Where The Boys Are: DNA Magazine Names The Epic Party Destinations Of 2026
It’s time to show up and show off! Pack your favourite speedo, harness, and rainbow flag and party with pride. Feature by Ivan Quintanilla.
VACAYA Caribbean Cruise
February 14-21 www.myvacaya.com
When VACAYA began in 2018, it was the first adult-only, large-scale LGBTQIA+ travel company to launch in decades. Today, their full ship-and-resort charters are staples of gay travel.
This year, they return to Fort Lauderdale to launch their annual Caribbean cruise, for 2,700 of your closest friends, on Valentine’s Day. Over seven nights visit Turks And Caicos, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Holland America’s own private island in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay. Plus, two full days at sea.
Expect extravagant theme nights and tea dances by the pool, spectacular performances (past artists have included Alan Cumming, Vanessa Williams, and Jennifer Holiday), and their infamous Red Light District, the nightly play area with all the bells and whistles to ring your bell and wet your whistle. Bring your sense of adventure, friendly attitude and sexy vibes.
VACAYA has perfected their inclusive formula for attracting the kindest and most diverse guests of all ages and sizes, all eager to create a community at sea.
Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras
Sydney: February 13-March 1 www.mardigras.org.au
Mark Twain, wrote: “God made the harbour… but Satan made Sydney.” And Sydney still knows how to have a devilishly good time! In 2026, the city celebrates the 48th Mardi Gras and the theme is the not-very-subtle Ecstatica.
Queer joy will reign over the 20-day celebration of music, dancing and cultural events, culminating in the Parade down Oxford Street on February 28, followed by the epic after-Party. It starts on February 13, with the Progress Pride Flag raising at Sydney Town Hall, but pace yourself! Fair Day, the Kaftana and Paradiso pool parties, the legendary finale, and the Laneway street party the morning after are just some of over 80 events to choose from.
It’s an experience you’ll remember long after the music fades – partly because, for weeks afterwards, you’ll still be finding glitter in unexpected places.
Winter Party Festival
Miami Beach, February 26-March 2 www.winterparty.com
Let’s face it, the Northern Hemisphere has had it with cold weather by now. The Winter Party Festival brings hot parties and hotter boys to sunny Miami Beach, and this party has a purpose, with proceeds benefiting the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Celebrating its 33rd year, the five-day music festival invites some of the world’s most popular DJs and nightlife legends. There will be parties every night, but my two favourites invite us to dance in the daytime. The Under One Sun pool party returns to The National Hotel, while the main event, Winter Beach Party, sets up their stage on the sands of South Beach.
Don’t forget to visit Palace for an iconic drag brunch, Twist to celebrate its 30 years of gay nightlife, and The Bar at the Gaythering Hotel for relaxed cocktails and maybe a tryst in their steam room.
Gay Games XII
Valencia, Spain, June 27-July 4 www.gaygamesvalencia2026.com
Start your engines. This northern summer, the world’s largest LGBTQIA+ inclusive sporting event is heading to Valencia.
Held every four years, the Gay Games welcomes every level of athleticism, from pro to enthusiastic amateurs. The Games’ mission is simple: participation, inclusion and personal best.
The opening ceremony and closing party will feature artists, music, and dancing. Every day, the Games Village will host social events at the City Of Arts And Sciences, the Calatrava-designed architectural masterpiece on Valencia’s southern end.
With the 10km (6 miles) Turia Gardens running through the city, and 19km (12 miles) of beach along its Mediterranean coast, Valencia is a sporting paradise. With more than 300 sunny days a year, expect an extra rainbow glimmer when the Gay Games welcomes an expected 8,000 athletes, athletic supporters and spectators to compete in 37 sporting events.
It’s the best time to experience Spain’s third-largest city. Need a gay place to stay? The “heterofriendly” Axel Hotels just opened their Valencia outpost in the El Carmen neighbourhood. And start planning for 2030, when the next Gay Games will be hosted in Perth, Australia.
G Circuit Songkran Festival
Bangkok, Thailand, April 10-13 www.gcircuit.com
Let’s get soaking wet! This year, GCircuit celebrates its 20th anniversary as “Asia’s Biggest Gay Dance Festival.” Under the theme of Adro Mada: City Of Tomorrow, the boys will take over the entertainment arena of the EmSphere in Bangkok, one of the city’s largest shopping and entertainment centres.
Over 40,000 attendees from about 50 countries are expected, and the weekend includes four evening parties and two daytime pool parties. You’ll witness insane production values, world-class DJs, gorgeous go-gos, and stage shows that include acrobats, aerialists and dancers.
GCircuit also coincides with Songkran, the Thai New Year celebration and one of the country’s biggest events. The Songkran tradition has evolved into the world’s largest water fight, where the entire country walks the streets with supersoakers and buckets of ice water, ready to drench everyone they encounter. There is no escaping the deluge, so just prepare yourself to be soaked in water all day and dripping with circuit sweat all night.
Provincetown Bear Week
Provincetown, USA, July 11-18 www.ptownbears.events
Sitting on the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Provincetown (or P-town) has been a queer haven since way before we reclaimed the word. The town inspired playwright Tennessee Williams and filmmaker John Waters, and now welcomes world-class singers, comedians and drag queens to its multiple cabaret venues.
Every July, tens of thousands of gay bears and their admirers transition from hibernation to jubilation for the world’s largest gathering of bears. This is also one of the town’s busiest weeks, so plan your accommodation and bike rental, and make a few restaurant reservations months in advance.
Takes advantage of P-town’s fabulous food establishments, including The Red Inn, Sal’s Place and Victor’s. The week comes packed with special parties and events, including the Bear Boat Cruise, pool parties at the Crown And Anchor and The Boatslip, themed tea dances, and the Firemen’s Ball, honouring and fetishising our favourite flame extinguishers.
You can just float all day in the “bear soup” at the Provincetown Inn, pool or trek to Hering Cove Beach, lovingly called Boy Beach. Regardless of your day, your night will likely end outside Spiritus Pizza, where the town gathers after the bars close.
WorldPride Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 25-August 8 www.pride.amsterdam
Amsterdam, we are forever proud of you! Few cities have a stronger LGBTQIA+ legacy. In 2001, the Dutch capital held the first-ever same-sex marriage.
Last year, the country elected their first openly gay prime minister, and this year, Amsterdam hosts WorldPride 2026 alongside the 30th anniversary of Pride Amsterdam, with over 500 official events.
We love the yearly Canal Parade – and that’s still happening on August 1 – but this year’s supersized festivities include two Pride marches, Pride Park with performances at the Vondelpark Open Air Theatre, two days of street parties in the city centre, the WorldPride Opening And Closing concerts on the Museumplein, and the ongoing WorldPride Village. Don’t forget to visit Amsterdam’s gay bars, restaurants and shops that make the city proud year-round. Head to PRIK for relaxed cocktails before meeting Mr Right Tonight in Spijker’s dark room.
Folsom Street Fair
San Francisco, USA, September 27 www.folsomstreet.org
Are you my daddy? On September 27, in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) neighbourhood, thousands of answers will be a resounding, “Yes, boy.”
From its start in 1984, the Folsom Street Fair has grown into the largest leather and fetish event in the world, attracting half a million kinksters every year from all over the world. Though the street fair is always on Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm, the entire weekend (and month) is packed with parties and events.
It’s impossible to do it all, so consider some of my favourites: Friday night, hit Prime at Club Six. Saturday, spend your day with the bulky boys of the Big Muscle Party at DNA Lounge, starting around 1 pm. Then later that night, it’ll be a 6.9 on the Richter Scale when the sexy men head to Magnitude. Rest, rinse and repeat on the streets for the Folsom Street Fair on Sunday.
Finish the weekend – if you can snag an increasingly impossible-to-get ticket – at the Real Bad party on Sunday night.
Build in some extra time to learn about the history of this great, gay city. Start at the GLBT Historical Society in the Castro, visit the Tenderloin Museum and the first legally recognised Transgender District, and roam the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District.
Bear Week
Sitges, Spain, September 4-13 www.bearssitges.org
Thick-n-juicy meets Mediterranean charm in Sitges for one of the biggest bear events in Europe.
This small coastal town less than one hour from Barcelona balloons with thousands of gays every summer, but no week is more epic than Bears Week in September. There is also a considerably smaller bear event in May if you still need your training wheels. The ursine explosion in late summer, with a seaside Bear Village, features performers and events nightly. Or stroll through the gay venues on Joan Tarrida Street, an alleyway of sinful fun a block away from the Bear Village. Here you’ll find cocktail bars, bear bars and multiple cruising bars.
Bear Week will have themed afterparty events every night once the Village closes at 1am, but save some energy for sunlight. The clothing-optional Playa de la Balmins is just a ten-minute walk from the town centre. The sand will be packed with beautiful bears and their admirers every day this week. Need a refreshment? Don’t worry, Balmins has a beach club serving food and drinks all day.
New Year’s Eve
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 31 www.visitbrasil.com
Where better to ring in the new year than on Copacabana Beach, for the world-famous Réveillon party. About two million people start early in the evening on December 31, and enjoy music and dancing and a massive fireworks explosion at midnight.
Wear white to bring peace and luck in 2027, and place flowers in the ocean to Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea.
If crowds are not your thing and your budget is plentiful, ring in the new year in style at the Copacabana Palace, with terrace views of the fireworks. Stay gay: The Tryst Ipanema Hotel will open this year, offering boutique LGBTQIA+ luxury on Rio’s most famous beach.ng on December 31, and enjoy music and dancing and a massive fireworks explosion at midnight.
Wear white to bring peace and luck in 2027, and place flowers in the ocean to Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea.
If crowds are not your thing and your budget is plentiful, ring in the new year in style at the Copacabana Palace, with terrace views of the fireworks. Stay gay: The Tryst Ipanema Hotel will open this year, offering boutique LGBTQIA+ luxury on Rio’s most famous beach.
