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90+ Travel Resources for LGBT Travelers in Europe

Check out EuroTribe’s essential travel resources for LGBT travelers in Europe, which include the tools and suggestions on safety, accommodation, things to do and more! Pre-trip inspiration LGBT Travel Blogs…

Check out EuroTribe’s essential travel resources for LGBT travelers in Europe, which include the tools and suggestions on safety, accommodation, things to do and more!

Pre-trip inspiration

LGBT Travel Blogs

People love checking travel blogs for inspiration, planning, and great local tips before their travels. This is especially true for LGBT travelers, who are in need of safety tips and destination guides. Luckily, there are so many great LGBT travel blogs out there. Here are some really good (and famous) LGBT travel blogs;

Travels of Adam
Two Bad Tourists
Nomadic Boys
Globetrotter Girls
Dopes on the Road
Gastro Gays
Minka Guides
MANCHIC

LGBT Websites

Out Traveler is perhaps the only LGBT website dealing with gay travel exclusively. Travel Gay Europe is another great resource for gay travelers. It has a comprehensive guide to almost every European country and recommendations on hotels, bars, nightlife, and events. A small section is dedicated to news. The other websites on the list are quite famous LGBT resources. They mostly cover news, entertainment but sometimes there are travel related topics too.

Out Traveler
Travel Gay Europe
Advocate
AfterEllen
autostraddle
PRIDE
LGBTQ Nation
Huffington Post Queer Voices
Daily Extra
Gay Cities
New Now Next

LGBT Travel Guidebooks

Damron Guidebooks are the most popular in this category and they exist since 1964. They have an extensive listing of gay-friendly business around the world, including the tips and a yearly calendar of events. There’s also another popular guide – Damron Women’s Traveler, which covers exactly the same things as the men’s one. European destinations they cover include Paris, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Dublin, Barcelona, Sitges and more.

Spartacus Guide publishes its gay guide annually and it has more than 900 pages of useful travel info for gay and bisexual men. They also publish a Berlin Gay Guide.

Lonely Planet guides also have an LGBT section with safety tips, best gay venues, and other helpful advice.

Magazines and Newspapers

There are plenty of LGBT magazines online and in print. The most famous ones are OUT (gay and lesbian travel, fashion and culture); Curve (lesbian magazine), Passport Magazine (lots of tips on travel) etc. Check out the expanded list below!

OUT
Curve
Passport Magazine
Hello Mr.
Gay Letter
Jarry Mag
g3
HISKIND
SIEGESSÄULE (Berlin Queer Magazine)

IGLTA

IGLTA is one of the most important global resources in the LGBT tourism industry. You can find tips on whatever you are looking for- from accommodation providers, airlines, cruises, health and fitness, restaurants, travel agents, tour operators and more. They have suggestions for destinations across the globe and a calendar of events that you can filter by audience or type. IGLTA’s partners are strong supporters of LGBT rights.

NGO’s

Eastern Europe is still falling behind when it comes to LGBT rights, compared to their western counterparts. In some places, it may be more difficult to find suggestions on queer culture and nightlife for example, so NGO’s are your best bet. You can send them an email to check what’s the safety situation like or ask for suggestions on cultural events, meetups or nightlife. Not sure where to look for? Fear no more as here’s a list of LGBT rights organizations in Europe.

Planning your trip

MFA Website

Checking your country’s MFA website should be the number step during every trip preparation. There you’ll find the most up to date information on the country you are visiting, visa regime and safety tips. Not every MFA website has info on LGBT safety and tips but another great resource is Equaldex which shows Equality Index for every country in the world.

LGBT Friendly Accommodation

Many accommodation booking providers have LGBT sections on their sites, and they showcase LGBT-welcoming hotels, apartments, and activities. Some of the notable LGBT friendly accommodation providers are;

Expedia
misterb&b
Trip.com
Airbnb
Rainbow World Hotels
Purple Roofs
Further a Field
Hilton
Hyatt
Hotels.com
Orbitz

You may also be interested in how to find cheap accommodation in Europe.

LGBT Cruises

Some people love LGBT cruises while some hate them. Yet, LGBT cruises are one of the biggest contributors to the LGBT tourism in general and they offer travelers a friendly atmosphere and security that might be more difficult to find elsewhere. If you need inspiration, here are some companies which are famous in the cruising world;

Olivia
Atlantis
Source Events
The Cruise
Emerald Waterways

LGBT Tour Operators

If you are not a fan of cruises or independent travel, you can check out some of the tour operators below.They offer anything- from city breaks to beach holidays and physically demanding adventures.

Out Adventures
Pied Piper Travel
32 Travel
Pride World Travel
Brand G Vacations
HE Travel
DETOURS
Oscar Wilde Tours
IGNAS Tour
Gay Sail

LGBT Tours in Europe

There are many specific tours dealing with LGBT culture in Europe and it’s also fairly easy to find one. Your best bet is to google for LGBT tours in your destination and find the most suitable one. However, if you need some suggestions you can check out some of the tours below;

Prague4gay
Tenerife Les Friendly
Italy Gay Travels
Quiiky
Rainbow Gay Tours
The Gay Locals Paris
LisbonBeach Tours
Piers and Queers Tours
Pink Iceland

At The Destination

Dating Apps

Whether you want to make friends or hook up with someone, dating apps can help you with that. You can meet local people (use common sense of course!) or get recommendations on LGBT happenings in your destination. Grindr is the most famous app for gay men, while lesbian/bisexual women usually use Tinder and HER which is only available in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Grindr
Scruff
Jacke’D
Tinder
HER

Networking Groups

Couchsurfing is a famous travel social network platform. LGBT travelers can utilize the website’s many groups to find like-minded people and things to do. One of the biggest is Queer Couchsurfers group. You can also look for destination specific groups. Meet Up is another great social network website that can help you find and join groups you like, based on your interest and values.  Facebook Events is another helpful (and most easily available) tool that can help you find parties, cultural happenings, meetups etc.

Couchsurfing
Meet Up
Facebook
Lesbians Who Tech
Out in Tech

LGBT Parties in Europe

Parties can also be easily found with a simple Google search but here are some of the Europe’s most famous ones.

Gay Spring Break Sitges
Barcelona Pride
Circuit Festival
We Party Festival
La Demence
Italy Gay Summer Pride
Hot Season Festival
Rainbow Reykjavik
Pink Week Slovenia
XLSIOR

Anything missing? Feel free to comment below!

Featured photo: The Castro by karendesuyo on Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)
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