This month, many LGBTQ+ vacationers will head out for summer season journeys and Pride Month celebrations alike. Yet, for this neighborhood of vacationers, taking a visit isn’t as simple—or as secure—as it’s for others. In some locations, LGBTQ+ vacationers nonetheless face discrimination and the chance of being hurt, so it’s extremely vital to know which locations are most open and welcoming—and which require a heightened stage of warning and vigilance.

To that finish, we labored with our accomplice GeoSure (who powers TripIt’s Neighborhood Safety Scores function)  to perceive what the most secure locations are for the LGBTQ+ neighborhood based mostly on their evaluation of metadata captured from tons of trusted sources.

Some of those sources embrace the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, Gay Travel Index, constructed surroundings variables and keys pertaining to the LGBTQ+ neighborhood, ACLED, Human Rights Campaign – Municipal Equality Index, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Southern Poverty Law Center, Statistica, and security expertise sharing from the GeoSure neighborhood.

Here are the highest 10 most secure cities for LGBTQ+ vacationers, in accordance to GeoSure knowledge.

10. Portland, Maine

GeoSafeScore™: 82/100

As the primary main U.S. metropolis to elect an overtly homosexual mayor—and residential to a Guinness World Record-holding drag queen—Portland has lengthily welcomed (and embraced!) LGBTQ+ vacationers.

Each June, the town celebrates Pride Month with a festival and parade. This 12 months, takes place Saturday, June 18. And all 12 months lengthy, LGBTQ+ vacationers can take pleasure in drag performances, queer movie festivals, and dance events, in addition, to patronizing dozens of town’s LGBTQ+-owned companies.

Did you recognize? Travelers can entry hyperlocal safety ratings for myriad classes alongside any level inside their TripIt itinerary for greater than 65,000 cities and neighborhoods. Specifically, the LGBTQ+ security rating incorporates elements such because the probability of hurt or discrimination in opposition to LGBTQ+ individuals or teams and stage of warning required at a location. In the TripIt app, Neighborhood Safety Scores concentrate on the extent of danger (whereas the rankings within the submit characterize the extent of security).

9. St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

GeoSafeScore™: 82/100

While many cities around the globe have fun Pride Month in June, celebrations—together with Pride Week—in St. John’s kick off in July. These 12 months, St. John’s Pride Week and Come Home Queer each start on July 15. The Pride Parade takes place on Sunday, July 24.

Need a spot to keep? Check out Misterb&b—a trip rental website that lists personal rooms, flats, and LGBTQ+-friendly lodges to assist you to choose “welcoming accommodations that fit your style and budget.”

8. Boston, Massachusetts

GeoSafeScore™: 82/100

As the capital metropolis of the primary U.S. state (Massachusetts) to legalize same-sex marriage, Boston has long welcomed LGBTQ+ vacationers.

Each April, the town hosts Wicked Queer, an LGBTQ+ movie pageant. For arts and tradition year-round, plan a go to The Theater Offensive—a theater firm that works to elevate queer voices and highlights the range of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood by way of artwork.

Heading to Boston to have fun during Pride Month? Check out the town’s calendar of events for celebrations going down all month long, together with occasions for those with intersectional identities.

Looking for the most secure neighborhood to go to in Boston? Chinatown ranks because the friendliest, with a neighborhood security rating of 88.

Read extra: City Break: Boston

7. Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

GeoSafeScore™: 83/100

Every 12 months, Kelowna—one in all two cities in British Columbia to make this record—celebrates the LGBTQ+ neighborhood with Kelowna Pride. More than 12,000 folks attend the annual occasion that promotes “a fun and safe way to celebrate the diverse and accepting community of Kelowna.”

Not visiting throughout Pride? Throughout the 12 months, there are myriad LGBT2Q+ activities going down across the metropolis. Visitors may also take pleasure in quite a few door actions—from hiking, boating, and skiing to winery touring.

6. Stavanger, Norway

GeoSafeScore™: 83/100

The Norwegian metropolis of Stavanger has long celebrated the LGBTQ+ neighborhood—courting again to the inception of Gay Days in 1998 and the primary official pageant the next 12 months. Since then, celebrations have taken place in the course of the first week of September.

This 12 months, Skeivå Rogaland Pride begins on August 29 and ends with a Pride parade and celebration on Saturday, September 3.

Visitors to Stavanger will even benefit from the metropolis and surrounding space’s pure magnificence, together with fjords, mountains, and white seashores, in addition to its many museums and charming outdated city.

5. Alicante, Spain

GeoSafeScore™: 83/100

The port metropolis of Alicante is house to lovely seashores and a laid-back lifestyle. According to Travel Gay, the town presents “a good selection of establishments catering to gay customers … you will find bars, saunas, and a cruise club, with most venues close to the seafront.”

Benidorm, a city inside Alicante, hosts an annual Pride Festival; celebrations happen September 5-11, 2022.

4. Dundee, Scotland

GeoSafeScore™: 83/100

While Scotland’s larger cities corresponding to Glasgow and Edinburgh appeal to the lion’s share of worldwide guests, the town of Dundee is the most secure in Scotland (and the United Kingdom) for LGBTQ+ vacationers.

Dundee, a UNESCO City of Design, is the fourth-largest metropolis in Scotland, and residential to cultural sights such because of the picturesque V&A Museum, myriad theaters, and artwork facilities, in addition to a 45-minute self-guided Dundee Architectural Trail.

Planning to go to Dundee for Pride? Head to Dundee Pride’s Facebook page for the newest on occasions going down across the metropolis.

3. San Francisco, California

GeoSafeScore™: 83/100

San Francisco is house to one of many largest and most outstanding LGBTQ+ communities within the U.S. Its historical past is steeped in LGBTQ+ activism and the combat for equality. According to some, it’s the Gay Capital of the World.

That stated, San Francisco can also be house to one of many most secure neighborhoods for LGBTQ+ vacationers—the Castro District—with a security rating of 92.

Planning to go to SF for Pride? You’ll be spoiled for selection when it comes to events and activities taking place within the metropolis and throughout the Bay Area. You miss the principle occasion, the 52nd Annual San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration, going down June 25 and 26.

2. Granada, Spain

GeoSafeScore™: 85/100

For some vacationers, Granada is probably the finest generally known as the birthplace and residential of one of all Spain’s most well-known LGBTQ+ poets, Federico García Lorca. Year-round, the town presents guests with the finer issues in life: delectable delicacies, native wines, and the chance to get misplaced in its maze-like streets.

Heading to Granada for Pride? The metropolis’s festivities—referred to as Orgullo Granada—happen all through the month of June.

Tip: Follow Granada Visible on Twitter for the newest updates about Orgullo Granada occasions.

1. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

GeoSafeScore™: 86/100

Clocking in on the prime spot, Victoria is the second metropolis in British Columbia—and third in Canada—to make our top-10 record.

So, what’s on provide for LGBTQ+ vacationers? For starters, the Victoria Pride Festival takes place June 23 to July 2—and after a couple of years of canceled and digital occasions, this 12 months is about to be larger than ever. This 12-month pageant features a new parade route and an expanded park structure for the week’s myriad signature events.

Not on the town for Pride? Victoria additionally boasts lovely beaches and lakes, gardens and parks, world-class entertainment and nightlife, and way more.

Methodology: TripIt partnered with GeoSure, which analyzes metadata captured from tons of trusted sources, to decide the most secure locations for LGBTQ+ vacationers. TripIt reveals security scores from 1 to 100, representing low to excessive danger, within the Neighborhood Safety Scores part (powered by GeoSure) inside an itinerary.