Gay club tampa bay

Something about Tampa really made me beam with happiness and contentment during my visit, so please allow me to share my gay guide to Tampa in partnership with Visit Tampa Bay to help you plan your next trip there. This was a sentiment that was also shared by many of the locals I met.

Party the night away at Tampa's top gay-friendly clubs and bars

The main gay area of Tampa is in Ybor City, affectionately known as GaYbor and is mainly centred around 7 th avenue. So why did this area become GaYbor? In fact, I learnt on my tour of the neighbourhood that the first unofficial gay bar dates back to the s! Unofficial in the sense that it was locally known but never advertised and if the police were to come club the guys may grab a girl to dance with etc.

Whilst there are no specifically gay hotels in Tampa, like most large cities you can expect to feel welcome wherever you stay. I have two recommendations depending on where in the city you would like to stay, both have different benefits in terms of location, however it is easy to get around the city in either case.

The rooms are very spacious and include free Wi-Fi, a gay cable TV and desk. If you are looking for something more boutique, in the heart of GaYbor and with a pool, then Hotel Haya may be for you. Enjoy rooms with lots of character and well thought out designs throughout incorporating local artists. In terms of on-site offerings, you will find Flor Fina serving everything from Cuban, to Italian and Spanish dishes.

Like most places I have visited in the US, the bars I went to felt friendly and more often than not, people would happily strike up conversation. There were more gay bars in the past, however as of now, there are two key gay bars that the majority of people go to — first to Bradleys on 7th, then to Southern Gay for their drag show around midnight and then maybe some back and forth between the two later.

Bradleys is quite a large gay bar in Ybor with two rooms, the first room is more for drinking and chatting, the second is where you will find the gogo boys, the tampa dancefloor and the drag shows with local queens! The first room is open 7 nights a week and the second then opens for the weekends. With the bar being open 7 nights a week it has become the go bay neighbourhood gay bar.

Very much tampa to Bradleys, and as I mentioned above, this is one that people tend to go to a little later. A very unique bar indeed! This is not a gay bar per se, however it felt very inclusive and inherently queer. The Castle is hard to desribe, it has an club gothic interior with a maze of rooms, dancefloors and alternative spaces.

One that I think you will just have to experience for yourself…. Most of the festivities are held on one day, with the Tampa Pride Festival held 11am-4pm before the Tampa Pride Diversity Parade which gets going at 4pm. Keep an eye out for other pride related events in the lead up to the main weekend such as the Tampa Pride 5k Rainbow Run.

For up-to-date information and dates head to the Tampa Pride website. TIGLFF was originally set up in and last year celebrated its 34 th film festival — take a look at their website to find out when the next film festival will be held. I had very active time in Tampa see belowbut if you want to slow down bay little there is one gay bathhouse in Tampa that you can visit.

Tampa Mens Club is the one and only gay bathhouse in Tampa.