Half-vaccinated

Dont hate. SDQ is only 2 hours away.  And you can go every month with a direct flight from Atlanta. Truthbetold. The boys in the DR are a 3 compared to the boys in Rio.  The quality and the price point Trumps the D.R. But, you still can do a 5 day roundtrip + hotel + 10 boys for under a Grand. AND YOU CAN PULL BOYS All OVER THE ISLAND.  They cant do that in Brazil.  Everywhere you go in the Dominican Republic guys are  ready willing and able. Years ago I asked a friend of mine "Why you want to move to SDQ?"  He said, "Where can I live as a middle age man and attract boys?"   
I suspect the reason why the DR travelors do not post is because MOST have some boy they are smitten with.  That common. We are all smitten with a boy....Until a new boy comes along.  And believe me they do.  Its Memorial Day weekend and that country will be runneth over with Americans.  

I would expect such a dismissive response about cultural differences in sexual identity from an aging white American snap queen. That train is never late. 
it’s so on brand for Western culture to believe that their identity is the only one that matters. 

Hey, since this is my first trip to Brazil I thought I'd give a report of what my experience has been like as a newcomer. 
Started off with a week in São Paulo. Was going to stay at a lovely Airbnb in Consolação but when I got there the owner didn't respond to me when I tried to check in. Ended up having to get Airbnb to refund me and getting a crappy little room at the Ibis Budget Frei Caneca (which was more expensive than the Airbnb), since I knew I wanted to be close to Lagoa. 
So I went to Lagoa several days. As a first-timer, I was impressed with the number and quality of the guys there. I also felt like it was relatively clean, compared to for example Sauna Thermas in Barcelona. I would post up in the bar reading a book and drinking a beer, enjoyed that they had the glass shower next to the bar. The men there were friendly but not too pushy, which I appreciated. I ended up having 3 programas total at Lagoa. I'm a bottom who prefers big guys with big dicks, and I prefer BB but I didn't bother asking as I assumed most of these guys would not be open to it. All three guys quoted 300 reais, and I didn't negotiate. (I guess that is the going rate in SP, but when I was in Rio they all charged 200.) Funnily enough, the guy I was most attracted to was the bar manager (hot as fuck). It was convenient staying nearby as I could just pop over for an hour or two to see what the crowd was like and have a beer before going out somewhere else.
While in SP I also hit up a couple other places. I went to Bar Queen and Hot House, both of which had fun strip shows. I have now learned that in Brazil basically every strip show includes this very bizarre (to me) specific thing where the guys do their striptease, then leave the stage for a drag number or another stripper, and then they come back out with a hardon in underwear, and they walk around the room and have one customer take their underwear off, then they go to the next customer and hand them their underwear to put it back on. They go around the whole room doing that. I thought it was a funny thing the first time I saw it at Bar Queen, but literally every strip show I went to had that.
I also found that the same strippers were showing up over and over. I saw the same ones at Bar Queen, Hot House, and Lagoa. Makes sense, if you're doing this as your main gig you're going to do multiple shows a night/week. Since I've seen so many of my favorite Brazilian pornstars show up at Hot House on their social media, I was hoping to get to see some of them. Unfortunately none of them made any appearances while I was there. 
I also had a session with Rico Marlon at his apartment. He was incredibly hot in person and just the sweetest guy. I saw him out on the street twice in Consolação afterwards and both times he stopped me to say hello. 
I also went to the SP Eagle twice, where I met and had some fun with an extremely attractive daddy, and to Chili Pepper Hotel, which is one of the nicest bathhouses I've ever been to. Unfortunately I think I had my timing wrong. I went on a thursday evening (bear night) and got there around 8. There weren't a ton of people there. Left around midnight, and I think that might have been when more people were starting to show up. 
I worked remotely several days, and then explored the city. I did some exploring downtown, and found the Galeria do Rock (a full shopping mall of all streetwear, hip hop, and rock music stores) interesting, but in general this (around Praça República and Sé) is where I felt the least safe while I was in SP. I probably will avoid next time I'm in town. The areas I really did enjoy were along Avenida Paulista, where there are (mostly free) museums on basically every block, and on the weekend they shut the avenue down to cars so it becomes a pedestrian and bikeway, and Pinheiros, which has so many different little shops and restaurants to stumble on. Also worth walking around Parque Ibirapuera, and across the bridge to the Contemporary Art Museum. I did go to Restaurant Spot because of the recommendations on this board, and it was indeed delicious.
I mainly used public transit, because I love public transit, and found it safe and pretty easy to navigate. The metro is a bit weird in that if you're not a resident, you can't get a card, so you have to go to the ticket booth and buy individual tickets, which are basically little receipts with QR codes on them.
Overall, outside of the República and Sé areas, I felt pretty safe the whole time I was there. It probably helps that I'm a larger guy, and not to be classist, but in general whenever there were a lot of middle-class people around going about their lives, that to me signified that they were choosing to be there and they felt safe.
I flew from SP to Rio on Saturday. I took the light rail and metro to my hotel in Copacabana, and my first impression of the city was that it was bizarrely dead. Both on Saturday and Sunday when I was in the downtown area, it felt like I was in a postapocalyptic movie where there was just no one around, and I did feel a bit vulnerable. But once I got to Copacabana it was clear where everyone had gone. I stayed at the Mercure Boutique Rio Copacabana, which was both inexpensive and lovely. Located right on the beach. I didn't try to have guests over to either of my hotels, but I don't think it would have been a problem at either of them. Just walk right on by the front desk to the elevators and scan my card to go up. 
I went to 117 multiple nights. Usually took the metro there as it's very conveniently located a few minutes' walk from the Gloria station, and in an area that is bustling with locals and feels very safe. The first thing that struck me is that it did feel noticeably dingier than Lagoa. And the second thing that struck me is that several guys whom I'd seen at Lagoa all came up and said hi. I guess a lot of the guys go back and forth between the two. When I first got there (around 5 on a Saturday) I thought it was empty other than the guys hanging out in the front hallway. I had a drink at the inside bar, and then noticed the sign for the smoking bar. Went out there and there were like 25 garotos hanging out out there. I had no idea. 
117 definitely had a higher proportion of my type of guys than Lagoa did. In total I had 4 programas there, 2 of which were with the same guy. A tall, bearded Black man with big muscles and tattoos. We had to wait a bit for a room, and he made out with me while we did. One of the best kissers I've ever met. Super great in bed — I did find his dick a little odd, it was big, hard and felt great, but it also felt a little lopsided, like a silicone injection gone wrong maybe? 
I did go on their big night (Tuesday) and it was indeed packed, but not noticeably more so than Saturday. The staff were very helpful and friendly — at one point my key fell off my strap and got lost, and they took care of it, helped me move my stuff to another locker. My biggest annoyance at 117 was how loud the music was during the drag shows and strip shows. My apple watch immediately notified me it was too loud, and I had to plug my ears, otherwise it was painful. As I sit here typing this the next day I have tinnitus. 
I also went to Point 202 for their big Monday night. Point is very conveniently located in Copacabana, but compared to Lagoa and 117 it is a shithole. It felt so much dirtier and I felt gross the whole time I was there. Even on their "busy" night it was really dead. There was, however, an incredibly hot, muscular latino guy with a baby face wearing a "massagista" shirt. I asked him for a massage, and for 150 reais I got a long, very legitimate feeling massage, with some sensual elements. He performed it in his underwear, and that combined with the massagista shirt made me think he was not a garoto, but after he finished and I took a look at him I was like "you are incredibly sexy," and his response was "oh do you want to have sex?" I was not expecting that and it threw me off and I said no thanks, but looking back on it he was by far the hottest guy from the whole trip and I should have said yes. 
I'd planned to go to a dance/sex party called Hole on my last night, but I developed a bit of a cough and decided to stay in. (I brought my own covid tests and have tested negative so far, plus I had covid 2 months ago so it's probably not that.) So I didn't really get a feel for the gay scene in Rio outside of 117 and 202, sadly. 
The rest of my Rio time included trips back downtown during the week, at which point it was waaaaaaaay busier, to work and go to the Museo do Amanhã, which is very interesting architecturally if not so interesting exhibit-wise. I also checked out the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is very interesting, as well as taking the Bonde de Santa Teresa, which is a nice ride, but not much to do up there. Cristo Redentor was exhausting and IMO not worth the trip. I bought "skip the line" tickets via Viator, and took the Corcovado train up. That was interesting, and then you get to the top and there are SO MANY PEOPLE. The views are great, I'll give it that. But getting back down was a shitshow. The line for the train (which you could not skip on the way back down) went halfway up the stairs to the statue. I'd estimate I waited about an hour to get on a train back down, and by the time I did I had to go back to the hotel and take a nap.
I also checked out the Museum of Modern Art (not worth it in my opinion), and walked around Leblon in Ipanema, which is a much nicer area than Copacabana, with lots of shops and restaurants, and where I'd consider staying next time. I'm not much of a beach person, so I just took a lot of walks up and down the sidewalk next to the beaches, stopping for drinks and food at the many beachside bars and restaurants, and peoplewatching. I never actually touched the sand. I had thought about renting a car to go to Abricó Beach, which is a nude beach outside of Rio, but driving in a foreign country seemed unnecessarily stressful so I decided against it.
In terms of food, my hotel had a great restaurant in it, Q Ceviche, and I went to O Grego twice because it's open late (12 AM) and was delicious. I did go to Fogo de Chão and the meat was my least favorite part. It just wasn't very flavorful. I much preferred the salad bar, which actually had a tray of pork belly with crackling, which was the best meat by far.
Both of my hotels had The Coffee stands nearby, which is very convenient because ordering is done via an iPad which makes it much easier than speaking to a cashier. I found myself going to The Coffee over any other coffee place around the city because of this.
One thing that did make an impression on me is how gay Brazil is. I've seen so many gay couples holding hands walking down the street, even outside of gay areas. The first two times I turned on the TV I saw a drag queen and a gay love scene. There are antidiscrimination notices all over, and on the metro there's an ad for a show called Tunnel of Love that has straight and gay couples making out. I didn't realize how openly gay friendly Brazil is, especially with all the terrible things I'd heard from Bolsonaro.
And overall, everything here is just so inexpensive. A nice dinner rarely cost me more than $40. I'd spend 3-4 hours drinking at Lagoa or 117 for $30. I had 9 sessions with men, including a pornstar, for the same price as 2 would have been in the US. Ubers cost between $5 and $10, even with surge pricing. 
Overall, I've had a great trip and I'm excited to come back. Since it's only an hour ahead of east coast time, it's pretty easy for me to work remotely from here, so I think I may plan to come back for a month or so at some point.
Let me know if you have any questions!

Whenever I start feeling nervous about gay sex tourism, I'm reminded that the straight version is 10-20 times as big.

You joined this forum on April 14th and you have a total of 3 posts.  You are trying to share @dan's boys without making efforts to find your own boys.

..and I am not very interesting into being together with one guy all the time...I like the variety

This is NOT true.  They bottom. They dont want nobody to know.  An American I met in Santo Domingo fucked 2 boys that fucked me.  Said he did it because I wouldnt give him some ass. 🙄 One of the guys, a tight 20 yr old dreadhead couldnt look me in the eyes anymore.  I didnt care.  

Indeed Pereira or similar Colombian towns are a bit cheaper than Bgta and Cartagena. But still the prices in Bgta, Medellin and Cartagena are far lower than in D R. 
 
Actually, most prices are lower in S D than in tourist areas like Punta Cana and Puerto Plata. This also applies to rent guys (rates in Punta Cana are considerably more higher) 

Asking open ended questions are not a good idea, in my experience.

Offering anything other than a standard amount, without knowing the quality of the service isn't good either.

Some guys are happy with 1 programa minimum per night, others want to try to get more, if it seems the night will bear it.

If you plan on taking the guy to a suite but want to chat and have some drinks, just say so. Most sitting with a customer are doing just that, for the price of a programa.

My deal is, I don't like going to suites, I prefer in my apartment. I explain this and tell them they are welcome to sit with me but when we're ready to go, we go together, 200 reis in my room....sometimes we go to eat before or after. Some will try to walk around looking for another customer, others will stay sitting or go smoke with their friends or play Bingo on those nights.

To answer your question, the guys you see sitting with someone are just trying to "close the deal"....they're not being paid extra 99% of the times.

Well, yeah, I ask all the time. Like you, over time, meaning well over a decade at this point, I’ve developed a preference for dates ending up outside the saunas — mainly because I don’t really like the suites and I don’t like clock-watching. 
And I just don’t find a whole lot of my preferred type who’d take your proposed deal at or around that rate. Even if you just throw in a nice meal, which we as clients consider an add-on not garotos, and then get to the meat of the matter (time spent at your apartment, plus sexy time), the bare minimum rate is going to definitely be more than a R $200 rate (right now, about what these kinds of guys are asking for 30-40 minutes inside the sauna). Some of them will accept a package rate that’s higher and includes all time spent, but some will want to start and stop the clock at all time spent — no matter if it’s just forks going in mouths, or dicks.
Yeah, the type of garotos that you go after are never on my radar, either. I am fairly strict in my attraction, and almost never waver (because, thankfully, it’s not necessary in Brazil!). But your type of garotos approach me a lot, and some of my client buddies are into the same, so I know that the ones I’m into do like to place themselves in a (slightly) higher price tier than the “boy next door types” — most likely because it’s what the market will bear for them, not just an ego trip.
I know only one (now former) sauna garoto who I deal with who would gladly take only R $200 for a night from me — but that always came with some complications. The rest are in a higher category — double, triple, and upwards. And to be honest, I’d feel some kind of way for only giving someone who is working for their living what amounts to $38 USD for a full night of their time. 

I know 2 garotos who stopped going to the sauna because they felt it was a drain on their psychological well being. Getting rejected by customers, and having to compete with other garotos for just a 100 reais, having to perform 3 times in a row…
By doing hotel / home visits only, they were avoiding these specific psychological drains while still getting a few jobs a week. Their GP income is lower but they said that feel less ’used’, and one said it gave him time for another job.

I've experienced this.  I tell them how lacking their sex have become.  I then mute them on whatsapp and ignore them when I return.  I set an appointment last month for a straight guy I met years ago laying bricks.   He didnt make the appointment, but nicely asked for money. I do not send money.  But, I do know many Americans that buy phones and send money to drug addicted guys. Then ask me how their man is doing.🙄
When I leave, my Dollars leave. Sorry

I spent a week in the islands getting in some quality beach time. 

Having checked the local Grindr listings I saw that a favourite porn/OnlyFans performer happened to be on the island. 
Yesterday at lunch that same actor entered with an older friend and sat at the table next to mine.
When the performer went to the washroom, I turned to the other chap and introduced myself, told him I knew who his guest was, and would he tell me the going rate for travel?
They both happily shared that they had hooked up via Grindr on the island. The agreed daily rate (exclusive) was $300USD per day plus expensives. Which seemed very reasonable to me for some quality dick on call 24 hours per day
and no, I am not going to share the performer’s name, just know he is a well hung Colombian with an OnlyFans. 

Just tell them you come to the saunas to see and meet other garotos. They know the environment is a smorgasbord. Very few will cop an attitude because they know how the game is played. It’s one reason why many GPs want to see special clients outside of the sauna environment. Heck, most of them won’t spend much time with you in the sauna unless you’re paying for the time, because there’s other potential clients there for them, too. 

Not sure if I am the only one finding this. Some GP will do less work once you become their regular. Yet they assume you will go with them every time in the sauna. 

How do you guys deal with this situation? It is indeed harder to decline a regular compared to decline someone you have not met before 

In addition, someone here did tell people a GP is his bf.   That's just laughable, not sure what world he lives in. Of course you can shower a Brazilian prostitute with money, a business class flight to Thailand, free room and board.  All of these expenses were really just the payment for sex with the prostitute.  But, no I don't think I would tell people a prostitute is my bf. 

Exactly, you all should be clear that GPs are prostitutes, and you are John.  He sells sex, you pay for sex.  Period. 

Developing a relationship with a GP can mean worse sex. Some GP will try to do less and less once if you become their regular 

Not sure what traveling solo has anything to do with befriending GPs, and what similar interests they can have with me.  They are GP, ie., prostitutes.  They become friends only if I make that possible.  I don't.  I guess I sound like a snob, but I don't make prostitute friends back home either.  

Good thing I don't throw off a rich guy vibe, actually the opposite. In all my years I've had maybe 3 or 4 requests for money, which I replied "No"....they said ok.

I'm sure they have a long list of clients to hit up and don't want to waste time with me.

They don't do programas free.....

Seriously ignorant...
Let's discuss how others often smell when they get wet or the hygiene practices of some European countries....
This ignorant person has got to be a TROLL

I’ve got a debt of gratitude to all my fellow forum posters.   The knowledge and tales you’ve shared have really been helpful.     I’ll try not to bore you with unnecessary details but I’d like to share my experience in this first trip to Brazil 
 To start, I’m glad I even got here.   With omicron seemingly everywhere I was concerned about getting a negative test for the flight.   Equally concerning is traveling with so many flight cancellations left and right.    To recap what others have said, I needed proof of vaccine, a negative Covid test within 72 hours (PCR test) or an antigen test within 24 hours, a health document filled out and printed within 24 hours as well.     The entire process was smooth on American Airlines part and when I arrived at passport control in Rio he just causally glanced at my vaccine card but didn’t ask for any other documents.   
 
I haven’t traveled internationally in a couple of years and I feel rusty.   I didn’t account for my flight arriving at 730 am and my Airbnb wouldn’t be ready till 3pm.   So I ended up booking a hotel room in Copacabana.   I should have booked the entire previous day to ensure my room was ready.  But it’s all good.    I took Uber from the airport.   One curiosity I’ve had to learn (at least from the airport context) is communication with your driver prior to pickup.   They need confirmation or something via text.   There was miscommunication and I had a few drivers drop the transaction until a lovely lady picked me up.   Uber prices are cheap so I went “upscale” and booked Uber black because it was apparent the moment I exited the doors that winter was behind me and I needed air conditioning.    For what it’s worth my Uber black car was just a non old Honda Civic.  Perfectly capable and acceptable for the price though.  
 
Despite the relatively mild temps, the humidity here is killing me.  It will take a few days to adjust to the weather.  But it feels good to be back in a real city.  The vibe on the street at first appears to be really relaxed and chill.   And my god, Every third guy is my type of guy.   Splitting my time between working in Alaska and holidays at home in Ohio with my family, I encounter very few gay guys and very few that are my type.   
 
I took a long long nap once I got my room and decided to check out Pointe tonight for a little bit.    Let me tell you, it’s like paradise.  There were two dozen guys that easily fall within my type there and I really tried not to bite on the first guy that came around.  It was kind of overwhelming and I’m positive I stuck out like crazy.    I didn’t change into sauna attire as I wasn’t going to be out late tonight but I’ll probably partake in the whole experience tomorrow.  I tell you what I find really endearing, all of the guys seem to be very sincere.  I know that of course it’s a market setting and that  transactions are the goal, but I cant help but be enamored by the gentle yet masculine spirits I encountered.  It’s just really nice.    I hooked up with a super cute guy from Salvador and it was money and time well spent.  Like most of the guys there he had a very nice dick and was a wonderful kisser.   I’m telling you all, this is a Las Vegas buffet but for handsome guys with big dicks.  The three guys I talked to the most asked from 150-200.   My guy wanted 150 and I added a 50 tip on top of that.    
 
It was a good experience.   My lack of Portuguese is a negative though.   I used translation apps to eeek out a conversation but it’s awkward.   This might be a wonderful excuse to spend a few months here taking language classes in my off season.   

In many ways today was a reminder of why I love to travel.   Being in new cultures far from home, away from the normal comforts you cultivate in your home county is a challenge.   It’ll take a few days or a week to get back into my travel mode life.  Especially after our winters of Covid discontent. 

I’m going to end this here because a guy named Lucca just wrote me on Grindr.   You can’t say no to a guy named Lucca.   
 

I took this photo myself.  It shows you the volume of water flowing when I went a few weeks ago.  (Early February).  

So, why did he keep talking back while on the ground and was in the position to get up while on the ground?  And he ran away.  I didn't see any police corruption here.

Christ, I hope you’re kidding. Or maybe you live under a rock?
5 officers have been charged with his murder (it was a simple traffic stop), and another was just fired for his role. But let’s move along, no police corruption to see here!