There are so many incredible honeymoon options available, it can be difficult for any couple to narrow down and choose something special for this once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully!) trip. However, when you’re an LGBT couple you have other factors to take into consideration, including safety and the inclusivity of the destination. With that in mind, the Latin America Travel Company decided to crunch the numbers to find the very best honeymoon destinations for LGBT couples.
To compile the rankings, the team looked at a variety of studies. First they naturally excluded any country where homosexuality is decriminalised. They then used the data to rank the countries on six factors; marriage equality, LGBT travel recognition, romantic settings, how popular the country is for honeymoons and how ‘loved up’ the general population feel and how progressive they are.
Top of the league was Canada and New Zealand with near perfect scores, missing out only one point under the ‘loved up’ category. It was followed by Australia who made international headlines earlier this year by legalising same-sex marriage.
They found the top ten best LGBT destinations for honeymoons are:
1. Canada
2. New Zealand
3. Australia
4. Switzerland
5. Ireland
6. France
7. Greece
8. Finland
9. USA
10. Italy
You can explore the full list of 31 countries here. By continent, the most LGBT-friendly honeymoon destinations were:
Africa - South Africa
Europe - Switzerland
North America - Canada
South America - Argentina
Oceania - New Zealand
Despite progression of rights in Asia, no countries made the list, possibly because same-sex marriage is illegal everywhere on the continent. However, Taiwan is set to change that and become the first nation in Asia to have marriage equality, beginning in May 2019.
Even in countries like Thailand where same-sex marriage is still illegal, tourism officials are still trying to make the destination more appealing to LGBT travellers. As well as taking legislative steps towards more rights for all, it is promoting itself as “open to every possible shade under the rainbow.”
