Making the world a welcoming place
"By being proud, we support our global LGBTQ+ community"
Gayze serves as a trigger for real change and support by normalizing something that is natural to us, but which unfortunately isn't the case in many places. With inclusive tourism, everyone should be able to explore through travelling.
With exposure comes tolerance — we hope to change perceptions and stereotypes through travel and interaction.
Gayze is an LGBTQ+ friendly network with the goal of creating a welcoming world. We do this through LGBTQ+ friendly collaborations with hotels, airlines and destinations. This global collective of LGBTQ+ friendly travel businesses drives the movement for a more welcoming world in their region and allows LGBTQ+ travellers to travel safely.
We want to ensure the best travel experience and that everyone should be able to explore through travelling. Together we guide travelers to LGBTQI+ friendly destinations.
Where it started
Stelios / Start
It all began in 2012 when I was in Tel Aviv. I found myself outside of the museum of Modern Art thinking that this was a wonderful place to fall in love in. The warm breeze and the scents and petals falling from the blossoming trees outside made this the perfect setting for love.
The initial idea of Gayze was that it would be so easy if one could open a map and find both people and sights nearby and perhaps with the same interests and dreams like oneself.
In 2015 I was invited to a dinner party. Around the table conversations of apps came up and we jokingly talked about my forgotten idea. Including myself. I had stopped believing in it long ago. When enough people tell you something, it somehow becomes real.
The girl who sat next to me turned to me and said. “If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. I think it’s a great idea. Never stop dreaming.”
Weeks later she contacted me and said she wanted to invest in the project, but with one condition. That we do something good for the world. At the end of that month she moved to Singapore and so our late nights with calls, endless drawings and passionate travels began. So here we are. Once again feeling the petals and sun on my skin. This time clearer than ever and perhaps next time I am in Tel Aviv, love will be there waiting.
/ STELIOS VASILANTONAKIS, CO-FOUNDER
I took that idea with me along with the memories of the Jacaranda trees in bloom and shared it with people I knew. To my surprise I never met a positive response. The cynical conversations turned in to silence and slowly the scents of the trees were forgotten.
What Gayze offers today
Gayze exists to open up the world for LGBTQ+ travellers: travel advice, welcoming places and a community of locals and travellers, gathered in one place. The idea has followed us from the very first conversations — that nobody should be made to feel unsafe, or stay away from a place they would love to see.
Global search
Scroll through cities around the world and search for local reviews within your favourite category. The world is different wherever you are — read about the situation for the LGBTQ+ community in specific regions.
Safety and travel advice
Up-to-date advice on what to consider as an LGBTQ+ traveller in different countries — the laws, cultures and customs that shape a trip, so nobody has to skip a place out of worry.
Welcoming places
LGBTQ+ welcoming places all over the world. Local editors share their favourite picks — scroll through carefully selected reviews of the cafés, bars, beaches and corners worth your time.
Community
Interviews and stories from friends of Gayze: how a city feels from the inside, what a first date there looks like, and which places are worth the detour.
Gayze has been covered by Breakit, Veckans Affärer, Vagabond, Nordic Business Insider and more — read the press stories.
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