The LGBTQ+ guide to travelling the world: where to go and where to definitely avoid

We met in 2009 at the G-A-Y bar in London. Stefan is originally Greek Cypriot and Sebastien is from Lyon, France and several years into our relationship we realised we wanted a complete life change and had a craving to see more of the world together. We began planning and saving, then in 2014 we quit our lives and jobs in London for a big trip around Asia.

We started our Nomadic Boys gay travel blog as a way for our friends and family to follow along our trip, but unbeknownst to us, it grew quickly. We started to see random people reading it – people who found our content online after searching on Google for gay travel related content. At this point we realised we were onto something big and started publishing more content for LGBTQ+ travellers.

As gay people there is an extra layer of research we need to carry out before embarking on a trip. We need to know if the place we’re going has any anti-gay laws, whether we need to be cautious about PDAs, are the hotels we’re staying at ok to let two men share a bed, are there any queer-friendly spaces to have a drink or party?

We also need to work out the extent to which it’s safe to be openly gay. In Lebanon, for example, we were blacklisted and almost arrested because we posted content about #gaylebanon during our trip. This taught us the importance of switching all our social media to ‘private’ when visiting such destinations and avoiding posting anything online before and during the trip.

Egypt is another destination with a nasty anti-gay law in place with local police actively enforcing it, using gay apps like Grindr to target and arrest gay men. When we visited, we hired a private guide who met us as we got off the plane, guided us through immigration and stayed with us until we left. We stayed ‘friends’ during this trip, avoided all PDAs, and remained firmly in the closet.

We want our new book book, Out in the World, to be a useful resource for LGBTQ travellers to plan a fun and safe trip as well as inspiring them to visit places beyond the pink bubble. These are our 5 of our favourite gay-friendly destinations:

Since we first set foot in Thailand many many moons ago, we instantly fell in love. The Thai are tolerant and welcoming to everyone. Bangkok has become one of the gayest cities in the world with a large scene centred around Silom Soi 4 and 2. The islands of Thailand have some of the best beaches we’ve ever been to along with impressive diving sites. Our favourite island is Koh Lipe – we make a point of going there every January for a week as our no-tech holiday.

Thailand nails it when it comes to food. The Thai cuisine is world famous for good reason – nothing beats a Pad Thai, Green Curry, or sticky mango rice. The culture of Thailand is rich with so much Buddhist history, which we particularly felt in the country’s northern city of Chiang Mai. Oh – and did we mention: Thailand is on course to become the second nation in Asia (after Taiwan) to legalise gay marriage. The Thai marriage equality bill is set to become law at the end of 2024. We predict the gay honeymoon market to Thailand is going to boom in 2025.

Top tip for LGBTQ+ travellers to Thailand: try to coincide your trip with one of the big gay festivals like White Party in December, Songkran in mid-April (the Thai New Year), or Bangkok Pride in June. Also check out the gay trips with LGBTQ companies like Everything To Sea, and Out Adventures.

We love Iceland because as well as its mix of impressive otherworldly landscapes, we found it to be one of the most gay-friendly nations we’ve ever set foot in. It’s also super quirky. Icelandic humour is a thing! These guys take quirky to a whole new level: The Penis Museum (phallus.is)in Reykjavik, anyone? It was easily our travel highlight of the Icelandic capital. Trust us, you’ll fall in love with this remote European country as much as we did.

Highlights of Iceland include the Geysir Geothermal Area, the myriad of impressive waterfalls such as Skogafass and Svartifoss, the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Diamond Beach, the picturesque fjords, bathing in geothermal baths like the Blue Lagoon, whale watching in Husavik, and our favourite, watching the Northern Lights (between September-April).

In terms of a gay scene, Reykjavik has a few queer spaces, the main one being Kiki Bar (instagram.com/kikiqueerbar). It has two prominent LGBTQ+ events: Reykjavik Pride in August, and Reykjavik Bear in September.

Top tip for LGBTQ+ travellers to Iceland: rent a car and explore the country on its famous Ring Road. In addition, we recommend the excellent gay owned Pink Iceland (pinkiceland.is) to organise your trip.

We love visiting Greece, from the beautiful islands to the historic wanders and lively gay scene of Athens. This year, in February, Greece not only became the first Orthodox Christian country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, but it will also host EuroPride in Thessaloniki on June 21-29. Athens oozes culture with ancient monuments and world wonders like the Acropolis. It also has a vibrant gay scene in the Gazi neighbourhood with bars like Del Sol, Big Bar, Samis, and clubs like Sodade, Shamone, and Bizzar. The big draw of Greece for most are the islands. The most popular for gay travellers is Mykonos with its bustling gay scene in the main town and a cluster of gay beaches including Super Paradise, Elia, and Agrari. The gay summer season culminates with the XLSIOR Festival (xlsiorfestival.com), this year taking place on August 22-28. For a more chilled Greek island experience, which is not as hectic (nor as pricey as Mykonos), we recommend a road trip in Crete. The beaches like Elafonisi are glorious, and there’s even a small gay scene around Hersonissos with queer hangouts like Y.O.L.O. Café.

Top tip for LGBTQ+ travellers to Greece: For a unique experience exploring Greece, check out the clothing-optional gay sailing cruises offered by companies like GaySail (gaysail.com)and SAILORdudes (sailordudes.com)

Going to Japan feels like you’ve set foot into the future. Everything works like clockwork, the technology is out of this world, and everything is beautifully presented to you — with a loving smile. We’ve been three times and can’t get enough of it. This year is particularly exciting for Japan when Osaka will be hosting the big IGLTA gay travel conference on October 23-26.

Highlights of Japan include the bustling capital, Tokyo, which has the quirkiest gay scene we’ve ever encountered, with over 300 small unassuming bars/clubs crammed in Shinjuku's Ni-Chōme district. One of them, New Sazae, was particularly popular with the late Freddy Mercury and where one of the Queer Eye episodes was filmed when they came to Japan. Kyoto is the cultural hub of Japan with stunning temples, the unique Fushimuri Inari Shrine, and the iconic Sagano Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama. Close to Kyoto is Osaka, the culinary capital of Japan, where you’ll find the best of the best in terms of classic Japanese dishes such as takoyaki and okonomiyaki.

Hiroshima is a must for all travellers. The Peace Memorial Park was harrowing and intense but so vital to see how the 1945 atomic bomb impacted the city. For something more tropical we recommend heading to the Yaeyama Islands, home to the Japanese jungle, unspoiled beaches, and pristine reefs for world class diving.

Top tip for LGBTQ+ travellers to Japan: For an excellent local Japanese gay tour company check out Out Asia Travel (outasiatravel.com) which is based in Tokyo.

When asked which the most memorable place we’ve been to is Bhutan is always up there for both of us. It’s a remarkable place that for so long was closed off to the world, only recently opening up to tourism. The culture has strong Tibetan influences, particularly the impressive intricate artwork in every monastery and temple. The main draw of Bhutan is Tiger’s Nest Monastery, perched on the side of a cliff at an elevation of 3,120 metres, which you can only reach via a two-hour hike. The cuisines is similar to Nepal and Tibet including the delicious momo dumplings. By contrast, the national dish will blow your mind: the super spicy ema datshi, a chilli cheese stew. The country’s Royal Family and Buddhist traditions are revered and highly regarded by everyone with a grand festival that takes place almost every month.

Bhutan is also slowly coming out of the closet. The country got rid of its anti-gay law in February 2021. As a result, the local LGBTQ community has grown massively, led by the efforts Pride Bhutan. Note that Bhutan is not a budget destination. The government focuses on high value, low volume tourism, requiring every visitor to pay a daily ‘tourist fee’ of $100, in addition to requiring a tour is booked. One gay-friendly local operator we highly recommend is Bhutan Mountain Holidays (bhutanmountainholiday.com). We used them for our trip. They were well aware from the outset that we are a gay couple. Our guide and driver had no issue with this at all, and always ensured we stayed in a hotel room with a double bed. We think this speaks volumes in a country that is only starting to wake up to its LGBTQ community.

Top tip for LGBTQ+ travellers to Bhutan: look out for the phallic art. We’re serious: the erect penis holds significant popularity in Bhutan, revered as a symbol of good luck and a deterrent against malevolent spirits. You can even buy said artwork in the many souvenir shops in the form of intricately carved wooden penises or phallus keyrings.

1. Check if the place your visiting has an anti-gay law. If it does, consider putting your social media channels to ‘private’ before/during your trip. It goes without saying that you should avoid posting anything online until you’ve left that country.

2. Check if it’s safe to use Grindr in the destination you’re visiting. For example, in Egypt, the local police actively use Grindr to target and arrest gay men.

3. Do you need a VPN? A lot of places ban LGBTQ websites and apps, so you’ll need a VPN to get around this.

4. Is your hotel gay-friendly? Email or call ahead to check they’re ok with two men (or women) wanting to share a double bed. Most big brand hotels like Marriott, Hyatt, and the Hilton will be fine about this. Alternatively, consider using a platform like Misterb&b (misterbandb.com) to find gay-friendly hosts to rent a place from.

5. Even if there is no anti-gay law, how safe is it to be openly gay there? Are public displays of affection safe or best avoided and limited to queer safe spaces?

6. Is it safe to bring PrEP/HIV medication or is there a restriction? Places like Dubai ban it, others impose a three-month limit on the amount you can bring with you.

7. Make sure you have adequate travel insurance.

Out in the World: The Gay Guide to Travelling with Pride by Stefan Arestis & Sebastien Chaneac is out May 9 (Pavilion Books).

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