# 5 Gay Beaches Americans Haven't Found Yet (And When to Go) **By Josh Mack** · 2026-09-22 You already know Provincetown, Fire Island, South Beach and Puerto Vallarta. Here are five you probably do not: Zipolite, Maspalomas, Torremolinos, Clifton 3rd and Curaçao. **They are not small. They are the same kind of place, somewhere else.** Same scale, same crowd, same energy. Different continent. And here is the useful part. Line them up by month and the year runs out of gaps. There is always somewhere warm to be, which is the whole argument for owning more than one brief. The short version Five beaches Americans mostly have not found, and the month to go to each one. - Zipolite, Oaxaca: no dress code, dry season November to April - Maspalomas, Gran Canaria: warm every month, peak season in January - Clifton 3rd, Cape Town: their summer is December - Torremolinos, Spain: the easy one, spring through fall - Curacao: Pride in the Caribbean ## The calendar Destination Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec **Zipolite**Mexico · No dress code **Maspalomas**Gran Canaria · 70 degrees in February **Clifton 3rd**Cape Town · Summer while you are in winter **Torremolinos**Spain · Bars a minute from the sand **Curaçao**Dutch Caribbean · Pride week, warm water Go nowOff-season Five places. Twelve months. Not one gap. ## Zipolite, Oaxaca ### The one with no dress code. Zipolite is Mexico's best-known clothing-optional beach, on the Oaxacan coast about an hour from Huatulco. No resorts. Hammocks, low buildings, dirt roads and a long stretch of open Pacific. The gay end sits west, near Playa del Amor. **What you can expect** - Nobody dressed up, and plenty wearing nothing - Dry season November through April - Real undertow, so swim where others swim - Cash, not card **Bring a brief you are happy to be seen in.** ## Maspalomas, Gran Canaria ### Europe's Palm Springs, in January. Gran Canaria sits in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. That is why it is 70 degrees in February. Walk out past Playa del Inglés and keep going toward Kiosko 7. It is a proper walk across sand. That is the point, and it is why it stays gay. **What you can expect** - Dunes, and a walk to earn them - Warm every month, best October through April - The Yumbo Centre: a mall by day, floors of gay bars by night - More Europeans than Americans, by a mile **The winter-sun answer for gay Europe, and Americans have mostly never heard of it.** [Full Maspalomas guide: the dunes, Kiosko 7 and the Yumbo](/blogs/the-seaman-report/maspalomas-gay-beach-guide) ## Clifton 3rd Beach, Cape Town ### Summer in December. Cape Town has four Clifton beaches. The third is the gay one, smallest and most sheltered of them. You get there down a steep set of steps opposite the Clifton 3 bus stop. Victoria Road parking fills early, so take an Uber. **What you can expect** - High summer December through March - Atlantic water, and it is properly cold - Not clothing-optional, so keep your brief on - No drinking on the sand, it is policed **Book it for the month your own beach is closed.** ## Torremolinos, Spain ### The easy one. Torremolinos is on the Costa del Sol, twenty minutes from Málaga airport, and it has been a gay resort town since the sixties. The scene lives in La Nogalera, a dense block of bars and terraces a short walk from the sand. The beach is right there. So is everything else. **What you can expect** - May through October, peak heat in July and August - Everything walkable, nothing to plan - Peak prices in peak weeks - A crowd that is mostly British and Spanish **A gay beach trip with no logistics and no surprises.** ## Curaçao ### Pride in the Caribbean. Curaçao is Dutch Caribbean and a short flight from the US. It sits outside the main hurricane belt, which matters in autumn. **Curaçao Pride 2026 runs September 30 to October 4.** That is the week to go. **What you can expect** - Pride week September 30 to October 4 - No single official gay beach: Kokomo, Cas Abao and Playa Porto Marie are the ones - Water calm, clear and warm enough to stay in - Caribbean pricing, not European **Of the five, this is the one your friends will not have been to.** ## What to pack Two briefs, minimum. One dries while you wear the other. Zipolite and Curaçao keep you in and out of the water all day. Take [the Essential](https://seamanswim.com/products/essential-mens-swim-brief). Fully lined front and back, and it dries fast. Maspalomas and Torremolinos turn the beach into a terrace, then into a bar. Take [the Statement](https://seamanswim.com/products/the-signature-mens-swim-brief). Front lined, ombre, made to be seen. Cape Town, take both. The water is too cold to stay in and you will spend the day being looked at. ## Questions **Which of these is clothing-optional?** Zipolite. The others are not, including Clifton 3rd in Cape Town. **Where should I go in January?** Maspalomas for winter sun, or Cape Town for actual summer. Zipolite also works. **Which one is cheapest to reach from the US?** Curaçao. Direct flights from several US cities, and Caribbean pricing rather than European. **When is Curaçao Pride?** September 30 to October 4 in 2026. **Is Maspalomas the same as Playa del Inglés?** They run into each other. The gay section is out in the dunes past Playa del Inglés, toward Kiosko 7. **How cold is the water at Clifton 3rd?** Cold. It is the Atlantic side of the Cape. Beautiful to look at, brief to swim in. **How many swim briefs should I pack?** Two for a long weekend, three for a week. One is always drying. ## The bottom line Provincetown and Fire Island are not the whole map. They are the part Americans booked first. **Five beaches. Twelve months. Pack accordingly.** 😏 [Shop all briefs](https://seamanswim.com/collections/swimwear) **Tags:** cape town, curacao, destinations, gay beaches, gay travel, maspalomas, torremolinos, zipolite --- > Source: [Seaman Swim](https://seamanswim.com/blogs/the-seaman-report/zipolite-maspalomas-torremolinos-gay-beaches)