Is Australia LGBTQIA+ friendly?

Australia is an extremely friendly destination for travellers of the LGBTQIA+ community thanks to its welcoming culture, impressive anti-discrimination laws, and diverse population. This means that travellers of the community (or those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) should feel generally safe, supported, and accepted anywhere in the country and shouldn't be worried about displaying PDA with their same-sex partner.

This is largely due to numerous governmental laws making discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal in all states and the variety of gay-friendly pubs, restaurants, hotels, clubs, and other public venues scattered throughout all major cities. It's also believed that Australia has a large population of LGBTQIA+ people (around 2.5 million) and their presence can be felt in specific suburbs in Sydney (Darlinghurst and Newton), Melbourne (St Kilda and Brunswick) and Brisbane (Fortitude Valley).

Despite Australia being home to a wide demographic, there are still some remote and conservative regions where same-sex relationships are frowned upon so be aware of that when travelling away from urban areas and well-populated cities.

Queer culture in Australia

Queer culture is well and truly alive and thriving in Australia with cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane all offering plenty of gay-friendly establishments and neighbourhoods. There are also several pride festivals including Sydney's 'Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras' and Melbourne's 'Midsumma Festival' that happens throughout the year for queer travellers to participate in. But pride festivals aren't where the LGBTQIA+ cultural activities end with plenty of other events geared toward the community organised during the year such as the Queer Screens Mardi Gras Film Festival in Sydney and Brisbane's Queer Film Festival.

Other notable gay-friendly establishments to get your drink on include:

Oxford Street (specifically the Colombian and the Stonewall), Sydney
Sly Fox, Sydney
The Laird, Melbourne
Sircuit Bar, Melbourne
Poof Doof, Melbourne
The Sportsman Hotel, Brisbane
Connections Nightclub, Perth
My Lover Cindy, Adelaide
Flamingos Dance Bar, Hobart

Solo travel and room sharing

At Intrepid, we think feeling both welcomed and comfortable is really important so we want everyone who books a trip with us to feel that way, regardless of whether you're travelling alone or with a group/companion. If you're a solo traveller, we'll automatically pair you with a person who's of the same gender (according to passport information) for accommodation during your trip. If that's not okay with you, kindly reach out to us during the booking process and we can make alternate arrangements. There may also be some solo rooms available depending on the trip which will be communicated to you at the time of booking if this is your preference.

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