Country Guide

Thailand is a very gay-friendly destination where "alternative" lifestyles are quite common and accepted. The same kind of red-light district nightlife that caters to heterosexual males is mirrored in places like Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai by a large gay go-go club scene as well as gay clubs and bars. Cross-dressers and Transsexuals, called "lady-boys" or Katoeys in Thai, play an important role in Thai culture and are accepted in mainstream life.

The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) (tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses; go to their website and click on "Members."

Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com) is the exclusive gay and lesbian tour operator for United Airlines. Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) is a well-known San Francisco-based gay-owned and operated travel service. Olivia Cruises & Resorts (tel. 800/631-6277 or 510/655-0364; www.olivia.com) charters entire resorts and ships for exclusive lesbian vacations and offers smaller group experiences for both gay and lesbian travelers.

The following travel guides are available at most travel bookstores and gay and lesbian bookstores, or you can order them from Giovanni's Room bookstore, 1145 Pine St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com): Out and About (tel. 800/929-2268 or 415-644-8044; www.outandabout.com), which offers guidebooks and a newsletter 10 times a year packed with solid information on the global gay and lesbian scene; Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmunder Verlag) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.), both good, annual English-language guidebooks focused on gay men; the Damron guides (Damron Company), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians; and Gay Travel A to Z: The World of Gay & Lesbian Travel Options at Your Fingertips by Marianne Ferrari (Ferrari Publications; Box 35575, Phoenix, AZ 85069), a very good gay and lesbian guidebook series.

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Country Guide

Thailand Tourism: For Gay & Lesbian Travelers

For Gay & Lesbian Travelers

Thailand Travel & Vacation Deals

Thailand Travel Deals