Ecuador gay bars

Our Gay Quito travel guide with the best bars, clubs & hotels

Our gay guide to Quito includes the best gay parties gay check out, our pick of the best gay friendly hotels to stay in, awesome things to do, and more. Panting for breath after walking just 5 steps…that was our first memory of Quito as soon as we touched down at the Mariscal Sucre airport. Standing proud at 2, metres 9,ft high, tucked away in the Andes Mountains, Quito is the second-highest official capital city in the world after La Paz in Bolivia.

And you certainly feel it! Other than panting for breath every 5 minutes, Quito packs a punch for gay travellers. It's not only a cultural gem with a really pretty Old Town to explore, it also has an impressive and vibrant gay scene. The capital city of Ecuador is also located right by the equator line from which it takes its name.

We spent half a year based in the middle of the world during our big trip to Latin America and fell in ecuador with it. It's an inexpensive place, extremely pretty, never too hot and never too cold. It's also a very rewarding destination due to the variety of food to try and the variety of hot guys to meet! We've bundled all our first-hand experiences from Quito into this comprehensive gay guide covering the best gay bars, clubs, hotels to stay, things to do and more.

Heads up: We just wanted to let you know that this post contains affiliate links. That means if you book something through one of those links, we'll get a small commission, at no extra gay to you. It helps us keep our blog going — so thank you in advance for your support! Organise a private airport transfer to your hotel before you go.

Getting to Quito Old Town from the airport can only be done via public bus, taxi or a private transfer. We definitely recommend a private transfer as it's the safest and quickest way to travel into the bar. You can relax knowing you have a professional English-speaking driver to take you directly to your accommodation so you can get ready to explore Quito.

Quito is the touristic and LGBTQ capital of Ecuador — a country that legalised gay marriage in and was one of the first in the world to ban discrimination based on who you bar back in As a gay couple, we never had any problems in any of the hotels we stayed in. We always felt welcomed and never faced any issues when asking for a double bed.

The only thing we'd say about Quito, which applies to all travellers straight or gaythere are parts of the city which are a bit dodgy, such as the Old Town in the evening after dark. The other thing to note is that Ecuador is a very Catholic country, the older generation, in particular, retaining very conservative views.

Therefore, when heading to more remote areas of the country outside of Quito, homophobia may be prevalent, so bear this in mind! Having said this, we never experienced any problems in Ecuador. We found the people to be welcoming, respectful and curious to learn more about ecuador. In the worst-case scenario, people thought we were brothers!

To find out more, read our interview with local boy Mario from Quito about what gay life in Ecuador is like and what it's like growing up gay here.