Top 15 Gay Honeymoon Destinations for 2025: Romantic Getaways for LGBTQ+ Couples
Michael and I thought honeymoon planning would be nothing but champagne and Pinterest boards, until our search started turning up cute destinations where we could get arrested for a public kiss... uh oh.
After reading the 4th blog recommending a country where you could face corporal punishment for holding hands, we calmly shut our laptops, grabbed more coffee, and vowed to build the list we needed.
What you’ll find below? Fifteen destinations we’ve personally stress-tested for hand-holding, drag-brunch potential, and zero side-eye at check-in. Quick-hit logistics, honest price ranges, and the kind of tips that keep post-wedding squabbles to a minimum.
Think of it as your shortcut to a “remember when we…?” story ten years down the line, minus the browser-tab migraine.
Iceland
Iceland wrote marriage equality into law in 2010, and the welcome still feels just as fresh as the morning snow settling on Reykjavik’s rooftops. We like to land in winter, chase the aurora, over the lava fields, then thaw out the seat-warmers on the forty-minute drive into Rykjavik.
A cinnamon roll at Brauõ & co, fuels the stroll up rainbow-painted Skólavörōustígur, and by midnight we’re twirling under disco lights at Kíkí Queer Bar, the only dedicated LGBTQ+ club in town.
Stay at the Silica Hotel and enjoy early access to the lagoon, before the day-trippers arrive. Upgrade to the Retreat Hotel for exclusive amenities—including a dreamy in-water couple’s massage beneath the steam-blurred stars.
2. Greece
The Aegean earned its rainbow stripes on February 16th, 2024, when Greece became the first Orthodox nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
We considered celebrating by splitting a week: two cave-suite nights at Mystique in Santorini, three Mykonos sunsets from the private pools at Cavo Tagoo, and a final day on Crete sampling cheap but delicious winery pours and empty beaches.
Drag queens rule Jackie O’s Beach Club at dusk, while the XLSIOR Festival turns Mykonos into a week-long open-air dance floor every late August, book by March or accept that you may be feeling some FOMO come festival time.
3. Spain
Gay marriage in Spain’s been yesterday’s news since 2005, which is exactly the kind of news we crave.
Start the day on Platja de l’Home Mort, the country’s oldest nude gay beach. Make sure to pack water and SPF for the pine-scented trek. And finish with churros near Plaça Universitat before disappearing into the mirrored cave of Arena Madre until sunrise.
Forty minutes down the beach, Sitges keeps the party going. You can crash at Axel Hotel for the rooftop pool parties for just under €250 a night. Or check out ME Terramar in Sitges, where every balcony faces the Mediterranean.
4. Portugal
Portugal passed marriage equality and a slew of tough hate-crime laws back in 2010, so Lisbon greets “Mr & Mr.” with a grin and a pastel de nata. Yummy.
April to early June means 70°F days beneath blooming jacarandas… In a place where the nightlife is just as beautiful as the daylight, consider grabbing martinis just after midnight at Foxtrot, an Art-Deco bar that feels like an old neighborhood favorite you’ve been to in another life.
Want to extend the trip? A short flight whisks you to São Miguel in the Azores, where Jurassic ferns and hot-river night swims await just outside Furnas Boutique Hotel.
If you’re up for an infinity pool sitting at the edge of a gorgeous rooftop, check out Memmo Príncipe Real’s. Hit all these hot spots and you’ll swear you squeezed two honeymoons into a single week.
5. Finland
World-happiness champion Finland hosted Helsinki Pride 23-29 June 2025, drawing over 100,000 rainbow-draped locals who dance as fiercely as they cherish silence.
You can catch non-stop flights on Finnair from many major US airports, Take the train into the city and check-in to Hotel Kämp’s chandelier glow or Lapland Hotels Bulevardi’s private cedar saunas.
Evenings ping-pong from rhubarb gin at Kyrö to bubble-gum pop upstairs at DTM, with basement techno thumping until coats are reclaimed well after the sun’s back up.
If the city streets ever feel constricting, take the ferry to Suomenlinna where you can picnic on castle walls and toast to the balanced life Finns nail so well.
6. Italy
Italy’s still warming up to full marriage rights, but Puglia’s locals skip the politics and pour the wine. Late May or September brings 75°F days, olive groves beautiful as ever, and 30% cheaper rooms.
Fly into Brindisi and snag a cherry-red Fiat 500, then settle at Borgo Egnazia a 5-star accommodation perched in a fantasy white-stone village that’s linked by candlelit lanes. If you’re on a stricter budget, just a few vineyards over, you’ll find Masseria Le Fabriche, where sunset tastings come with the room rate.
Start with a cliffside lunch at Grotta Palazzese, where tables sit tucked inside a natural sea cave above the Adriatic. Then head inland to Alberobello, where the trulli glow under golden-hour light, and the crowds melt away just in time for your perfect photo.
7. France
A decade after the Eiffel Tower first lit up as a rainbow, Paris still feels like a welcoming hug. Spend a few spring nights at Hôtel Madame Rêve. By morning gaze at the Louvre while enjoying rooftop croissants, then by night slip into the Marais for RAIDD Bar’s midnight shower show… yes, that’s right, dancers literally bathe above the crowd. It’s unreal, and quite the show!
A three-hour drive south to Avignon, and you’ll find. Coquillade Wine Resort, a resort that hands you cruiser bikes and a map of olive-oil tastings… Sip rosé at noon and hum something beautiful and French on your way back to our lavender-scented suite.
8. Thailand
Bangkok glows like a nightclub sign, and since January 22nd, 2025, it’s a country with full equality. Warm up on the iconic Silom Soi 4, where you can get two-for-one mojitos at Balcony Bar, then enjoy the lasers and dancing at DJ Station by 11 p.m.
The haul is long (=18 hrs or more from the US with usually one or two stops), but a one-hour hop from Bangkok lands you on Phuket’s butter-soft sand. Phuket’s fantastic, and definitely takes the cake for ‘iconic Thai destinations’, but more recently, you may have recognized the Four Seasons Koh Samui in some scenes from The White Lotus season 3. Here is where dreams really do come true, and not the someone-always-dies-on-vacation kind… ahem.; Anyway, Kata Rocks perches white suites on a cliff so steep the golf carts feel like theme-park rides.
November–February means blue skies; May gives you big bargains and you share the space with some rain showers. But wherever you stay, the front desk always says “Welcome, Mr. & Mr.” without missing a beat. Thailand sure makes us feel welcome, and is where we ultimately chose to celebrate our honeymoon!
9. Costa Rica
Same-sex marriage was legalized here on May 26th, 2020, and the vibe is still full of a welcoming spirit. You may spot rainbow towels on Manuel Antonio’s beach… and it isn’t unheard of to see a ranger smile at hand-holding husbands. December through April stays fairly dry along the Pacific coast. To see Manuel Antonio, fly into SJO, then shuttle three hours or puddle-jump 25 minutes to Quepos.
Makanda by the Sea gives canopy rooms and a kid-free infinity pool; Gaia Hotel is similar luxe, a tad cheaper, and tosses in park rides, plus it’s LGBTQ+ owned! Head north to La Fortuna: soak in thermal springs with Arenal volcano looming like a movie set. That photo alone wins honeymoon bragging rights.
10. Argentina
Marriage equality? Locked down in 2010. Nights in Palermo start with a smooth Malbec. Slide into a dancy tango at Milonga La Marshall, and end with 4 a.m. empanadas from a vendor who calls everyone “amor.” *chef’s kiss*
Venture to Argentina from October through November for jacaranda blossoms; and January through March for the best Patagonia hikes. Ten-hour JFK to EZE nonstops keep jet lag tame if you manage to get a little shuteye on the long haul… and Faena’s velvet rooms truly feel like a stage set.
Fly three hours south to El Calafate, bus to Explora El Chaltén, and watch the gorgeous Fitz Roy mountain glow pink from your hot tub… a sight one could never forget. With a view like that, round two of dessert is totally justified, besides, tango counts as cardio anyway, right?
11. South Africa
Some LGBTQ+ rights have held their space in the constitution since 1996, and marriage equality was ultimately passed in 2006, yet the welcome still feels new and exciting. Clifton 3rd Beach turns into a rainbow picnic at sunset while Beyoncé blares from beachgoers’ speakers.
Visit December through February for hot days and the cloud “tablecloth” over Table Mountain, grab a left-side window on your 15-hour flight from Atlanta. Kensington Place hides eight chic rooms; Babylonstoren, 45 minutes away, hands you a bike and house-grown pinotage.
After dark, De Waterkant glows: Café Manhattan flips from burger joint to disco under fairy lights. The whole street feels like open-air Pride.
12. New Zealand
Legal since 2013, the Kiwi grin at check-in still feels freshly baked. Queenstown is an adrenaline buffet: gondola rides, vineyard cycles, and the 43m Kawarau Bridge bungee-jump, Michael and I would absolutely squeal for that one.
November through March offers mild, long sun-lit days, while July through August swaps boats for ski lines. Fly LAX to Auckland (about 13 hrs), then hop two hours south to QT. Queenstown points every bathtub at Lake Wakatipu; for true hush, overnight on Doubtful Sound and kayak at dawn beneath waterfalls.
ABBA plays at Little Blackwood’s happy hour, and locals might just pull you along into the next bar before the chorus ends!
13. Mexico
Nationwide marriage equality landed in October of 2022, but Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romántica was a shining rainbow long before that! Streets wave pride flags, Los Muertos Pier glows purple, and jalapeño margaritas at Mr Flamingo fuel sidewalk dancing past 3 a.m.
Dry season (from Nov to Apr) pairs turquoise water with bearable humidity; and LAX to PVR takes just under three hours.
Almar Resort crowns a hill with an adults-only rooftop pool, while Casa Cúpula’s jungle suites feel like luxe treehouses. Surf-chill Sayulita waits only 45 minutes north, suitable for a detox and a nap after hitting the streets for Puerto Vallarta’s nightly Pride parade. The nightlife never ends in PV!
14. Maldives
National law still criminalizes queer intimacy, yet private-island resorts have rewritten the script. Staff arrange king beds, “Just Married” banners, and candlelit sandbank dinners with zero fuss, and most definitely a smile.
Come November through April for postcard painted skies. Most U.S. routes connect in Doha or Dubai (\~20 hrs) before a Bond-style seaplane hop. Soneva Jani’s Chapter Two villas sport water slides and roofs that retract for stargazing. Wow.
One note of caution is to keep PDA to a minimum in Malé and on commuter boats; but once docked, pop the prosecco, because love is love at the resort.
15. Seychelles
Anti-gay laws vanished in 2016, and staff now train for rainbow-friendly welcomes. Picture 115 jungle-capped islands, granite boulders, and water so clear you question your vision.
April–May or Oct–Nov bring calm seas; Emirates gets you here with one Dubai stop from LAX (\~21 hrs). Raffles Praslin terraces villas along a ridge, each with a plunge pool framing Anse Lazio.
For slower beats, ferry to car-free La Digue, rent a bike from Le Domaine de l’Orangeraie, and pedal to Anse Source d’Argent at dawn, cash-only coconut shakes on the ride back, smiles free.
Which Forever-Postcard Should You Choose?
Fifteen dream spots across five continents, each one signed off with the most important test: can we lace fingers at dinner without a single eyebrow twitch? If the answer’s yes, it made the list.
Still deciding? Our own SideQuests trips hit Iceland, Thailand, Greece, and Costa Rica in 2025–26 (groups of sixteen to twenty-six celebrating honeymoons and anniversaries alike!). Slide into our newsletter for early-bird seats, fresh insider intel, and the occasional secret discount.
For daily travel shenanigans, follow us on Instagram @michaelandmatt. Tag us when you book, we’re suckers for a good “just said yes” moment. Until then, keep passports handy and hearts open. Love looks incredible on you.
