Top 5 Lesbian Friendly Countries to Visit in 2023

Many single and coupled lesbians like to know how lesbian-friendly a country or city is before they travel. Knowing LGBTQ+ laws, how locals feel and if there are welcoming gayborhoods can sometimes be as important as knowing the top tourist attractions or restaurants. Have you been dreaming of countries that will welcome you as a lesbian? There’s never been a better time to grab your partner’s hand and hop on a plane!

Keep reading to find out our picks for the Top 5 Lesbian Countries to Visit in 2023

1. Mexico

Mexico is a vast country with something for every traveler. It has gorgeous beaches, breathtaking sea life, mountains with stunning waterfalls, volcanoes, cenotes, pyramids, magical towns, and more. Mexican culture’s deep religious roots sometimes make it difficult for rural lesbians to be out but larger cities like Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City and tourist areas offer safe spaces as well as are welcoming toward the LGBTQ+ community.

Lesbian couple showing their love in CDMX’s Pride Parade.

The larger cities like Mexico City have popular gay areas- Zona Rosa (Pink Zone), Condesa, and Roma. These neighborhoods are rich in gastronomy, queer nightlife, and cultural experiences. On the western coast you find Puerto Vallarta which has been known as the lgbtq+ friendliest city in Mexico with stunning beaches, pumping nightlife, gastronomy, and activities. The lesbian community has been growing there and you’ll find various lesbian businesses from a coffee shop, lounge bar, food tour, secret dinners, and more.

2. Taiwan

Many lesbians may be surprised to see Taiwan on our list but Taiwan is one of the very few places in Asia that has anti-discrimination laws based on orientation. Even more, in 2019, on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage.

Female president, Tsai Ing-wen tweeted:

Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, is famous for its Japanese heritage and architecture and the quaint streets of the old Danshui fishing village. In the evening, find the wharf to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets in Taipei. Ximending is Taipei’s gayborhood, for years lesbians have gravitated to the area around the Shida night market. And since 2018, Wonder Bar and Lounge has been on the quieter side of the Xinyi District. It is almost imperceptibly hidden beneath a sign with only a “W” which subtly seduces lesbians into their women-friendly space. Inside, the all-female bartenders stand amid walls covered with instant photos of women kissing.

3. Iceland

For being such a cold country, Iceland is HOT these days! Singer Björk put Iceland on the map in the 1990s. Now the land of fire and ice is well-known for its openness towards the lesbian and LGBTQ+ community. In Reykjavík, the country’s capital, hundreds of women have flown to its “free church in Reykjavík” (Fríkirkjan í Reykjavík) to be married. In Iceland, being queer is celebrated! Lesbians and those in the LGBTQ+ community can hold hands and express themselves in larger cities and small villages. Today, Iceland attracts lesbian tourists who eagerly bathe in its deep blue lagoons, explore some of its 1000+ waterfalls, and stargaze up at the rainbow swirls of the northern lights. It’s no wonder that alongside the growing lesbian tourism, the local lesbian and LGBTQ+ culture has grown, offering: art, boutique hotels, bars and lesbian and LGBTQ+ guided tours.

Lezseetheworld.com lagoon love in Iceland!

4. Thailand

Similar to Iceland, you’ll have no problem holding hands, cuddling, or kissing on Thailand's streets. In the “land of smiles,” lesbians can genuinely be themselves. Thailand offers history, nightlife and nature from its capital city to its islands.

The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, is beautiful with its winding waterways and golden temples. And, as a busy city, it can also be dirty and overcrowded. But after a day of sightseeing at Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Lumphini Park, and the many markets, a substantial LQBTQ+ scene awaits you. While most of Bangkok’s gayborhood, Silom, caters to men, women are welcome at most of the gay bars. Since most lesbian bars in Bangkok were closed years ago, local women now host lesbian parties! Checkout the Facebook pages of Go Grrrls and Lesla Party otherwise you can pay a nominal entrance fee at Silom Soi 2 alley and find a mix scene at the bars with lesbians as well.

Two other big cities that are popular in Thailand that is very welcoming to lesbians is Chiang Mai and Phuket. Both locations have nature- beaches, forest, wildlife, gastronomy, lgbtq+ owned businesses keeping you busy and connected to the community. Phuket has a gayborhood called Paradise Complex where you can mix with the lgbtq+ community for a good dance and drag show.

Ladies Touch Travel & Madison the Promoters Phuket Group Trip all smiles!

5. Spain

Spain contains one of the largest and proudest lesbian and LGBTQ+ communities in Europe. Since 1995 Spain has put into place laws to ensure the rights and freedom of all its citizens. This includes laws against hate speech and violence towards lesbians and the LGBTQ+ community. And in 2005, lesbian and LGBTQ+ marriage was legalized.

Spain’s capital, Madrid, is also its lesbian and LGBTQ+ capital, where it hosts epic LGBTQ+ parties, festivals and cultural events. Madrid’s historical gayborhood, Chueca, contains the highest concentration of lesbian bars and is located in one of the most hip areas, with many restaurants, bars and shops displaying Pride flags. Today, Madrid’s gayborhood has expanded into the areas of Malasaña, La Latina, and Lavapies. Lesbian bars in Madrid are central to the lesbian culture. Many open early in the day and stay open until 6 am. In addition to dance parties, they also serve tapas, host sporting events, performances, protests, host cultural events. Try Escape and Club 33.

Chueca the gayborhood in Madrid, flying its pride flag proud!

Spain’s second largest city, Barcelona, may not have bars strictly for women like Madrid but Eixample is in the center and trendiest area with many mixed venues and welcoming to queer women. That said, Carita Bonita promotes queer women events, while Candy Darling Bar has a lgbtq+ mixed crowd.

Lastly, hippie and party island Ibiza, hosts Velvet Ibiza, a lesbian and women-only event every summer. It’s five days of adventures with your new lesbian and women-loving friends and offers kayaking, hiking, yoga, and a dance party every night! Outside of Velvet, Ibiza is a lgbtq+ friendly destination with it’s popular Ibiza Town filled with lgbtq+ venues and activities.

The world has become a more welcoming place for female travelers – especially lesbians. We can hold hands, walk arm in arm and cuddle freely in more and more countries across the globe. Don’t you think it’s time to explore this new world?

Written by Jane Malone

Originally from the Bahamas, Jane now travels often, writing mostly lesbian/wlw blogs and travel blogs for others. She has published a collection of love poetry, i am not lost, and is the creator and host of the Monday morning mindset podcast, Live Curious Die Wild. When she’s not playing with words, she enjoys biking, the beach and exploring. You can find her on Instagram @janemaloneauthor , @livecuriousdiewildpodcast and on all listening platforms.

It’s PRIDE Season!

Haaaaappy Pride! It’s been an amazing few weeks celebrating Pride in different cities and it’s just the beginning with still so many cities that have upcoming Pride celebrations. We kicked things off at Puerto Vallarta Lesbian Pride over Memorial Day Weekend and it was a blast! Puerto Vallarta is one of the most gay friendly cities in Mexico but it’s always been more dominated by gay men. This year we collaborated with the local lgbtq women’s businesses in Vallarta to bring a womxn’s week!

Puerto Vallarta Pride Parade

We started the week with the Pride Parade and the streets were filled with people in the community and supporters! I was impressed with the turnout and expect the parade will grow over the next few years for sure. From that we kicked off with Lesbian Owned Elixir Mixology Bar for the welcome party, then a Taco Tour with Vallarta Local Tours ( I even learned some new things about the food history in Vallarta which was fascinating), lastly our weekend parties. It was beautiful to see many women from all different backgrounds- Mexicans, Americans, Canadians, Europeans, even Asian just enjoying the music and vibe. I watched everyone with delight as I know the importance of having a safe space and that we had all week, it was worth all the work!

Sapphire Beach Club Party

Why is this important? It’s important because as mentioned for years gay men have dominated the Pride celebrations in PV. Don’t get me wrong I love the boys but truthfully it’s just a different energy when there’s more of them than us so we are hopeful to keep growing year after year and have more “L” visibility for Pride in Vallarta. Even the parade only had one float representing womxn so we hope to change that soon. Pride in Vallarta is typically the last week of May so mark your calendar to be in town next year. Vallarta has so much to offer- culture, beaches, nightlife, gastronomy, and more so make sure you don’t miss out next year as it will be a week to remember!

Details to book your Puerto Vallarta Pride Vacation will be available in the next few weeks so stay in TOUCH…

Crazy for Cartagena!

Just a few weeks ago our lesbian travel vacation was redirected to Cartagena due to some of the requirements and changes in our original plans to Thailand. With all the last-minute planning I’m so grateful that the trip fell into place because we had an absolute blast! I had two months to put it together but with one of my partners from Out in Colombia, a LBGT tour company in Colombia, we recreated a similar experience in Cartagena than we were supposed to have in Phuket which was basically a fun and energetic trip!

We had a long trip flying over to Cartagena as we were coming from the west coast, Los Angeles to be exact. Midway in Miami thankfully we went to American Airlines Admirals Club to rest, eat, and wait for our next flight. Upon arrival in Cartagena, our driver was there to pick us up and take us to Ivy House in Walled City in Old Cartagena. As soon as we entered the Walled City, we all already started to fall in love with its charm and quickly we arrived to check in. After our welcome drinks and appetizers, we all showered to get ready for dinner, it had been a long day. As we headed up to the rooftop, we smelled the yummy dinner being prepared by Nelsy who was our private chef for the week. We ate and got ready to head out. There’s so much that goes on in the Walled City that it can be overwhelming at first. People trying to sell you stuff, others performing as you pass by, women working…tons of beautiful women! We navigated around town and checked out several places including Townhouse Rooftop which was a totally cute vibe with mixed music and yummy cocktails. From there we checked out some other bars but I think we were all jet lagged still so eventually got back to the villa to rest.

The next day Belkin met us at the villa for a cultural tour. She’s a lesbian tour guide and I was so excited to have her go out with us for the day. We headed over to the San Felipe Fortress, Monastery of La Popa, and enjoyed the typical street food of Cartagena. Belkin gave us deep insight to the history of Cartagena which was like other Caribbean history. It humbled us as we have it so much better than many had in the past. The following day we took a catamaran out to Playa Blanca and its nearby beaches. It was a beautiful day to soak up the sun and water considering we were there in the winter while everyone else had been experiencing cold weather. The views of the high rises as we left the city and headed to the islands were beautiful. It was definitely worth the trip. On our 3rd day of the trip, we had the day open to rest as the water is always exhausting but headed out in the evening for our dance tour. This tour was so much fun! I don’t know if it was all the music or that we had a couple of drinks before we headed out but maybe it was both! March our tour guide picked us up at the villa and we walked over to Café del Mar for some live Vallenato a traditional Colombian genre of music. From there we met May our other tour guide and we danced in the streets to cumbia which was so much fun as we were in our own world enjoying it all! From there we stopped at Parque Fernandez Madrid for a show we weren’t expecting with folkloric music as well as traditional cumbia. If that wasn’t enough, we walked over to Getsmani to the Caponera Café Bar for some salsa dancing and Champeta, an African inspired dance in Colombia! Did I mention that at every stop we had shots which was part of the tour?? Aguardiente, rum, coffee, and more rum!! By this time, we were all super giddy dancing in the middle of Getsmani and wrapped up at the last bar with some more dancing before heading back. I must say this night was a special one and the group made it even more fun!

At that point, our trip had been amazing, we had lesbian tour guides, Cartagena was gay friendly, and we never felt disrespected. On top of that, the towns colors, charm, history was a great experience. After all the dancing the night before our next excursion was to Bora Bora Beach Club in the Rosario Islands and what a great spot that we highly recommend! Of course, we had VIP service because that’s how we roll at Ladies Touch Travel but we just enjoyed our plush day beds, meals, drinks, and beautiful beach all day.

On our second to last day, we had some down time to go shopping as we were right in the middle of everything. Souvenir shops, apparel, you name it and super inexpensive. We literally shopped til we dropped! After all the shopping we got our covid tests done and had dinner before our last excursion of the week. For our last night we went out on a traditional Chiva bus ride. Chiva buses were designed to transport goods in the past but gained popularity as a “party bus” experience. We rolled around the city in the Chiva and of course DANCED for a couple of hours literally! We realized with all these tours Colombians love music and to dance, we experienced that all week no matter where we went. We didn’t mind all the energy, we fit right in! To wrap up the tour we got dropped off at City Club in Cartagena the local LGBT club and continued to dance til the weeee hours of the night. The night was filled with fun memories, and we made new friends in the process. So many beautiful people and good music!

So, what do we think about Cartagena? We are crazy about Cartagena!! If you love culture, dancing, beaches, and high energy then Cartagena has your name all over it. We loved it so much that we plan to take another group to Cartagena this Summer 2022 so stay tuned! Check in with us in a few weeks on our site for trip details. Our group trips are about creating new friendships and having unforgettable memories as we did on our trip so join us to have a one-of-a-kind experience!