Traveling is one of life’s most exciting, liberating and rewarding experiences. Travel offers you the opportunity to experience wonderful things, from discovering new ideas or mindsets to refreshing encounters with new friends; overall it offers you the opportunity to replenish your body and mind.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets to experience this travel bliss all of the time. How many horror stories have you heard or read about it from other LGBT travellers, about how they got harrased, offended or receive worst attitudes towards them because of their sexuality? Luckily, we have some tips for you, that can help to avoid these situations. 

Reading and preparing for your trip is the most important one, as much as you can learn about the culture of the country you are visiting as better your experience there will be. 

Not everyone likes their sexuality dictating every aspect of their life, and this goes as well to travel. While there are tons of super fun places for LGBT travellers to visit like San Diego, Mykonos and Puerto Vallarta, there are other places that aren’t as welcoming to the gay community -but that you might still want to visit- like Saudi Arabia, Russia or Egypt.

Safety should be our top priority when traveling, if not, the most important. Do not take it for granted, as is always a good idea to take precautions, especially prior to your trip, if you keep this in mind when planning your next gaycation, your travel experience will be fun, but most importantly safe.

It’s important to research about the current LGBT rights of your selected destination. This will give you a general rule of thumb on how open you can be, or what type of precautions you should take. Equaldex is a great online tool providing status and timelines of LGBT rights by country. Before your trip, take some time to find out what are some of the potential risks for openly gay travellers, are there specific laws of restrictions you need to be aware of? Are PDA’s a yay or nay?

Thanks to the internet, we can find useful local information about a destination without the distance barrier and look up what the local gay community is like. Are there support groups? Is there a local LGBT scene? Are there specially embracing neighborhoods? 

Knowing these things ahead of time will greatly enrich your experience.

The internet might be awesome, but it doesn't always have all the information. Always look for local gay travel guides or magazines. You know, there is always a stack of papers at the entrance of the gay concept hotels’ lobby or bar… More often, these locally print guides have the most current or accurate information about your gay friendly (or not so friendly) destination. These publications will show you where to find the most post popular gay restaurants and bars. 

Always be mindful of your surroundings, some areas of the destination might be more LGBT friendly than others. Don’t be afraid to use hook-up apps like Grindr, but always be very cautious about it. In some countries police use these apps for sting operations. When meeting new “friends” start off at public places and always let someone know where you are. 

Search for an embassy or consulate of your country at your travel destination, and keep their number at hand. If arrested, immediately request the police to notify your embassy or consulate. 

If traveling with friends, always use the buddy system. This way someone will always be looking out for you, and you can help your friends stay safe while on foreign lands.

These short, but useful tips will help you prepare a blissful, fun and safe gaycation experience, when visiting your dream destination.