We’ve covered some of the best places for the gay traveler to go, but what about the worst? What are the places that you should stay away from at all costs?
Ok, so Poland rarely tops vacation destination lists. It does, however, sport such attractions as sculpted salt mines, Warsaw’s historic ghetto and old town, and prime skiing mountains.
Who wouldn’t want to go to Egypt? It’s got the relics of the most advanced civilization in ancient times, the Pyramids, the Nile and of course Cairo. Plus you can really get that authentic Egyptian experience by getting arrested and thrown in jail for being a homosexual. Bonus points and extra jail time if you’re HIV+! Unless jail, after a beating from the notoriously violent local police force of course, sounds like fun for the whole family for you then it’d be best to keep as far away as possible from Egypt as you can. The US State department has issued several official warnings about gay tourists traveling to the country –as they have about all the countries on this list incidentally- and Egypt has been busy recently tossing HIV+ citizens in jail with only the merest hint of a trial for the past few months. It’s ok though, several years in jail oughta teach them not to get AIDS or be gay. As every prison movie tells us, jail is the best place to go to avoid any type of homosexuality. That and the Navy. All kidding aside, do not go around announcing your sexuality in Egypt. Yes, there are gay bars in Cairo. That does not mean homosexuality is tolerated. Be very careful.
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh wants you dead if you are reading this.
The UAE will here stand in as a representative for the Arab countries that you should never ever visit ever. They probably won’t kill you if you're a foreigner-from an allied country at least-that’s the good news. However, much like good buddy Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is illegal in the UAE and they are really touchy about it. In 2005 the US State Department named the UAE in its anti-gay document for arresting 26 people, then subjecting them to hormone treatments in an attempt to change their sexuality and make them straight. I can only imagine what they might try on a transgender traveler. If you must visit the Middle East try Israel, where their anti-gay feeling is generally confined to protests and shouting, rather than whips, beatings, and the occasional beheading.
These two teens were hung for being homosexual in Iran.Unlike the UAE, I cannot suggest that Iran will not kill you if you are arrested for practicing homosexuality within its borders. It’s certainly not shy about executing its own citizens for being gay, and these days it shows less and less concern about the outside world’s opinions. It’s a dangerous combination, and hardly makes for an ideal holiday. It’s too bad too, as Iran has some fantastic history and architecture that really would make for a fantastic journey.
Here’s our list of some of the worst gay travel destinations in the world.
6. Poland
Ok, so Poland rarely tops vacation destination lists. It does, however, sport such attractions as sculpted salt mines, Warsaw’s historic ghetto and old town, and prime skiing mountains.Despite the decent number of things to see and do, as well as the fact that it’s very cheap, it’s hardly the best place for an LGBT person to go out and do their thing. Not that there aren’t gay bars, Warsaw and Krakow sport some fine nightspots, but the official atmosphere there is very anti-gay at the moment. Run by a ultra-conservative Catholic regime, Poland has swung far to the right in recent years.
From the anti-gay legislation passed last year to the banning of several prides to the government’s farcical attack on gay teletubbies, Poland’s government, if not all of its people, is doing its best to make sure that gays are not welcome in the country.
5. Jamaica
A great place to be beaten by anti-gay lynch mobs!Jamaica is home to white sandy beaches, reggae and dancehall music, gorgeous natural beauty and murderous anti-gay thugs. Sounds fantastic! Wait, what was that last one again? The Caribbean is hardly the home of LGBT rights, but Jamaica is in a class of its own. Time magazine and several gay rights groups named Jamaica “The Most Homophobic Place in the World” in 2006. It doesn’t help that those reggae and dancehall stars the country is so famous for seem to have a thing for calling upon their listeners to murder gay people, which many of them seem all too willing to do.
A great place to be beaten by anti-gay lynch mobs!Jamaica is home to white sandy beaches, reggae and dancehall music, gorgeous natural beauty and murderous anti-gay thugs. Sounds fantastic! Wait, what was that last one again? The Caribbean is hardly the home of LGBT rights, but Jamaica is in a class of its own. Time magazine and several gay rights groups named Jamaica “The Most Homophobic Place in the World” in 2006. It doesn’t help that those reggae and dancehall stars the country is so famous for seem to have a thing for calling upon their listeners to murder gay people, which many of them seem all too willing to do.Two of the biggest gay and AIDS activists in Jamaica, Brian Williamson and Steve Harvey, were murdered in the past few years. A crowd danced and celebrated around Williamson’s mutilated body afterwards. In 2004, a teenager whose father found he was gay invited a lynch mob to the boy’s school and nearly killed him. Mob violence against gays in the country is at epidemic levels, and it’s hardly limited to Jamaicans themselves.
In 2006 two American television producers working in the island were beaten into a coma by an anti-gay mob. If you absolutely must visit the Caribbean try Curacao or the US Virgin Islands, all of which target gay travelers. Give Jamaica a miss.
4. Egypt
Who wouldn’t want to go to Egypt? It’s got the relics of the most advanced civilization in ancient times, the Pyramids, the Nile and of course Cairo. Plus you can really get that authentic Egyptian experience by getting arrested and thrown in jail for being a homosexual. Bonus points and extra jail time if you’re HIV+! Unless jail, after a beating from the notoriously violent local police force of course, sounds like fun for the whole family for you then it’d be best to keep as far away as possible from Egypt as you can. The US State department has issued several official warnings about gay tourists traveling to the country –as they have about all the countries on this list incidentally- and Egypt has been busy recently tossing HIV+ citizens in jail with only the merest hint of a trial for the past few months. It’s ok though, several years in jail oughta teach them not to get AIDS or be gay. As every prison movie tells us, jail is the best place to go to avoid any type of homosexuality. That and the Navy. All kidding aside, do not go around announcing your sexuality in Egypt. Yes, there are gay bars in Cairo. That does not mean homosexuality is tolerated. Be very careful.3. Uganda/Nigeria/Gambia
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh wants you dead if you are reading this.Uganda, Nigeria and Gambia are our joint sub-Saharan African winners. They’ve all got that special anti-gay quality about them, but it’s just too hard to pick just one to stay away from at the moment. On the one hand, you have Gambia’s president announcing his intentions to kill all gay people, followed by the arrest of several gay tourists shortly afterwards. On the other hand, you have Nigeria and Uganda’s official churches promoting lynch mobs against homosexuals in the country and banning gay marriage. It’s a tough decision I know, but I think you can make the right one and just stay out of all of these countries for the moment.
2. United Arab Emirates
The UAE will here stand in as a representative for the Arab countries that you should never ever visit ever. They probably won’t kill you if you're a foreigner-from an allied country at least-that’s the good news. However, much like good buddy Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is illegal in the UAE and they are really touchy about it. In 2005 the US State Department named the UAE in its anti-gay document for arresting 26 people, then subjecting them to hormone treatments in an attempt to change their sexuality and make them straight. I can only imagine what they might try on a transgender traveler. If you must visit the Middle East try Israel, where their anti-gay feeling is generally confined to protests and shouting, rather than whips, beatings, and the occasional beheading.1. Iran
These two teens were hung for being homosexual in Iran.Unlike the UAE, I cannot suggest that Iran will not kill you if you are arrested for practicing homosexuality within its borders. It’s certainly not shy about executing its own citizens for being gay, and these days it shows less and less concern about the outside world’s opinions. It’s a dangerous combination, and hardly makes for an ideal holiday. It’s too bad too, as Iran has some fantastic history and architecture that really would make for a fantastic journey.
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