When we arrived, it was one of the longest queues we had seen in a long time. Club Venue has different rooms for different genres of music and it gets packed!
Here is our list of gay bars and clubs in San Jose: Club Venue A lot of bars have the concept that you pay your entry fee and then its an open bar. We had one of the craziest nights out yet in San Jose. We felt perfectly safe while we were here and at night, used Uber to be extra safe. Its relatively modern by Latin America standards and is said to be one of the safest and least violent cities in the region. Most people move straight on, but we think it is worth spending the weekend here first. If you are flying to Costa Rica, you are likely to be flying in to San Jose. Like any country, if there is going to be a gay scene it is going to be the biggest in the capital city. We recently interviewed 23 year old student Gabriel about what it was like to be gay in Costa Rica. They also are teaching gender theory in schools, which we think is very progressive indeed. There are lots of progressive steps happening and they do have pride with ”La marcha del orgullo” once a year. The same can be said for the younger generation, whereas some of the older generations are more conservative. In general, you will find in most touristy places no one has a real problem with the LGBTQ+ community. Discrimination protections have been in place since 1998. Same sex relations have been legal since 1971 and it sounds like Costa Rica really in moving forward.
This includes the recognition of trans gender identities on residency cards and declared hormone treatment “in the public interest,” which allows patients to receive the appropriate comprehensive care via the country’s health services. Previous to this, in December 2018 the President announced new legislation to improve LGBTQ+ rights in Costa Rica. May empathy and love be the compass that guide us forward and allow us to move forward and build a country that has room for everyone.” Carlos Alvarado Quesada “Today we celebrate liberty, equality and our democratic institutions. In the end, the candidate that supported gay marriage, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, won which is a very positive step for LGBTQ+ people in Costa Rica.įast forward to May 2020 and Costa Rica has become the first country in Central America to legalize same sex marriage (yay)!
One candidate was strongly pro gay marriage and the other strongly against it. Costa Rica: Gay Life, Rights and Lawsĭuring 2018, gay marriage was a hot topic for the presidential elections. Having so much diversity in one country is one of the many reasons we loved Costa Rica. The main areas tourists will visit are San Jose (the city), Manuel Antonio (rainforests/beaches), Monteverde (cloudforests), Tortuguero (tropical rainforests) and Puerto Viejo for some Caribbean beach time. It borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.Īs a result, Costa Rica boasts a Pacific coast to the west and Caribbean coast to the east meaning you can experience both kinds of beaches when you visit. Gay Costa Rica: The Ultimate Travel Guide Where is Costa Rica?Ĭosta Rica is a small country within Central America.