How two trans travelers are conquering the world on their own terms

In another setback to transgender rights last week, the Texas Department of Public Safety no longer allows trans Texans to change the sex on their driver’s license, regardless of a court order or amended birth certificate. Trans travel content creators Julie Vu and Jude Guaitamacchi have faced similar hurdles in their quest to move through life as their authentic selves, but if you think that’s stopping them from exploring the world on their terms, think again. 

GayCities caught up with Vu and Guaitamacchi on a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta as part of a resort takeover by LGBTQ+ tour operator VACAYA. The company, which launched in 2019, continues to make waves in the travel industry for its inclusive approach to queer group travel.  

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Born and raised in Vancouver, Vu, 32,  describes herself as a homebody despite her global adventures. (Reality TV fans may also recognize her from season nine of Canada’s Big Brother.) Vu first traveled internationally at age 20, despite concerns. 

“When I first started my transition, I wasn’t very passable,” Vu tells GayCities. “I had really short hair. My voice was a little deeper, and I felt that was a scary time for me to travel, but I did it anyway because I just had to live my life.”

“I felt unsafe traveling because people knew that I was different,” Vu says of her first visit to Thailand. “I would get the glares and the stares. It’s unfortunate because I love going to Thailand, but I feel like a lot of travelers go there because of the ladyboys. So entering the Thailand airport, the tourists are already looking, they’re talking. I could hear the whispers, the people pointing and laughing, and it just felt uncomfortable and unsafe. But as I progressed in my transition and became more passable, that has faded a bit.”

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A post shared by Julie Vu (@missjulievu)

However, Vu had another issue to address: the gender marker on her travel documents.

“I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get everything changed. But I was very persistent, and now it’s a lot easier in Canada,” says Vu, who was denied admission to a Thai nightclub on that first trip before updating her documents. 

Guaitamacchi, 37, shares a similar experience and resilience. 

“I came out as trans and nonbinary at 30, so much later,” Guaitmacchi, who’s half Italian and half English, tells GayCities. “I also discovered that’s not an identity that I can officially and legally have in the UK, which doesn’t recognize nonbinary identities. For that reason, I kept my female passport for longer. I felt a real struggle with just going with a male passport because that’s what I had to do. I was involved in trying to amplify advocating for nonbinary identities in the UK, but the government said that they weren’t going to move on that.”

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A post shared by Jude Guaitamacchi (@becomingjude)

“Eventually, I got a male passport, but prior to that, I was traveling on my female passport. In the early days of transition, before surgery, I’d go through those machines that scan your whole body. And because I’d been on testosterone for around eight months, my fat had redistributed, which meant that I had broader shoulders, and my voice had dropped. I had some facial hair. So physically, I presented masculine,” Guaitamacchi recalls.

“And when I went through one of those x-ray machines — this was an airport in the UK — it looked like I had a mass around my chest because I was wearing a binder,” says Guaitamacchi. “And the first thing a security guard did was come straight up to me, a male security guard, and put his hands around my binder straight away; it was so uncomfortable. I was already really nervous about traveling in those early days, but then to have that experience of someone inappropriately touching that part of my body. I remember he just kind of like pulled away and then I realized what had happened.” 

“I avoided travel for that very reason. Eventually, I bit the bullet, but I didn’t really: I’m very lucky to be able to access male recognition quite easily because I’ve gone through the process of transition. But it still doesn’t reflect who I am,” says Guaitamacchi. “So I’ve almost had to pick a side, and I picked the side that would make my life easier and safer traveling. So now I do have a male passport.”

The world awaits

Both Vu and Guaitamacchi refuse to allow discrimination to stand in the way of their global exploration.

“Just knowing that life is so short, I do want to experience the world and see what’s out there, and I feel like that’s what’s pushing me,” says Vu. “But I’m aware that I have passing privileges, and that gets brought up all the time with other travelers and conflict in the trans community, saying, ‘Julie, you don’t know what it’s like not to pass and be discriminated against. You can probably get through airport security, and people wouldn’t bat an eyelash.’ I have to be aware of that, and I understand that. I’ve experienced those things in the past, so I know what it’s like.”

Guaitamacchi also recognizes that the trans community isn’t a monolith. 

“It’s difficult to talk on behalf of the entire trans community’s travel experience because I simply can’t do that. We have so many intersections. But as somebody who does present in a certain way, it makes stepping out into the world easier and safer, and that’s the reality. But it doesn’t take away from our experiences, and that’s important as well.”

Vu and Guaitamacchi’s experience at VACAYA’s Puerto Vallarta resort takeover was a first and a splashy introduction to vacationing with hundred of other queer travelers. Since launching five years ago, the company has gained a dedicated following, with trips often selling out within days of announcement. 

In addition to large-scale events like a Caribbean cruise (featuring a dedicated lounge for travelers who identify as women, transgender, or nonbinary)and Mardis Gras in New Orleans, VACAYA is also venturing into bucket-list destinations like Antarctica and Australia. 

While plenty of companies offer opportunities to party with the boys on the open seas or enjoy a sapphic festival catered toward women, VACAYA has embraced creating experiences — and, more importantly, safe spaces — that celebrate the totality of our queer community. 

“I’ve never been in a travel space with this amount of LGBTQ+ people, or even other trans travelers,” says Guaitamacchi.

Vu agrees, saying, “I’m usually the only trans person, and meeting others has definitely made the trip more valuable.”

Photographers roamed the resort throughout the week, and it was during one of those captures that Guaitamacchi had an epiphany about what they were experiencing.

“I found it so encouraging,” says Guaitamacchi. “I thought, what an incredibly diverse, intersectional group of people. I remember feeling excited and emotional about that because we don’t often see it. We have different experiences in the trans community, and even when we all met, we shared some of them. But feeling included, seen, and a part of something is incredibly important. It’s that first step to hopefully making the change that we need to see in the world, which is far more trans people included in queer spaces.” 

Vu and Guaitamacchi also understand cultures are complex and occasionally unforgiving, but this doesn’t hold them back. 

“The truth is, there are good and bad people everywhere, and so I feel like I just have to be confident,” says Vu. “Jump off that diving board. Wherever you travel, you might meet the most amazing people.”

A well-curated group trip may be the first step towards gaining travel confidence. “We are in a space where we are visibly being who we are,” says Guaitamacchi. “This has been a first for me, so hopefully, that will inspire others, too.”

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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