Planning a honeymoon is a massive decision for anyone, with so many factors to consider to ensure you have the perfect newlywed escape. However, for LGBT couples there is often an additional factor to consider. While it shouldn’t have to be the case, it remains an issue that LGBT equality and rights are not always respected in every country around the world, which can dramatically rule out certain destinations as a honeymoon choice for many couples.
With this in mind, we have compiled our LGBT Honeymoon Ranking to create an exhaustive, inclusive list of all the best places for LGBT couples to honeymoon and enjoy the perfect, romantic break everyone hopes their honeymoon will be.
We compiled our LGBT Honeymoon Ranking by analysing both LGBT equality, plus overall honeymoon appeal across every destination around the world, using a variety of studies, reports and surveys.
Firstly, we restricted our list to those countries where homosexuality is not criminalised. We then analysed factors including marriage equality, LGBT travel recognition, honeymoon popularity and romantic setting, to assess the best honeymoon destination for LGBT couples.
Our research has found the number one destination for LGBT honeymooners to be Canada, with New Zealand in second place and Australia in third.
We were thrilled to see Argentina rank in the top 20, largely as a result of the same sex marriage bill that legalised same-sex marriage in 2010, making it the first country in Latin America to de-criminalise it. It was also the tenth country worldwide to allow same-sex marriage. Additionally, Argentina is one of the most picturesque countries in the world in terms of the number of natural assets around the country, and 81% of its residents reported feeling loved up.
Other Latin America Travel Company destination we were excited to see place in the ranking include Ecuador (23rd), Costa Rica (26th), Chile (27th), and Brazil (30th).
Read on below to find out the full results of our LGBT Honeymoon Ranking.
The Top Ten
Canada ranked in the top position after scoring highly in every single one of our categories. It placed in the top 10 for the best countries around the world for couples to choose as their honeymoon destination, out of 52 countries, and in 2005 Canada became the first country outside of Europe – and the fourth country in the world – to legalise same-sex marriage. Not only this, but 81% of the population reported feeling loved up, and the country is home to some staggering natural beauty: the northern lights, for example, can be witnessed in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, and the famous Niagara Falls – which consists of three waterfalls called the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls – can be found in Ontario.
Following Canada, the top 10 countries are:
2. New Zealand 3. Australia 4. Switzerland 5. Ireland 6. France 7.Greece 8. Finland 9. USA 10. Italy
More Results
New Zealand was the highest ranking for the attractiveness of natural assets – unsurprising when you consider how major film productions such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies used the natural beauty of New Zealand’s landscape to create jaw-dropping scenes. Indeed, the International Visitor Survey in 2004 found that 6% of visitors to New Zealand (120,000-15,000 people) cited The Lord of the Rings as one of the main reasons for their visit. It also ranked in the top 10 for the best honeymoon destinations around the world, and is in the top 20 for being the most forward thinking country. This is at least partly due to the fact that since 1980 New Zealand has been a nuclear free zone, and it is a leader in peacekeeping and global security – but also, in relation to our ranking, because the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 legalised same-sex marriage across the country.
We were thrilled to see our destinations of Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, and Brazil rank highly, all of which scored well for a myriad of reasons. Both Brazil and Costa Rica scored highly in the Rankers honeymoon destination ranking, making them bucket list destinations for a lot of couples planning their honeymoons. Costa Rica also scored exceptionally well for how romantic the location is, coming second only to New Zealand; some of the most beautiful spots in the country include the Poás Volcano National Park, which is home to an active volcano that sits above 14,000 acres of parkland, the La Fortuna Waterfall, found in a rainforest near the edge of the majestic Arenal Volcano, and the Guanacaste Beaches, which offer the ultimate tropical paradise. Ecuador, on the other hand, placed highly as a go-to destination for LGBT couples thanks to its legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2008, which included all the rights of marriage bar joint adoption, while Chile ranked highly for how forward thinking it is as a country, and the fact that 76% of the population claimed they felt loved.
The results by continent are as below:
Best country for LGBT Honeymoons in Africa: South Africa Best country for LGBT Honeymoons in Europe: Switzerland Best country for LGBT Honeymoons in North America: Canada Best country for LGBT Honeymoons in South America: Argentina Best country for LGBT Honeymoons Z in Oceania: New Zealand
What the Experts Say
Following our research, we contacted experts across the travel and LGBT lifestyle industry to hear their insight on the countries topping our ranking, and their top tips to consider when deciding on a honeymoon destination. See what they had to say below.
Methodology & Sources
To compile the LGBT Honeymoon Ranking, we first restricted our list of countries to those where homosexuality is legal, and we then assessed the following factors:
LGBT Travel Friendly Marriage Equality Forward Thinking Picturesque Loved-up Honeymoon Popularity
For each of the above categories, we scored each country from 1-5 (with 5 being the highest) and added these scores together in order to get our final LGBT Ranking score, with a total of 30 being the highest available. We then ranked the countries based on their scores.
The full dataset is available upon request.
Thank you to our travel and LGBT lifestyle experts for their insights.
– Danielle Mustarde, Diva Magazine
– Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac, Nomadic Boys
– Adam Groffman, Travels of Adam
– Uwern Jong, OutThere Magazine
– Elaina Bird and Victoria McEwan, The Freedom Travellers
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