Why Puerto Rico Is One of the Caribbean’s Most Welcoming LGBTQ Destinations

San Juan is our kind of town, we decided while lounging on our balcony in the city’s beachfront Condado neighborhood. My husband, Triton, and I had hesitated to visit Puerto Rico as an openly gay couple—some queer people have faced discomfort and even violence in other parts of the Caribbean. But friends in California had raved about San Juan’s queer-friendly vibe, tropical climate, and vibrant arts scene. And once on the ground, any concerns we had quickly melted away.

Despite a long Catholic history, Puerto Rico is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly destinations in the Caribbean—same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, and same-sex couples can adopt. A number of hotels, beaches, and tours cater to the community, and there’s a thriving Pride weekend each June.

Related:  The Family Behind ‘2 Dads With Baggage’ on What It’s Like Traveling the World As a Gay Couple With 2 Daughters

To kick off our weekend, we joined a food and drink outing with Spoon Experience Tours, led by Elliott Cintron, who grew up near San Juan. First, we ducked into Juanes Restaurant for a taste of mofongo, a delicious mash of green plantains and garlic that was topped with a tangy chicken stew and, we learned, best enjoyed with an ice-cold bottle of Medalla Light. Along the way, we found comfort in seeing more than a handful of rainbow flags displayed from balconies and windowsills. 

Next, we hit the bar scene along Calle San Sebastián, a street with historic buildings painted in rainbow hues. Earlier we had passed an establishment claiming that it had invented the piña colada, and with coconuts on our mind, we ordered two of the tropical drinks at La.Ti.Ta, a gay-owned bar inside a pink building. A few doors down was El Cafetín, which had thumping club music pouring out the door and tons of gay men inside (perhaps because of the hunky bartenders who rip off their shirts at the ring of a bell). We ended the night at Jibarito Social Club, for some salsa dancing and one last drink.

The next morning, we wanted to understand the city’s artistic evolution, so we walked around the Santurce neighborhood, a short ride from Condado and Old San Juan. This culturally rich area has dozens of street murals, some four stories tall. 

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We were fortunate to be led by Antonio Cruz, a guide from WanaTourPR, who had an encyclopedic knowledge of the artists, many of whom are LGBTQ. Afterward, we had a lunch of avocados stuffed with fresh shrimp at a gay-owned restaurant, Areyto, and chatted with Cruz about gay life and politics in Puerto Rico. “When I was growing up in this predominantly Catholic country, there used to be a lot of prejudice about gay people, even from my own family,” Cruz told us. “In recent years people have become so much more relaxed and accepting, especially in the bigger cities like San Juan.”

A version of this story first appeared in the June 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “One For All.”