LGBTQ+ Travel Safety

Know Before You Go. For Real.

WanderSafe rates destinations for LGBTQ+ travelers using four data layers: legal status, live news monitoring, personal travel experience, and community reports. More current than a guidebook, more honest than a tourism board.

Data sources: Equaldex Legal API · Live News Monitor · Personal Travel Experience · Community Reports

How WanderSafe Works

Every rating is built from four independent data layers. No single source is enough — a country can be legally tolerant and socially hostile, or illegal on paper but rarely enforced. The rating combines all four.

Legal Status via Equaldex

Real-time legal data from Equaldex's global LGBTQ+ rights database — criminalization status, recognition laws, anti-discrimination protections, and more. Updated weekly via automated worker.

Live News Monitor

An automated worker scans international news sources daily, classifying LGBTQ+-relevant developments and surfacing incidents that legal data alone would never catch.

Personal Assessment

On-the-ground experience from travel as a gay man, supplemented by research from other queer travelers. Legal safety and practical safety aren't always the same thing.

Community Reports

Travelers submit direct reports via a moderated form. Each submission is reviewed before it affects a rating — this is first-person intel, not algorithms.

The Rating Scale

Four tiers, each with a specific meaning. A rating is a starting point, not a verdict — every rating comes with the context that explains it.

Safe

Legal protections in place, no significant recent incidents, affirmative LGBTQ+ community presence, and supported by on-the-ground experience.

Generally Safe

Largely safe with some caveats — may have legal gaps, regional variation, or social attitudes that differ from the legal picture.

Exercise Caution

Real risks present — legal gaps, active enforcement, or documented incidents. Travel possible with preparation, but requires research and discretion.

High Risk

Criminalization, active enforcement, or documented violence against LGBTQ+ people. Not a blanket travel ban — but eyes-open awareness is essential.

United States

State-by-state safety ratings across all 50 states.

Legislative protection maps, hate crime data, and trans-specific risk by state — updated continuously as laws change.

View US Safety Map →

17

Safe states

19

Exercise Caution states

15

High risk states

51

States + DC rated

Traveled somewhere recently?

Your experience helps other LGBTQ+ travelers make better decisions. Submit a report and it goes into the moderated review queue — if it clears, it affects the rating.

Submit a Community Report
WanderSafe Alerts

Stay ahead of the risk.

When laws change, our pipeline catches it. Get it in your inbox before your next trip.

  • Weekly safety digest — all 150 destinations, updated continuously
  • High-risk alerts when the legal or news pipeline flags changes
  • Safety intel from the Android app audit series, condensed to actionable advisories
$5 / month
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New destination ratings, high-risk alerts when the pipeline flags changes, and safety intel from the Android app audit series — delivered to your inbox.

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