Why a gay travel guide, you ask? Well, you've heard the cliché: no kids higher incomes, and always ready to party? That gays and lesbians "get around" more than the average American. As always, the truth is more complex, but there's no doubt that more than a few members of our tribe think nothing of dropping everything to zoom across the country for a wild weekend or a hot circuit party. Others save up for years for a few days of well-earned R&R. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, chances are you do your share of getting around, too.
Mainstream travel guidebooks do not specifically address the needs of a gay man or lesbian visiting an unfamiliar city or resort. What's the hottest dance club in town? In what bars will I feel at home and meet compatible people? In which hotels and restaurants are gay and lesbian guests made to feel most welcome? What historic and architectural sites reflect the contributions of our culture? This book aims to answer such questions, and to be your authoritative guide to having a cool and hot time in more than three dozen top gay destinations in the United States.
Unlike many other gay travel guides, this book focuses only on establishments and attractions that have a significant gay angle. The places listed aren't necessarily gay-owned or gay-targeted, but they are all gayfriendly and of specific interest to gay and lesbian travelers. Don't look here for information on the local Hilton or the Statue of Liberty. Not that you won't feel comfortable at the Hilton, or that gays have no interest in monuments, but duplicating what is already covered in "mainstream" guidebooks is a waste of space. This guide offers more focused coverage of what you really want-the hippest, the most interesting, the very best gay venues.
But it's not enough that a place is gay-to be included in ACCESS' Gay USA it's got to be good. If the food, service, rooms, or atmosphere are not up to snuff, you won't find them listed here (unless it's to warn you about them).
Finding your own kind of crowd in a new place isn't always easy. American gay culture is wonderfully varied, with venues in the bigger cities catering to guppies, buppies, gym bods, lipstick lesbians, bull dykes, urban primitives, Latins, cowboys, club kids, the leather crowd, and on and on. With so many choices and so little time, you want to go straight (so to speak) to the place that's right and comfortable for you. That's why each entry in this guide gives the inside scoop on the crowd, the scene, and the kinds of details you won't find in other gay guides. How else to pick among the myriad nightspots of New York City? Or the dozens of guest houses in Palm Springs?
The chapters in the book cover America's top destinations of gay interest, including popular resorts like Fire Island and Provincetown and the big gay "magnets" like New York, San Francisco, L.A.'s West Hollywood and Miami's South Beach. Feature stories on other places of gay interest, including popular regional resorts, can be found within related chapters (Northampton, for example, is in the Boston chapter, and Laguna Beach is in the Los Angeles chapter).
Each chapter starts with an overview of the destination and its gay scene, followed by basic information on transportation to and within the city/resort, and useful facts about accommodations, local gay festivals and events, shopping, safety, visitors' information centers, and the like. Finally comes a tour of the top local attractions for men and women: bars, clubs, restaurants, shops, and cultural sites, all pegged by number on a map of the area.
Many entries are accompanied by symbols that indicate that a place is mainly gay-male-oriented, mainly lesbian-oriented, or mainly gay-oriented with a male and female clientele. (See "Symbols", below.) In some cases, both genders may be welcome but only one symbol used; this indicates that the character of the establishment is defined more by patrons of one gender than the other.
Now, a couple of disclaimers: Throughout the book you'll see certain synonyms for "gay" and "lesbian" (such as "homo," "fag," "dyke," and "queer") that could be considered offensive. These words are not intended to offend anyone, but to follow common usage within the community, and to avoid the tedious repetition of "gay and lesbian." Also, you will note that some great cities have been left out of this book. Some tough choices were made to keep this book a manageable length, and only those destinations that have the largest tribe populations and attract the most gay and lesbian visitors were selected. That being said, bon voyage, play safe, and please send along your updates and comments!
