooms, we want our guests to feel at home... so, if you appreciate three meter ceilings, rich hardwood floors, modern baths, elegant furnishing and sophisticated amenities, we think you'll find it's a gay-boy's dream pad!
To insure the privacy of their guests, they do not publish their
address on the Internet. However, to check availability
and rates, or to reserve your stay, click here to fill out
their online form or click here to send an email.
You may also fax us at any time on +351 21 358 5399
or telephone us during normal business hours on
+351 21 842 1122.
HERE IS A DESCRIPTIVE OF THEIR SERVICES AND RESERVATION POLICIES
Guest Services
Meet & Greet Service
On stays of 7 nights or longer, one of the houseboys will meet you at the airport and bring you to the apartment, free of charge! Just send your flight details and one of them will be there with a little sign to meet you! For shorter stays, this service is available for a nominal charge of 20 euros.
If you decide to make your own way to the apartment, we suggest that you take the taxis from the DEPARTURES area (NOT arrivals!) since 1) these taxi drivers won't try to cheat you and 2) there isn't a long line to wait in! The ride should cost about 8 euros, including the charge for your luggage. There is also a regular shuttle bus service for €3.50 (which includes an all day bus/metro pass) that drops you off in Saldanha, two blocks from the apartment. The Aerobus service runs every 20 minutes from 07:45 to 20:15 between the airport and all the main hotels and tourist centers.
Mobile Phone Rental
To make our guests feel at home in Portugal, we've come up with an innovative mobile phone rental program that can save you a substantial amount on GSM roaming charges. For €1.50 per day plus call charges, we'll lend you a new mobile phone with your own private number. If your mobile phone is not blocked to your home network, we can loan you just a SIM card for €0.75 per day plus call charges. If you'd like us to arrange this for you, just click here to send an email.We'll reserve your phone and/or SIM card and send you your temporary Portuguese telephone number by email.
Private City Tours
We have two options for you to enjoy tours around Lisbon.
The most popular one is with one of our cute, gay houseboys... or with any one of our other good-looking, sociable gay friends who are intelligent and speak English. Who's available usually depends on the day of the week and the time of day. With this scenario, you pay your tour guide 10 euros an hour plus any expenses (such as cab rides, entrance fees, lunch, etc). The minimum tour is 4 hours, usually starting no earlier than 10:00 (as they all like to sleep in the morning!)
Basically, you're paying for a nice gay guy to show you around, give you tips on where to go and tell you about some of Lisbon's interesting history.
The other, more traditional, option is a chauffeured black Mercedes (with a professional, gay-friendly driver who speaks fluent English and is licensed by the government as a tour guide) that costs around 40 euros per hour, regardless of the number of passengers (up to 4). These chauffeurs are independent and their rates can be negotiated, especially if you hire them for at least 6 hours or longer. They can arrange any type of tour you'd like, including the best sites to visit within an hour or two of Lisbon. If you'd like more information about a private city tour, please just click here to send an email.
Gay Lisbon & Maps
My Rainbow Rooms is completely central (in Saldanha) next to several large shopping centers and only two minutes walk from the Saldanha subway station, on both the Metro's Yellow and Red Lines. Saldanha is a quiet, early 20th century residential area only a few minutes from the gay area, just 2 stops by metro to Rato (Príncipe Real) or 4 stops by metro to Baixa-Chiado (Bairro Alto).
You can also get to either area by taxi in less than 10 minutes for about 5 euro. If you'd like to go out at night, the best thing to do is to go first up to Bairro Alto and then later to the dance clubs (after 03:00) in Príncipe Real!
Our rates range from €45.00 to €69.00 per night per room (not per person) and are based on available occupancy according to the day of the week and to the season. Therefore, just like booking an airline seat, the sooner your reserve the better the rate. All of our rooms have one double bed and a shared bathroom; none of our guest rooms have twin beds or an ensuite bathroom. Click here to see a layout of their B&B and how the rooms and the bathrooms are organized.
Low Season Rates apply from 12-Jan to 13-May, from 21-Oct to 15-Dec; High Season Rates apply from 14-May to 07-Jul, from 07-Sep to 20-Oct and from 16-Dec to 11-Jan as well from 7 days before Carnival to 5 days after Carnival and from 10 days before Easter to 9 days after Easter (the exact dates of which vary each year); Peak Season Rates apply from 08-Jul to 06-Sep.
On stays of 7 nights or longer, one of the houseboys will meet you at the airport and bring you to the apartment, free of charge! Just send your flight details and one of them will be there with a little sign to meet you! For shorter stays, this service is available for a nominal charge of 20 euros.
Our rates include taxes and continental breakfast provided at your leisure anytime from 07:00 to 13:00 in our Guest Lounge or on our balcony. Sit back, relax and enjoy breakfast while watching the city come to life! Please note that all our rooms are non smoking, however, guests who wish to indulge in a cigarette will find ash trays on our balcony! All of our rooms have heating, air conditioning, cable TV, DVD, free wireless internet access, safe, hairdryer, one double bed and a shared bathroom. We also have one room with both a double bed and a single bed for those guests who would like separate beds or would like to sleep three in a room.
You will receive a confirmation by email within 48 hours along with instructions on how to guarantee your reservation with a minimum of one night's deposit. We use PayPal, which allows you to send us your deposit using Visa, MasterCard or American Express (and, from most countries, your debit card or an electronic check). If you are in the Eurozone, you may also send your deposit by bank transfer.
Today I wanted to recommend a really nice Gay hotel in Bairro Alto in Lisbon.
THE HOTEL ANJO AZUL,
Bairro Alto is the Gay neighborhood in Lisbon. Similar to "The Marais" in paris or "Chelsea" or "The Village" in New York, or Sitges just south of Barcelona. The great thing abouth this hotel is that all the bars and restaurants are within walking distance. Below is a short "blurb" from their site. If you visit Lisbon, I highly recommend it. I had the chance to visit and was presently surprised.
The Hotel Anjo Azul is located in the middle of the historical heart of the city of Lisbon, in one of its most typical neighborhoods, Bairro Alto, and in a pleasant street, famous for having been the great poet Fernando Pessoa's last home.
Near the most famous monuments and Lisbon's favourite diversion places, that have converted the neighborhood in the centre of the Portuguese capital night-life, you can then find the Hotel Anjo Azul, easily recognizable by its XVIII century facade, covered with typical portuguese blue tiles.
It is therefore located near Praça do Rossio (Rossio Square) and has access to all types of transport - bus, underground, train - for the whole city and surroundings as well as to railway stations that connect Lisbon to the North and South of Portugal.
We are about five minutes walking distance from fluvial station, with ferry-boats available to Barreiro, Seixal and Almada (Costa da Caparica beaches). Lisbon's international airport is at a distance of about 20 minutes.
Also nearby the former EXPO 98 recint, now renamed as "Parque das Nações" (All Nations Park), "Torre de Belém" (Belem's Tower) and "Mosteiro dos Jerónimos" (Jeronimos' Monastery), among others.
For more info about our location, check our "Map" page.
How to contact us
Mail address :
Rua Luz Soriano, 75, Bairro Alto
1200-246 Lisboa
Portugal
I wanted to recommend a very nice guest house located just south of Lisbon
Located near the gay friendly village of Meco, 40 Kms south of Lisbon, the villa is at a 5 mins drive from the beach. The villa is part of a group of 4 villas sharing a common swimming pool but with a private jacuzzi. The villa has 3 rooms, a well equiped kitchen, barbecue and satelitte TV, Air conditionning and pets are welcome. Ample parking.
Clientèle : All welcome
Rates from: 85 €
Capacity : 6 persons - 3 room(s) A cleaning service is included for rentals above one week.
Facilities:
Swimming pool, jacuzzi, oven, microwave, satelite TV.
Activities :
beach, surf school, horse riding, golf, wine country, Lisbon.
Season
Price per week (€)
Ask the owner
€600,00-1500,00
Rates
€300,00 garantie deposit.
Means of payment :
Cash
Booking :
20% on reservation. Cancellation up to 30 days prior to arrival.
Meals :
Not included.
Situation : 40 km south of Lisbon on the coast, near Sesimbra.
Access : Take the 25 Abril or Vasco da Gama bridges towards south of Lisbon. Exit the motorway direction Sesimbra.
Paulo / Zé
Rua Azinhaga da Fonte
2970 Alfarim
Mob : (+351)917251494
President vetoes bill simplifying post-op bureaucracy for transsexuals
President Aníbal Cavaco Silva has vetoed a bill simplifying the bureaucratic procedure for transsexuals to change their names and gender at civil registries, sending it back to the Portuguese parliament.
Cavaco Silva said legal “specialists” had advised him the law, which was approved by parliament’s leftist majority on November 26, was “poorly made” and riddled with “grave deficiencies”.
A celebrity TV journalist from Portugal has been found castrated and bludgeoned to death in a hotel in New York City.
His companion, a male model, was arrested hours later after he sought medical attention at a hospital not far from the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel.
The journalist, 65-year-old Carlos Castro, arrived in the US last month with Renato Seabra, 21, to see some Broadway shows and spend New Year's Eve in Times Square, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The two had been dating each other for a few months.
But it was reported there was some friction between the two around the end of the trip. A guest at the hotel in which the men were staying is said to have heard the two arguing in their room.
Castro and Seabra had planned to meet a friend's daughter for dinner last Friday but only Seabra showed up at the lobby and told the woman that 'Carlos will never leave the hotel again'.
The distraught woman fetched the hotel manager, who got the security guards to open the room, where they found Castro's body at about 7pm Friday local time.
Seabra had by then left the hotel but was soon apprehended by police.
No charges have yet been filed against Seabra, who was a contestant last year on a Portuguese TV show, which hunts for modelling talent.
Castro was admired in Portugal for his bravery in coming out as a gay man. He was also a high-profile public figure as a TV personality.
European study
Released last month are preliminary results from the largest ever international study of the sexual health of gay and bisexual men.
When the Gay Men’s Sex Survey was conducted in the UK in 2010, the same internet-based questionnaire was made available in 25 languages across Europe.
The researchers were taken aback by the high level of response, with a total of 180,988 men completing the survey.
The response rate was particularly high in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Austria.
It was lowest in Turkey, Moldova and Russia.
Levels of basic HIV knowledge were generally very high, with 93% already knowing five key facts about HIV.
Overall, around 35% had taken an HIV test in the previous twelve months.
Testing for HIV in the last year was most common in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and France.
It was least common in Lithuania, Finland, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey.
The researchers say that in some countries, such as Poland and Russia, the proportion of gay and bisexual men who are HIV-positive is considerably higher than in previous estimates.
Full results will be published in the autumn of 2011.
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Portugal (Associação ILGA Portugal): This association fights for the integration and the improvement of living conditions of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population within society. The association has a helpline, a community centre, provides legal and psychological counselling and promotes cultural activities concerning music, theatre and cinema.
Portuguese ILGAAt: Centro Comunitário Gay e Lésbico de Lisboa, Rua de S. Lázaro 88, 1150-333 Lisbon Tel: 218 873 918 Fax: 218 873 922 ILGA helpline Tel: 218 876 116 on Fridays and Saturdays from 21:00-24:00 Open: Wednesday to Saturday from 16:00-24:00, Sundays 16:00-21:00 e-mail Website (in Portuguese)
Opus Gay: Organisation whose aim is to promote solidarity between all members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. This is one of the oldest gay associations in the country.
Opus Gay
At: Rua da Ilha Terceira, 34-2º, 1000-173 Lisbon Tel: 213 151 396 e-mail Website (in Portuguese)
Associação para o Estudo e Defesa dos Direitos à Identidade de Género: Non-profit association for the study and defence of the right to gender identity, providing legal, social and psychological support.
Associação para o Estudo e Defesa dos Direitos à Identidade de Género e-mail Website
Rede Ex-Aequo: Association of young gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals aged 16 to 30.
Rede Ex-Aequo
Tel: 968 781 841 e-mail Website (in Portuguese)
Clube Safo: Association for lesbians in Portugal
Clube Safo
At: Apartado 9973, 1911-701 Lisbon Tel: 960 046 617 e-mail Website (in Portuguese)
Não te Prives – Grupo de Defesa dos Direitos Sexuais: Non profit association focussing on the discrimination of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals.
Gaymotard Portugal: Association for gay, lesbian and bisexual bikers in Portugal. The website provides information about bikers events and about the gay scene and bikers in Portugal.
Gay Events in Portugal
Lisbon Gay and Lesbian Film Festival: Annual film festival taking place during the last two weeks of September with films, short movies and documentaries.
Lesbian & Gay Pride (Arraial Gay e Lesbico) takes place every year on the Saturday nearest 28 June.
The Portugal Pride website provides information about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender events throughout Portugal.
Age of consent
The age of consent for heterosexual couples is 14, for homosexual couples it is 16.
Gay and Lesbian in the Algarve
There are gay resorts across the Algarve and the main gay friendly beaches are Vale do Lobo. Armação de Pera and Quinta do Lago.
PortugalGay.com has a directory of gay bars, clubs, restaurants and more in southern Portugal: Click here
Algarve Gay (in Portuguese) has articles and information on gay events in the Algarve
