Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

Argentina remains a very traditional, Catholic society that is fairly closed-minded about homosexuality. Buenos Aires, however, is a more liberal exception to this rule. In particular, the Barrio Norte and San Telmo neighborhoods are gay- and lesbian-friendly, and gays and lesbians are part of the fabric of city life. Gay and lesbian travelers will find numerous clubs, restaurants, and even tango salons catering to them. Buenos Aires has become a major gay-tourism mecca since the peso crisis, almost outshining Rio de Janeiro in popularity for this market. Gay maps are now produced by the Buenos Aires Tourism Office for distribution with standard travel information. Most hotel concierges also easily provide this information, recognizing the importance of the emerging market. The locally produced website www.gayinbuenosaires.com.ar also provides more details on sites of interest.

In 2003, Buenos Aires enacted a Civil Unions law for gay and lesbian couples -- the first major Latin American city to do so. While there are visible venues and efforts, for the most part many gays and lesbians remain fairly closeted. Violence is sometimes aimed at the transgendered, even by police.

Be aware of a few rules of thumb in a city where close contact is normal. Women walk hand in hand on the street. Men kiss each other hello. However, when two men hold hands, it means they are gay. It's very rare to see men holding hands, but Buenos Aires is beginning to see surprisingly open expressions of male homosexuality, especially in Barrio Norte along Santa Fe at night.

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA; tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry, and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses; go to their website and click on "Members." In February 2005, IGLTA hosted an international gay travel conference in Buenos Aires, with official Argentine government recognition of the event.

The Comunidad Homosexual de Argentina (CHA; tel. 11/4361-6382; www.cha.org.ar) is the main gay- and lesbian-rights group in Argentina. They were the main proponents of the Civil Unions law, which they are attempting to expand to the entire country. They also run the annual Gay Pride March, known as Marcha del Orgullo Gay, in November.

Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com) is the exclusive gay and lesbian tour operator for United Airlines. Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) is a well-known San Francisco-based gay-owned and -operated travel service. Olivia Cruises & Resorts (tel. 800/631-6277; www.olivia.com) charters entire resorts and ships for lesbian vacations and offers smaller group experiences for both gay and lesbian travelers.

Pride Travel (tel. 11/5218-6556; www.pride-travel.com) is an Argentina-based company specializing in inbound Buenos Aires travel and other trips throughout South America. They also run the local gay guide publication La Ronda. BueGay Travel (tel. 11/4184-8290; www.buegay.com.ar) handles upscale gay tourism within Buenos Aires and other parts of Argentina. Viajeras Travel (tel. 11/4328-1857; www.viajeras.net) is a woman-run travel company, specializing in travel for lesbian visitors to Buenos Aires. The women's scene is harder to tap than the men's scene, so this is a useful resource.

Daniel Porce Producciones, a gay-owned promotion company, also provides discounts to Howard Johnson and other hotels in Buenos Aires and other cities when booked through its website, www.dpproducciones.com.ar (tel. 15/5817-3041).

Owned by a Dutch expat, the Royal Family offers gay travel services and gay dinner get-togethers (tel. 11/4383-1026; www.theroyalfamily.com.ar).

The affiliated gay websites of PlanetOut.com, Gay.com Travel and its predecessor Out and About (tel. 800/929-2268; www.planetout.com; www.gay.com; www.outandabout.com) have provided gay and lesbian travelers with objective, timely, and trustworthy coverage of gay-owned and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide. The company maintains an office in Buenos Aires for its Spanish-language division, so they also have a large amount of locally produced gay information on Buenos Aires and Argentina. Out Traveler (tel. 800/792-2760; www.outtraveler.com) is a gay travel magazine published by the PlanetOut corporation. They maintain an archive of past articles on gay spots around the globe, including many on Buenos Aires and Argentina. Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.) are good, annual English-language guidebooks focused on gay men, with some information for lesbians. You can get them from most gay and lesbian bookstores, or order them from Giovanni's Room bookstore, 1145 Pine St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com). Within Buenos Aires, the gay monthly magazine Imperio is available at virtually all central newspaper kiosks, or look for Otra Guia, sometimes sold at kiosks and available free in select venues. Both include maps and gay guides for Buenos Aires and other Argentine cities.