GLBT's (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgender) often have special interests when traveling. This page lists three things: events and activities of special interest to, or targeted towards, homosexual travelers; destinations where open homosexuality is acceptable; and destinations where it might be dangerous to travel, or at least to publicly display affection for a same-sex partner.

Queer events and activities

  • The '''Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras''' held annually (February/March) in Sydney.
  • The '''GLBT Pride Parade''' in Sao Paulo in early June is considered the world's largest gay event. The 2007 parade gathered 3 million people.
  • The '''San Francisco Celebration and Parade''' held annually (June) in San Francisco.
  • The '''White Party''' [http://www.careresource.org/whiteparty/index.cfm] held annually (November) in Miami.
  • '''Paris Gay Pride''' [http://www.gaypride.fr] June 28, 2008 : held every summer in the French capital with over 700,000 participants in 2007.
  • '''Swedish Gay Camp''' [http://www.gaycamp.se] July 20-27, 2008 : A camp for gay and bisexual men held every summer in Sweden, open to international participants. Swedish and English speaking.
  • '''Pride in Brighton and Hove''' [http://www.www.brightonpride.org/] Winter Pride 7th ? 15th March 2009; Summer Festival Week 25th July ? 2nd Aug 2009: probably the UK's best and most entertaining Pride festival
  • GLBT laws

    Throughout most of the world GLBT visitors are welcome, but there are some African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern countries where it wouldn't be the best idea to express who you are completely. In some countries where homosexuality is legal it doesn't necessarily mean the country is completely tolerant to gays. Even in the United States where, for the most part, homosexuality is legal, gay-bashing sometimes occurs, though tolerance is - slowly - increasing.

    Queer friendly destinations

    If you're not seeking out specifically queer events and activities, but want a hassle-free holiday, consider these destinations:

    North America

    Canada

    In the western hemisphere, no country is more tolerant and gay friendly than Canada, both in legislation and attitude, including legal same-sex marriage. That being said, not everyone has followed suit with the movement, particularly in rural areas.

  • Montreal - North American city with a European flavour. The Quartier Gay isn't an exclusively gay place anymore, it is a place where everybody goes out to have a good time.
  • Toronto - Big 'village' in the big city. Also the location for the annual Pride Week festival which is host to about 1 million visitors every year. [http://www.pridetoronto.com/intro]
  • Vancouver - third largest gay community and on the west coast and is not very discriminatory.
  • Winnipeg - no gay district, but had the first North American gay mayor and is very proud of it. Shouldn't have any problems.
  • Edmonton - has a gay pride fest and is open to gays.
  • St. John's - has a small gay population but is one of the most tolerant cities in Canada and a great place to vacation also holds gay pride events during the peak tourist times.
  • Hamilton - Hamilton has a growing LGBTQ community with many gay owned and operated businesses. With two gay nightclubs and many friendly businesses and the introduction of a three day Pride Festival celebrating UNITY 2009. Their pride festival has been going for over a decade with this year's being for the full weekend of June 19-21
  • Mexico

    A traditionally Catholic country, Mexico is getting more gay-friendly all the time. Medium-sized and big cities as well as coastal resorts all have gay bars and sometimes gay discos. Watch out, the extrovert Mexicans are never shy of flirting.

  • Mexico City - This huge city offers a vast array of gay bars and clubs, from stylish and slick to unassuming and friendly, both in the elegant Zona Rosa and elsewhere [http://www.machamexico.com]
  • Acapulco - Apart from the natural beauty of the Quebrada divers, this party place has hectic night clubs, strip joints and friendly bars. Most of your fellow travellers are Mexican.
  • Puerto Vallarta - Commonly considered the most gay-friendly destination in Mexico. The area known as Zona Romantica in the southern part of the old city is the epicentre of gay nightlife and gay beach going (Playa Los Muertos).
  • United States

    By and large the USA is tolerant-to-accepting of LGBT travellers, especially in the larger cities, the Northeast, and the West Coast. Major destinations include:

  • San Francisco - the "gay mecca" of the USA.
  • New York City - birthplace of the American gay rights movement
  • Chicago - has an annual Pride Parade in the Boystown neighbourhood, which includes some of the city's best clubs and bars
  • West Hollywood - in the heart of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
  • Philadelphia [http://www.gophila.com/c/your_philadelphia/14/diverse_philadelphia/287/gay_friendly_philadelphia/4.html] - the "City of Brotherly Love" and the first destination in the world to create and air a television commercial specifically geared towards LGBT Tourism, with a slogan "Get your history straight and your nightlife gay." [http://www.gophila.com/assets/dmt/downloads/PENPALS.MPG]
  • Fire Island Pines / Cherry Grove - Two of the seventeen villages located on the Fire Island National Seashore (70 Miles from NYC) that are predominantly gay
  • Palm Springs - a small desert mecca two hours east of Los Angeles - it has amongst the highest proportion of Gays and Lesbians in its population of any American city - also home to the annual '''White Party''' at Eastertime
  • Provincetown - at the tip of Cape Cod, "P-Town" has long been famous as a queer getaway; and now that '''gay marriage''' is legal in Massachusetts, it's a popular place to tie the knot as well
  • Key West - the southernmost point of the US is also a famously liberal vacation spot with many options for LGBT travellers
  • Miami Beach - a glitzy and very queer-friendly beach resort that is also home to the annual '''White Party'''
  • Ocean Grove, New Jersey Known as Gods Square Mile, The Methodist resort is now a vacation resort and home to a a diverse group of people.
  • Ogunquit, Maine
  • Rehoboth Beach - a small beach town on the Delaware coast with a large and active LGBT community
  • Galveston - a small island city just out side of Houston Texas that has some "Gay Only" hotels and some beaches that are generally queer only
  • Asheville - a city in western North Carolina with significant feminist and lesbian/gay communities.
  • Central America

    Costa Rica

  • San Jose (Costa Rica) This is the countries capital and where most of the population in Costa Rica lives. Filled up with bars and discos for gay people, this place will turn you on.
  • Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica's favorite gay vacation spot for locals and tourists. One of the most amazing beach on the Pacific Ocean, declared Natioanl Park for its amazing beauty. Many gay owned . friendly hotels and commerce. Great nightlife and a mini gay nude beach.
  • South America

    Argentina

  • Buenos Aires - The Argentine capital is quickly surpassing Rio as the most popular gay travel destination in South America. The city's first five-star gay hotel is currently under construction, and the city passed same-sex civil union legislation in 2002.
  • Brazil

  • Sao Paulo - Home to the largest gay pride festival in the world, with some 3 million participants annually.
  • Uruguay

  • Montevideo - The Uruguayan capital had a sexual diversity monument installed in 2005.
  • Middle East

    Israel

  • Tel Aviv Israel's Gay capital. Extremely lively and liberal city, with dozens of gay venues, parties and activities. Locals are completely blase regarding sexual diversity.
  • Europe

    Likely the most relaxed about gay and lesbian travel and people should have little problems. UK, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Belgium and likely the most accepting. Travellers should bear in mind, that - in general - the further east you go, the less tolerant it is.

    Belgium

  • Antwerp
  • Brussels
  • Czech Republic

  • Prague
  • Brno - Gibon and Philadelphia clubs.
  • Croatia

  • Split
  • Dubrovnik
  • Denmark

  • Copenhagen
  • Finland

  • Helsinki
  • France

  • Lyon
  • Montpellier
  • Nimes
  • Paris - Over 300 different gay and lesbian venues, concentrated around ''Le Marais'', in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements.
  • Provence - Southern France brings gay travellers a new experience in travelling with the French gay and lesbian community in Provence sharing their love and knowledge of the country.
  • Germany

  • Berlin
  • Cologne
  • Hamburg
  • Greece

  • Athens
  • Mykonos
  • Lesvos
  • Hungary

  • Budapest - Thermal bath and spa capital of Central Europe with a lively gay scene.
  • Ireland

  • Dublin
  • Italy

  • Bologna - Widely recognised as the 'gay capital' of Italy.
  • Milan
  • Rome
  • Netherlands (Holland)

  • Amsterdam is also known as the gay capital of Europe. Many clubs have special gay nights every week. A certain area ("Reguliersdwarsstraat") is full of cafes where gay people are more common than heterosexuals. Every summer there is the Gay Pride Parade, taking place in the canals in the city centre. Amsterdam is getting more and more dangerous because of attacks on gays by muslim gangs.
  • Norway

  • Oslo
  • Portugal

  • Lisbon
  • Spain

  • Barcelona
  • Ibiza
  • Madrid
  • Palma de Mallorca
  • Torremolinos
  • Sweden

  • Stockholm
  • Switzerland

  • Bern
  • Zurich
  • Turkey

  • Istanbul - has a considerable gay life and tens of gay bars and clubs mainly around Taksim and Beyoglu districts. In the summer of 2007, local GLBT association [http://www.lambdaistanbul.org/php/main.php?menuID=26 Lambda Istanbul] organized a big gay & lesbian parade (Pride Istanbul) out in the streets with the legal permission of local authorities, for the first time in a Muslim country.
  • United Kingdom

  • London
  • Edinburgh - One of the most tolerant cities in Europe.
  • Sheffield
  • Manchester - One of the gay party capitals with a huge amount of gay nightlife.
  • Brighton - The highest percentage of gay people in Europe, with a lot of style, creativity, and great nightlife.
  • Hebden Bridge, a small town in West Yorkshire, has the highest proportion of lesbians in the UK.
  • Oceania

    Australia

  • Sydney - host of the country's largest tourist event, the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which attracts millions of queer-friendly visitors to the city every year
  • Melbourne - a cultural hub of fantastic museums, art exhibits, and restaurants
  • Cairns - one of the best spots to see the Great Barrier Reef from, using one of the many gay-friendly local operators
  • New Zealand

  • Auckland - the city comes alive around 1:00am, full of incredible restaurants, pubs with live music, and great dancing places in 'K Road'. Use Auckland as your base to discover the local Maori culture, and organise further travel into the world-famous South Island of New Zealand, with its breathtaking scenery.
  • Vinegar Hill - a camping ground in the Manawatu that hosts a large gay and lesbian camp over Christmas/New Year.
  • Asia

    Philippines

  • Manila - Known as the gay capital of Asia. One in 18 residents over the age of 15 is gay/lesbian.
  • Thailand

  • Bangkok - Known for its gay tolerance, and its gay festivals.
  • Taiwan

  • Taipei - an annual gay parade event knwon as '''Taiwan Pride''' is held there between September and November
  • Dangerous destinations

    Criminalization

    The following countries have '''criminal laws''' against sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex. '''''Bold Italic Links''''' denote countries that have a '''DEATH PENALTY''' for homosexuals.

    Africa

    Homosexuality illegal: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, '''''Mauritania''''', Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, '''''Somalia''''', '''''Sudan''''', Togo, Tunisia.

    Male only: Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania (except Zanzibar, where lesbianism is ALSO punishable), Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

    Asia

    Homosexuality illegal: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka.

    Male only: Maldives, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

    Homosexuality illegal for Muslims only, one province: Indonesia (Province: Aceh)

    Central and South America

    Homosexuality illegal: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.

    Male homosexuality ("buggery") illegal: Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,

    Anal sex illegal, regardless of gender: Dominica

    Europe

    Chechnya (more info needed)

    Middle East

    Homosexuality illegal: '''''Iran''''', Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, '''''Saudi Arabia''''', Syria, '''''United Arab Emirates''''', '''''Yemen'''''.

    Male only: Bahrain, Lebanon, Palestine.

    Oceania

    Homosexuality illegal: Samoa, Solomon Islands

    Male only: Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu

    Homophobia

    The following destinations pose some problems to queer travellers (see also the "Stay safe" section of region and cities articles):

  • Cuba - homosexuality is legal but repressed;
  • Cayman Islands - recently two men kissing caused one to be "arrested" by off-duty police officer for 'a public offence.' The one man taken from the Royal Palms, Grand Cayman was in fact detained and not arrested. Turns out there is no law against homosexuality in CI - a British Overseas Territory but homophobia there is culturally endemic because of a right-wing Christian majority.
  • Poland - following an escalation in gay bashings and public demonstrations of homophobia and intolerance by both the population and the government, Poland is increasingly considered an unfriendly destination for gays and lesbians. However, the situation has been changing since half of the nineties. There are lots of gay and lesbian clubs, LGBT organisations and more famous people are willing to and came out with own sexual orientation. There are lots of LGBT websites also, even regional guides (such as [http://www.gaylodz.yoyo.pl Gay ?od?] - provides a basic, practical information about the city in the context of sexual minorities).
  • Parts of the United States - particularly Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia (outside of Atlanta), Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana (outside of New Orleans), Michigan (outside of Metro Detroit), Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina (the rural areas), South Carolina (the rural areas), Oklahoma, Oregon (outside of Portland) Tennessee (outside of Nashville), Texas (outside of Austin, Houston, and Dallas), Washington (outside of Seattle-Tacoma), Utah, West Virginia, and (to some extent) Wyoming. In the U.S. the divide between friendly or not is rural or urban (urban usually being more friendly and rural usually being more unfriendly) but there are some exceptions such as Portland Maine which has a large lesbian community, and the state of Vermont, which is often believed to have the highest percentage of LGBT residents of any U.S. state.
  • While homosexuality is legal in Belarus, gays and lesbians may be subjected to harsh discrimination from both the locals and the authorities.
  • Malta - A conservative country with a strong Roman Catholic faith, Malta is very hostile towards LBGT visitors, despite homosexuality being legal since 1974.