Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

Seattle is one of the most gay-friendly cities in the country, with a large gay and lesbian community centered around Capitol Hill. In this neighborhood are numerous bars, nightclubs, stores, and bed-and-breakfasts catering to the gay community. Broadway, Capitol Hill's main drag, is the site of the annual Seattle Pride march (www.seattlepride.org), held each year in late June.

The first place to look for Seattle information is on the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau's LGBT Web pages (www.visitseattle.org/visitors/lgbt). Once you're in Seattle, pick up a copy of the Seattle Gay News (tel. 206/324-4297; www.sgn.org), available at area bookstores and gay bars and nightclubs.

The Lesbian Resource Center, 227 S. Orcas St. (tel. 206/322-3953; www.lrc.net), provides community and business resource information as well as a calendar of upcoming events and activities.

The Gaslight Inn is a gay-friendly bed-and-breakfast in the Capitol Hill area. For information on gay and lesbian bars and nightclubs,

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA; tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry, and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses and tour operators.

Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com), based in Australia, specializes in gay-friendly tours. San Francisco-based Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) offers worldwide trips and cruises. Olivia (tel. 800/631-6277; www.olivia.com) offers cruises and resort vacations for lesbians.

Gay.com Travel (tel. 800/929-2268 or 415/644-8044; www.gay.com/travel or www.outandabout.com), is an excellent online successor to the popular Out & About print magazine. It provides regularly updated information about gay-owned, gay-oriented, and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide.

The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Spartacus International Gay Guide, 35th Edition (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner, 17th Edition (www.odyusa.com); and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians.