LGBTQ+ Interests

Thailand is a rather liberal place for those living an "alternate lifestyle," especially when compared to its neighbors. There has historically been very little official harassment of gays or lesbians. However, it should be noted that Thais generally are somewhat conservative in regards to overt displays of affection between any kind of couple in public. Holding hands or walking with your arms around your friend is okay, more than that is not.

The larger cities and tourist destinations have their own gay scene, especially Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya.

Resources for Gay Travelers

Reflecting the rather liberal attitude described above, there are a wealth of businesses and information resources catering to the Gay traveler. Here's our picks for the best of these:

General Information

Utopia

Award-winning web site with lots of information for Thailand and the rest of Asia.

Gay Travel Services

Rainbow Scuba

This full service dive shop can arrange trips for experienced divers or even teach you how to dive so that you can see the best of Samui's scenery. It's where I learned to dive. They also offer a variety of active land tours for non-divers.

Thai Gay Pride Events

Pride events in Thailand are very much on-again, off-again events. It all depends on the political climate at the time, although it often has a lot to do with the ability of the various interests involved to get along with each other.

Books for Gay Travelers

For gay travelers, The Men of Thailand is a good guide, or was. It's now out of print and not generally available. The Utopia guide is your best bet, as it includes all the accumulated knowledge from their web site, although I have to say that the site and book is getting rather out of date. Of course, communication is the key to any 'relationship' so the language guide below may be your best bet.