It’s Summer Travel Season!

Spring breaks are behind us and Summer lies ahead. There’s a world out there waiting to be explored. If you’re getting a break this summer, get out and see some of it!

If you’ve been reading, you know I’m a sports nut. The 30th Summer Olympic Games play out in London, England beginning July 27th. They’ll be followed two weeks later by the Paralympic Games in London. London is the quintessential welcoming city not only to the worlds athletes but it’s arms are wide open for its LGBT visitors too. Now, I’ve mentioned it previously but, just for London, for the games, the folks at Time Out have done a great guide that not only addresses the quadrennial sporting event taking place but it also includes, as all Time Out guides do, all the best in Gay, Lesbian and Trans hotspots. It’s appropriately titled, Time Out London.

If London and the Olympics aren’t your thing, there are certainly plenty of places to go. For gay men, we have the ever popular Spartacus International Gay Guide updated for 2012:

This edition of the Spartacus International Gay Guide features approximately 22.000 addresses on around 1.300 pages which are of interest for gay men. Whether these addresses are hotels in Kenya, bars in Hong Kong or discos in Buenos Aires no other guide offers such extensive information about places in which gay men can feel welcome and can be themselves. A refined code system, created as abbreviations and pictograms, offers information about that which one can expect and where. In addition each country is introduced with a short, informative text, which describes the legal and social position of homosexuals.

Now, Spartacus covers the “fun” stuff that’s very gay friendly (not necessarily lesbian though) but if you’re looking for something that not only covers LGBT friendly establishments but also what “else” there is to do, the ever trusty Damron Travel Guides have you covered. The men’s and women’s editions have both been updated for 2012.

The Damron Women’s guide has become even more extensive this year. I’m going to post the description below but I would like to say, for the record, that even though it is geared specifically toward lesbian women, I have straight female friends who swear by it when traveling alone and/or in pairs without men. Safety issues and comfort issues are always concerns for any woman. Too, some women just want to travel and enjoy without being propositioned by men. For all three reasons, many women, regardless of sexual orientation, turn to the Damron guide.

This 23rd Edition offers the most up-to-date and complete travel guide made by and for lesbians. Get the inside scoop on local lesbian hotspots from our unique city overviews, some even written by our readers! Includes: * 10,000+ listings cover North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and major capitals of Europe, noting women-run businesses, vegetarian menus, wheelchair access, multiracial clientele * all information verified annually * International Calendar of Women’s Festivals & Events * Camping & RV Spots * lesbian-oriented Tours, Vacations, Cruises & Adventures * Info-packed City Overviews give the inside scoop on local lesbian hangouts & nightlife in major cities * plenty of listings for a diverse array of women travellers, including women of color, trans women, younger women, older women, disabled women, vegetarians, pagans, kinky women & more * covers the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, and major cities in South America, Europe & SE Asia: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Santiago, Tokyo and Sydney.