If you’re looking for your next queer travel trip, look no further than Boston, Massachusetts. Boston is home to one of the largest queer population in the US and is considered to be one of the US’s most LGBTQ+ friendly cities. And to do it all off, there is so much to do there! From fun neighborhoods and iconic brownstones to great event venues for theater, sports, and music, — historic, innovative something rather. blah.
If you don’t want to read our whole travel guide, watch this itinerary in video format instead.
LGBTQ+ itinerary travel guide to Boston
Boston is an iconic city to visit for anyone. Visitors can take is historic sites on the Freedom Trail. Plus, there’s lots of amazing museums like the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Science, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and even the Boston Aquarium. You can see Boston’s renowned sports teams playing throughout the year. Or catch a show or a concert at any of the literally hundreds of venues around the city.
For travelers looking for an queer-oriented experience on their trip to the city, they’ll discover that the city is home to unique stores, gay neighborhoods, and queer bars. One of the most well-known gay bars in Boston is Club Cafe. You’ll find that the gay nightlife scene is spread across the whole city, but that it is heavily concentrated to the South End and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods.
Flights to Boston from destinations in the US currently start at just $39* one way
LGBTQ+ itinerary travel guide to Iceland
After visiting Boston, it’s only a short flight onward to head to Europe. We love visiting Europe because of the rich history and diverse landscapes, as well as for it’s progressive and safe attitude towards the LGBTQ+ community. For this trip, take a flight from Boston to Reykjavik, Iceland. The flight is just 5 hours. Iceland is one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly countries in the entire world. They are supportive of the community year round – not just during pride month. You’ll have an amazing trip if you just go to Iceland, but you can also consider it as a stopover spot before taking the short flight onward to the rest of Europe.
Some of our top recommendations for things to do in Iceland are visiting the Blue Lagoon, taking a roadtrip out to see some amazing waterfalls like Gullfoss, and stopping by the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church in the city of Reykjavik. There’s also lots of great free things to do in Iceland, too. Depending on when in the year you choose to visit Iceland, you’ll have vastly different (but equally cool) experiences.
Go to Iceland in Winter
If you visit Iceland during the winter, you should expect that you’ll only be getting about 5 hours of sunlight each day. So your time there will be dark and cold. But, as that is the way of life there, there is still plenty to see and do. The country doesn’t stop just because it’s dark! Winter is the perfect time to visit Iceland is you want to see the Northern Lights. The longer nights make for longer opportunities to see them! We suggest renting a vehicle and roadtripping it through the country to see the Aurora Borealis.
Go to Iceland in Summer
Visiting Iceland in the Summer means experiencing Midnight Sun. We’re talking it literally never getting dark out. Close to the Summer Solstice, the time between sunset and the next sunrise is only about 3 hours and during those 3 hours it only ever gets to a twilight/dawn lower level of light because the sun is just beneath the horizon.
One hack for beating jet lag is traveling Iceland in the summer and just not adjusting to the difference in time. If you’re coming for the West Coast US, Iceland is 7 hours ahead. But since it’s daylight all day, you could choose to keep sleeping/waking/eating on your usual home schedule, just knowing that your 10pm home bedtime will be at 5am Iceland time. But hey – seeing the country in the nighttime daylight will mean way less crowds!
Flights to Iceland from Boston currently start at $197* one way
Or travel from other US destinations for flights starting at $182* one way
LGBTQ+ Itinerary
@studentuniverse Reasons to start your summer travels in Boston 🏳️🌈🐿️✨🗝️ This city has something for everyone and from there, you can find direct routes to other top destinations and bucket list sights. To help make these trips and experiences possible, Student Universe offers students & young adult discounts on flights, hotels, group travel, & more. What else would you like to know about Boston? #boston #bostonlgbt #bostontravel #ustravel #travelingeurope #europetravel #travelbudget #lgbttravel #solotravel #travelguide #citybreak #traveltheworld #travelhacks ♬ original sound – StudentUniverse | travel
*Flight prices were accurate at time of posting, but are subject to change at any time. All flights prices shown here were found for travel dates between June 2024 – September 2024.
