The LGBT social scene and nightlife in Quintana Roo would be considered quite tame compared with most North American cities, but the situation really depends on who you are and what/whom you’re looking for. If you (and your partner) are looking for a traditional gay tourist community like Provincetown or Key West, you really won’t find it here. You’re much better off traveling over to Puerto Vallarta for gay nightlife. Here there are hardly any bars or nightclubs that cater exclusively to our Community.
The tourist areas of the Mexican Caribbean are generally very welcoming of Lesbians and Gays, especially in couples.
That being said, the tourist areas of the Mexican Caribbean are generally very welcoming of Lesbians and Gays, especially in couples, and there are tons and tons of daytime activities and restaurants/bars that you’ll enjoy here and quite a few “straight” nightclubs where you and your posse can go to have a great time.
In Cancun, a city of more than a million people, there are a couple of gay bars in the downtown area, the main one is the 11:11 Club, located on a main street upstairs over a tourist shop. Depending on the night of the week you might encounter purely Mexicans or a smattering of international patrons. There are a few more bars and even a steam sauna located in a mostly residential neighborhood far away from downtown. These latter establishments are purely for the locals, and unless your Spanish is fluent you may experience some severe language barriers.
In Playa del Carmen, there is only one, rather tired gay bar, the 69 Club, and the majority of gay and lesbian patrons wind up at the myriad mainstream dance clubs and bars along 12th Street, especially on weekend nights. One organization leads a Gay Pub Crawl weekly and for private groups. Playa is also home to an annual circuit party in late January, the Arena Festival, and a Pride Festival each June.
In none of the other resort towns is there anything approaching a gay scene (Tulum, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Holbox) and almost all the “family” you see will be in couples who came there together. This truly can be said for the whole area (as a single gay guy, can you hear the bitterness?!)
There are several larger hotels in Cancun that cater to adults only and market actively to the LGBT community, including Oasis Sens, Secrets The Vine, and Live Aqua. However, from much research we have found that pretty much any adults only resort will have a very laid-back attitude to Lesbian or Gay couples in a live-and-let-live way. We can say the same for the smaller boutique hotels in downtown Playa del Carmen or in the other resort towns. See our various travel articles for more details.
When we discuss restaurants, the situation is mixed in general. Nobody is marketing exclusively to the LGBT market. Playa del Carmen has by far the most interesting restaurant scene anywhere in Quintana Roo, followed next by Tulum, both by the beach and in the pueblo. The changeover to all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, which tend to keep their guests captive, has gradually decimated its downtown restaurant scene. The bulk of Cozumel’s tourists come from cruise ships, and they eat on board, so there is a relative paucity of excellent dining options on the island outside your hotel. We mention some exceptions in our Cozumel article.
For daytime activities, LGBT folks can participate in anything like tours, theme parks, excursions, or cultural activities, etc. Pretty much any operator or guide will be happy to take your money and keep any prejudices they may or may not have to themselves. While we will always recommend for our clients and their guests to let us arrange private tours of the numerous attractions, there really isn’t anything that a single or a couple couldn’t do on their own. Please see our other articles on tours and activities for each specific destination.