Traditionally the islands of the South Pacific have not been a favourite destination for gay travel. Conservative cultures have been somewhat reluctant to welcome homosexual travellers and they have gained a bad reputation. However this attitude is slowly changing and more islands are offering more gay friendly options.

The cruise ship option is often a good choice for the gay traveller. Specific gay and lesbian cruises have been offered by the cruise industry for a number of years. The cruise ships run the gamut from low budget to full on luxury. The cruise market was one of the first travel markets to cotton on the there was money to be made catering to the needs of the gay and lesbian clients. These are still a great way to island hop in the South Pacific.

Vanuatu has developed a number of resorts over the last five years that while they are not gay specific, they are private and welcome pink travellers. One area Vanuatu has promoted to same sex couples is devotion ceremonies, which are non-legally binding, but are romantic celebrations.

Tahiti has undertaken a campaign this year to boost it’s participation in the gay travel market. Tahiti has avoided this segment of the market until now, but in May 2009 hosted their first rainbow party. The Tahitian tourist authority is keen to see high spending gay travellers.

Of the other Pacific islands perhaps the most gay friendly are the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. While these islands remain staunchly conservative about most areas of life they are more accepting of homosexuality than other islands in the Pacific. Much of this can be traced back to the traditional practice of Fa’afafine, transgender living accepted as a normal choice.

Visiting the pacific islands as a gay traveler can be a wonderful experience.