Gay and lesbian travel

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This article is a travel topic.

Gay and lesbian people often have special interests and special needs when travelling. This page lists three things: events and activities of special interest to, or targeted towards, queer travellers; 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.

[edit] Queer events and activities

• The Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras held annually (February/March) in Sydney.
• The GLBT Pride Parade in São Paulo in early June is considered the world's largest gay event. The 2005 parade gathered 2.5 million people.
• The San Francisco Celebration and Parade held annually (June) in San Francisco.
• The White Party held annually (November) in Miami.

[edit] GLBT laws

Through out most of the world GLBT visitors are welcome, but there are some African and Middle Eastern countries where it wouldnt be the best idea to express who you are completely. The map on the right shows the legal status of homosexuality in countries around the world. Dark red countries are where people found to be GLBT are executed. Watch your back when you are traveling in a non-blue country, but even in the United States there are also gay-bashings, but they are not too often.

[edit] Queer friendly destinations

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

[edit] North America

[edit] Canada

• Montréal - North American city with a European flavour
• Toronto - Big 'village' in the big city
• Vancouver - third largest gay community and on the west coast

[edit] 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
• West Hollywood - in the heart of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
• Fire Island Long Island New York
• 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
• 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.

[edit] South America

[edit] 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.

[edit] Uruguay

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

[edit] Europe

[edit] France

France brings gay travellers a new experience in traveling with the french gay and lesbian community sharing their love and knowledge of the country. [1]

[edit] Germany

• Berlin
• Cologne
• Hamburg

[edit] 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 cafés where gay people are more common than heterosexuals. Every summer there is the Gay Pride Parade, taking place in the canals in the city center.

Amsterdam is getting more and more dangerous because of attacks on gays by muslim gangs.

[edit] Spain

• Barcelona
• Madrid

[edit] United Kingdom

• London
• Edinburgh
• Manchester
• Brighton
• Hebden Bridge, a small town in West Yorkshire, has the highest proportion of lesbians in the UK.

[edit] Asia

[edit] Philippines

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

[edit] Thailand

• Bangkok - Known for it's gay tolerance, and it's gay festivals.

[edit] Dangerous destinations

[edit] Death penalty

The following destinations have a death penalty for homosexuals:

• Iran
• Mauritania
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

[edit] Criminalization

The following countries have criminal laws against sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex [2]:

[edit] Africa

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

[edit] Asia

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

[edit] Central and South America

Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.

According to ILGA's World Map of State Homophobia, homosexuality in Cuba is "legal but repressed".

[edit] Europe

• Chechnya

[edit] Middle East

Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen,

[edit] Oceania

Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu

[edit] Homophobia

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

• Poland - following an escalade in gay bashings and public demonstrations of homophobia and intolerance by both the population and the government [3], Poland is increasingly considered an unfriendly destination for gays and lesbians.