Gay San Diego Side Trips

PALM SPRINGS 
Palm Springs appears like a Technicolor emerald city at the end of the yellow brick road. Palm Springs has the ambiance of a small town, with only 44,000 permanent residents and no buildings over five stories high. Although Palm Springs has become one of the world's leading golfing hubs, it is the natural hot springs here that originally spurred the area's development. Set at the bottom of the 10,834-foot Mount San Jacinto, Palm Spring's desert scenery is dramatic, and many resorts are designed and landscaped to take advantage of the spectacular views. 

Palm Springs' greatest calling card is its weather. Palm Springs is becoming a year-round destination for gays and straights alike. With 330 days of sunshine each year, the skies are almost always clear and the days warm to hot. It's never humid and muggy, and at night, the temperature often drops 20 to 30 degrees -- providing cool relief. The climate in Palm Springs is ideal for golf and tennis, and no other gay destination has such extensive facilities for enthusiasts of those two sports.

About 2 hours from San Diego.

TIJUANA
For a small (and very touristy) taste of Mexico, head south to Tijuana, less than a half-hour drive from downtown. (Check your car rental agreement for insurance restrictions first or better yet, just park at the border and walk across.) It boasts a pretty lively gay scene, with numerous bars, including weekend hot spot Club Extasis (Viva Tijuana Shopping Center), a dance club with go-go boys and a back room just steps across the U.S.-Mexico border. Also of note are Bar Cagumamas, the more laid-back sister to Extasis right next door, and Bobi's (Avenida Madero near First Avenue), a dark, hacienda-style cantina popular with middle-class Mexicans.

LOS ANGELES/HOLLYWOOD 
Los Angeles, home to the world's first amusement park , regularly feels like itself like one, as the line between fantasy and reality is often obscured. From the unattainable, anachronistic glamour of Beverly Hills to the vibrant street energy of the Venice Boardwalk, each of the city's diverse neighborhoods is like a mini-theme park, offering its own kind of unique adventure. 

With more museums per capita than any other North American city, a world-class symphony and opera company, hundreds of cutting-edge art galleries and performance spaces, historical sites dating back hundreds of years, a rich tapestry of diverse ethnicities, live theater productions at dozens of venues every night of the week, the world's best collection of modernist architecture and design, plus real live movie stars, Los Angeles is a must see. 

Driving Time About 2 Hour from San Diego. 

ORANGE COUNTY 
Laguna Beach  - Framed by the San Joaquin hills, the coves and bluffs have a decidedly Mediterranean feel. Here you will find a small gay paradise with some very nice restaurants, gay beaches, small hotels and nightlife. Laguna is a popular getaway for L.A. gays, 

Long Beach - Long Beach boasts the completely renovated Rainbow Harbor, a magnificent aquarium, a large base of industry, a pretty steel-and-glass towered downtown and a sizable gay community. Although it is not a traditional resort destination, it is a convenient stop on the coastal route down to San Diego, and offers a number of tourist attractions. The most notable of these is the R.M.S. Queen Mary, one of the last remnants of the golden age of ocean-liner travel, used in The Poseidon Adventure, and now a floating hotel and venue for events including the annual Long Beach International Film Festival. The beach here is long and wide, with a bike path, calm surf and pretty setting. The gay community in Long Beach is one of the largest in the state, and has been ranked as the number one place to live for lesbians. Travel down East Broadway, and you'll find a low-key but rainbow-flag waving concentration of businesses catering to gay locals and visitors. East Broadway is just a few blocks from the gay section of the beach, and a few minute's drive from down town. 

LAS VEGAS  
From its roots as Rat Pack hangout to today's ultra-glam, glistening towers of hedonism, Las Vegas consistently rates as one of the world's top destinations. Nothing quite screams gay like Vegas' glitzy mix of Celine Dion, Liberace, Elton John and Barry Manilow. Top that off with world-class dining, fashion, shopping and club-hopping. 

About 5 hours from San Diego