13 Gay Travel Tips for LGBTQ Travelers in 2024

From traveling for gay pride to researching before you go, these 13 tips will make your gay holidays that much more special

June is National LGBT Pride Month in the USA when it’s a time for celebration and also an important month for awareness. But Pride doesn’t end in June. It’s a years-long event.

In the past few years, there have been several large exposés about the state of gay travel today, most notably in The New York Times. Articles defining what “gay travel” means, ones shedding a light on little-known but still gay-friendly destinations and countless articles (and photo essays) from LGBT! pride events around the world. It’s an exciting month to be gay.

Traveling as a gay individual isn’t much different than traveling any other way. But sometimes there are special considerations to be made. In some countries you might receive funny looks when you’re a same-sex couple booking one bed in your hotel room.

Those kinds of awkward situations can make or break a holiday. We all like to travel to relax when on a vacation

To make gay travel easier and more enjoyable, below are a few of my favorite travel tips for LGBTQ travelers.

13 Travel Tips for Gay Travelers

1. Meet the locals

Use your apps! Grindr, Scruff and Planet Romeo have long been touted as some of the best gay social networking and meetup (or is it hookup?) apps. But you can also use them for PG-13 purposes!

Create a friendly profile, let people know you’re a tourist and ask around for local tips, suggestions on the best bars or little-known tourist sites.

There’s also a new gay apps out all the time — often with new & lofty goals to connect LGBTQ individuals in more meaningful ways through not just dates & hookups, but also events and networking.

2. Visit local drag shows

They’re not only a great way to connect with the local LGBT community, but the atmosphere at drag shows is often light-hearted and fun.

I’ve been to drag shows in cities as diverse as Helsinki, Berlin, Bangkok and Jerusalem. People are talkative at the shows, there’s sometimes even audience interaction and they’re just generally a lot of fun.

In Phuket on the gay street in Patong which has drag shows every night!

3. Use filters when searching for hotels

When booking your accommodation during a trip, especially when traveling with your partner, many booking sites offer the option to filter results by a number of different characteristics.

I always look out for “gay/LGBT-friendly” because then I know I’m staying somewhere that’s actively agreed to identify themselves as gay-friendly, meaning you’re bound to get much less hassle for the dreaded “two beds or one” question.

You can also search for gay-friendly hotels by looking for properties that visibly show Pride flags and other rainbow imagery.

4. Book on LGBTQ-specific websites

One way to make certain you’re staying in gay-friendly places is to use LGBT-specific websites for booking, whether it’s hotels or holiday apartments (EBAB and MisterBNB).

5. Do a bit of research before you go

I’ve spoken about this countless times, but it’s worth mentioning again and again. Spend a little bit of time before traveling to a new destination learning quickly what the LGBT rights issues are.

Wikipedia is a great place to start with their helpful article on LGBTQ rights by country, but there are other sites more tailored to gay travel which might have more accurate information.

Your country might even offer LGBT travel information for travelers in foreign countries (as the USA State Department does).

6. Go to the gay bars and coffee shops

That’s where you’ll find flyers, maps of the nearby gay-friendly establishments and local LGBT information. Plus there’ll be beer.

And cocktail happy hours. And cake. There’s almost always cake.

7. Travel during pride festivals

Gay pride festivals can be a great reason to travel to a new destination. And if you’re traveling Europe during the summer, you might even accidentally stumble upon them.

Pride festivals are usually multi-day affairs and coincide with LGBT film festivals, family-friendly events, pride marches and music concerts depending upon the human rights situation of the location.

For more information, read why I believe gay pride is so important.

8. Book a gay trip

Companies like OUT Adventures, Detours and Olivia (for women) sell group tours targeted for LGBT travelers.

I was originally hesitant about the idea, but after joining an OUT Adventures trip last month to Thailand, I quickly realized what a great experience these types of trip can be.

Traveling with a group of other LGBTQ individuals makes a gay holiday that much easier. The guides are often gay themselves and so can easily point you in the right direction for local gay nightlife.

And knowing that the trip was organized by LGBTQ travel specialists means you likely won’t encounter any potentially awkward situations with hotels or other travel providers.

Gay group trips really make for a great experience and I highly recommend them for LGBTQ travelers of all ages.

9. Visit LGBTQ travel hotspots

There’s no doubt that some destinations are considered more gay-friendly than others. And while everyone has their own travel interests, I think you’ll find many of the more popular LGBTQ travel hotspots around the world are continually ranked among the best cities and places to visit—regardless of your sexual orientation.

Cities like Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, NYC and San Francisco continually make the top of “best LGBTQ destination” lists — and that’s because they’re just such big, exciting and (importantly) gay-friendly places.

If you’re looking for authentic travel experiences, you don’t have to avoid them — they’re just as likely to make for a great trip as other places.

10. Visit unexpected LGBTQ destinations

Okay, here I’m going to contradict myself. While the top LGBTQ travel hotspots can make for great trips, there are also countless cities which might be unexpectedly LGBTQ-friendly.

I’ve stumbled into gay and overtly gay-friendly bars in places as far away as Luanag Prabang (in Laos, after a weekend of tubing in Vang Vieng) and Amman, Jordan.

Then there are smaller, perhaps second-tier cities such as Austin, Texas or Stockholm, Sweden which have a lot to offer LGBTQ tourists.

11. Report any problems

If you are traveling and do experience harassment, make sure you report it.

Local LGBTQ organizations will be able to inform you of where and how to report.

Many cities have LGBT centers which offer STD & HIV testing in addition to volunteers to help with LGBT rights issues.

12. Read gay travel blogs for inspiration

There are countless gay travel publications which cover both typical and atypical LGBTQ destinations, but sometimes the best advice comes from smaller publications.

Sites like Gay Cities and Out Traveler have useful city guides, but independent gay travel blogs can be a fun way to discover more personal gay travel tips from writers big and small.

13. Have fun & be safe!

As you might imagine, I’m a huge believer in the importance of travel. Seeing new places, meeting new people and experiencing new things are some of my favorite reasons for exploring so much of this world of ours.

And while LGBTQ rights might vary across the world, you don’t have to let that hinder your own travel experiences. Be safe, trust your instincts and enjoy the world!