Traveling with sex toys might get a chuckle out of some flight security officers, and it might raise the eyebrows of others. These are the safe places for adult toy enthusiasts, employees or even common users. But there are places worth visiting where the response could be more serious: you could be fined or even imprisoned for carrying adult items, according to eTurboNews. Like weed from California, make sure you know local laws before traveling with even your tamest toys!
American travelers can use the US TSA website tab “What Can I Bring?” to learn travel laws within the US. Certain states will give you issue (the TSA tab advises that adult items are ultimately up to the TSA officer’s discretion). But it’s worth noting that there are states with outright adult item bans and limitations. Whether or not they’re enforced, the laws exist.
In Alabama, for example, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act passed in 1998 makes the sale of toys a criminal offense. The Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act describes a sex toy as “any device designed or marketed as useful for the stimulation of human genital organs.” Although eTN says you would most likely succeed in packing adult toys in your shipped luggage, don’t expect to take home souvenirs unless they are discreetly disguised.
In Texas, individuals are limited to possessing a certain number of adult toys. People in Texas are allowed six dildos in their possession at one time (a restriction more severe than that of assault rifles in Texas, I might add).
In India, you can transport a massager in your luggage as long as it doesn’t resemble a human’s private part. (The potential go-around here would include all those amorphous vibes on the market today. It is for your health, after all!) Any overtly sexual images or even thoughts are illegal.
If you’re traveling to Vietnam, adult toys are completely unwelcome. Since 2011, the import of sex toys has been declared illegal. Interestingly enough, The General Department of Vietnam Customs won’t punish you for trying, nor will they destroy the contraband if found. If you’re headed somewhere ultimately where adult items are legal, they’ll simply hold onto them until you leave the country. Just put the toys in their own plastic bag, labeled with your name. Although they will be confiscated upon entry to Vietnam, officers will kindly keep them for you to pick up upon your departure.
One might expect a country like Saudi Arabia with Islamic law would have a thorough ban of pornographic materials. But did you know, according to eTN, that “the country has halal sex shops? Just don’t expect to find actual adult toys there. What you will be able to buy though are scented candles, creams, and oils to heighten your private time while on vacation.”
Even if what you’re traveling with isn’t really a sex toy, be careful that what you’re packing isn’t too suggestive of one if you plan on traveling to a country with adult toy restrictions or bans. Consider if the orgasm is worth imprisonment.
In Malaysia, according to eTN, anyone who sells, distributes, or possesses “any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting representation or figure, or any other obscene object whatsoever…shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”
In Maldives, adult items are classified as pornographic materials and also banned, according to the country’s Customs Service website.
Even if you’re heading to somewhere like Thailand, which is known for being sexually-forward especially among the Asian countries, always check the laws before packing your toys. (In Thailand, sex toys are prohibited and the import into the country is banned.)
