Parada da Diversidade 2012 - venha mostrar seu Orgulho em Floripa

A Parada da Diversidade de Florianópolis, como é chamada a Parada de Orgulho LGBT da Ilha da Magia, está agora na sua 7ª edição e já se estabeleceu como uma das favoritas do Brasil.

Concebida desde o início para ser mais um grande evento LGBT da cidade, a Parada recebe anualmente milhares de turistas de todas as partes do país durante a semana do feriado da Independência.

A Semana da Diversidade tem programação cultural e social e tem como diferencial o Floripa Diversity Games- um concorrido evento esportivo de confraternização da comunidade LGBT e aliados.

No centro de Florianópolis, os bares e clubes GLS como Mix Café e Concorde têm festas todas as noites da semana e lotam com o público local e com turistas. Na Lagoa, as meninas contam com festa própria no Caravana Fusion Bar: a animadíssima Babalu.

O encerramento da Semana ocorre no dia 9 de setembro com a Parada na Avenida Beira-Mar Norte e um show, com talentos locais e nacionais, no palco junto à baia Norte que reúne centenas de milhares de participantes.

Venha mostrar seu Pride em Florianópolis com os pacotes especiais da Brazil Ecojourneys.

Parada da Diversidade de Florianópolis 2012
4 dias/3 noites a partir de R$449,00 por pessoa

Pacotes incluem: serviço de Meet & Greet com guia gay-friendly no aeroporto, traslado privativo IN/OUT, 3 noites de hospedagem, pacote de informações com mapa e guia LGBT personalizado.

Pacotes não incluem: vôos, seguro de viagem.

Consulte as opções de hospedagem.

LGBT events in Florianopolis

Florianopolis, or Floripa for those in-the-know, is a gay-friendly destination year-around but it becomes a BIG gay destination for certain events: Pride Week and Carnival- now a strong rival to Rio, as the coolest and biggest Gay Carnival in Brazil - are already favorites in the hearts of gay & lesbian Brazilians & South Americans;

The New Year holidays' period has been attracting an increasing number of gay tourists in recent years, but this year it should be definitely included in the Brazilian Gay Events calendar as the mega Sao Paulo club, The Week International, announced that will open its Island base during that week.

They are the latest of the circuit parties to realize the demand from LGBT tourism in that period of the year- E-Joy has been coming for years, attracting thousands and local clubs open all week to cater to locals and tourists alike.

On top of that, the fireworks display in New Year's eve is one of the best in the world!

So, if you are planning to come, book early: Brazil Ecojourneys has already special packages for New Year's in Floripa.

Florianopolis IGLTA 2012

Florianopolis is the next host city for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association ( IGLTA) Global Convention.

The event, which will happen in April 2012, will bring hundreds of LGBT tourism professionals from all over the world to our island, helping to promote Floripa as one of the main South American destinations for international Gay & Lesbian travelers .

Check out this recent interview from our Director, Marta Dalla Chiesa, to The Focus Group, one of the top LGBT radio shows in the United States talking about G&L Florianopolis.


Brazil Ecojourneys, the only lesbian-owned inbound tour operator in Brazil, is proud to host IGLTA in our home city. We are already working on special programs for all attendees!

Good news for Gay Girls: A full-time lesbian bar in Floripa!

Caravana is a very friendly lesbian-owned bar located in Lagoa. In the beginning it did not advertise itself as a girl's bar but now is out and proud!

The public is 90% women but a few gay men and friendly straight couples also show up for the good music and relaxed atmosphere.

The name comes from the caravan trailer from where they started the business. Now they have a small bar inside with a dance floor and a huge outside deck for the Summer days and nights.

Besides music and drinks they also serve "fusion food"- not Asian fusion but an eccletic mix of snacks and daily specials for main dishes. The home-made burgers are excellent!

The best thing is that opens early (from 5pm Wed- Fri and from noon till late on weekends)- the only gay bar in Floripa to do so! From Xmas it will open daily to get all those girls (and boys) coming back from Praia Mole.

Caravana - Fusion Food e Trailer - +55 48 32320045

Bar do Deca, Praia Mole, Floripa

Bar do Deca, the most famous gay beach bar in Brazil, has DJs from 1pm until well after the sunset in Summer , so a lot of people was there last Sunday to enjoy the end of a gorgeous, sunny afternoon.

I love people watching at Deca and was amazed by the mix of nationalities there. Brazilians, Argentineans, Paraguayans, English, Germans, North Americans, Spanish...


Looks like Carnival 2010 will be great fun!

Looking back at 2009

2009 has been a great year for us working with LGBT tourism in Florianopolis.

The international media and travel professionals from around the world seemed to have discovered Floripa.

Following a successful event for its members in March, the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association chose Florianopolis to be the host of its 2012 Convention. This is the first time that this event, the most important for Gay & Lesbian tourism in the world, will be held south of the Equator.

Articles on Gay Floripa appeared in major Gay & Lesbian magazines: the Passport Magazine from the US, Beige Travel and Diva Magazine from the UK, Du & Ich (a 40 year-old Gay mag!) and in multiple titles from Publigayte in Germany.

All seemed to agree that Floripa is the next big destination for gay travellers in South America.

The local community also had quite a lot to celebrate: 2009 saw our biggest Pride ever with almost 100,000 people attending the Parade on a cold and rainy day in September. That same day an anti-discrimination law was approved by the local town council, giving us hope that equal rights are now achievable in Brazil in the not so distant future.

Welcome 2010 - see you in Floripa!

Buenos Aires is SO GAY!

WELL, I am definitely going way down south on this one, but there is a good reason for it.

Last week we were in Buenos Aires for the GNETWORK event - the 2nd International Meeting for Gay and Lesbian business. The event was at the beautifully designed Axel hotel , the first "hetero friendly" hotel in South America. It was a great event with speakers from all over the world and with a big audience on both days.

I gave a talk on incoming LGBT tourism in Brazil and the promotion of destination Florianopolis for the international LGBT market (here is the connection to this blog!).

Another reason to link Buenos Aires to Florianopolis is that a lot of Europeans and North Americans that visit one, want to visit the other. And it is a great combination for a short holiday: Buenos Aires with all its culture, excellent restaurants and parties and Floripa with its great beaches and relaxing atmosphere (and parties too!).

In summer, there are direct flights (a mere 2 hours journey) between the two cities, making it a very easy going holiday.

Brazil Ecojourneys tips:

• To find your way around gay and lesbian Bs As grab a GMaps guide. Updated every 3 months the guide is a great help for any G and L visitor;
• An economical alternative for accommodation in Buenos Aires is to rent a flat. There are many options but these two companies cater mainly for the LGBT community: BA4U and Friendly Apartments.
• When going out to clubs , remember that Argentineans go out even later than Brazilians- places don't get busy until 3 am!

• Tango has become popular once again with the younger crowd and there are venues that cater for same-sex tango classes- check GMaps for details;