Queer Travel in the United States: Unexpected Small Towns and the Importance of Inclusive Spaces with Chase Vondran
Zero To Travel Podcast
Coming out, experimentation, and travel
Chase describes coming out in college, dating experiences, and how travel enabled queer exploration.
What does queer travel in the US look like beyond the big cities? And what can all travelers learn from the LGBTQ+ travel experience?
Chase Vondran is a full-time travel creator and writer based in Chicago who helps transgender and gender-diverse travelers explore safely while advocating for greater inclusion in the travel industry. After an eight-year nomadic journey spanning 20+ countries, they now focus their work on queer travel, small queer towns, and inclusive travel guides.
In this episode, co-host Dianni Hall sits down with Chase to talk about queer travel in the U.S., exploring small queer towns and gayberhoods, and understanding the realities and joys of traveling as a trans person.
This episode offers a rare glimpse into queer communities thriving outside of major cities and highlights unexpected destinations where queer people not only exist but also flourish. Chase shares personal stories from their travels as a trans person, the differences in how the world treats them before and after transition, and what travelers should consider when seeking inclusive spaces. You’ll discover resources, tips for finding queer communities, and the emotional power of feeling seen. Whether you’re a queer traveler, an ally, or curious about inclusive travel, this conversation expands how we think about travel, identity, and belonging.
How has travel helped you better understand experiences different from your own? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.
Zero To Travel co-host Dianni Hall is a queer, second-generation Latina, solo budget backpacker, and host of the While She’s Away podcast. Learn more about her work here.
Tune In To Learn:
- How travel gave Chase space to explore queerness and identity away from home
- What it feels like to find queer community for the first time while traveling
- Why places like Puerto Vallarta have become historic hubs for queer travelers
- How the absence of visible queer community can change a travel experience
- How queer history, artist communities, and other factors have helped shape small inclusive towns across the U.S.
- Why destinations like Saugatuck, Michigan and Eureka Springs, Arkansas defy expectations
- How Chase’s travel experiences shifted after coming out as trans and
- What safety, visibility, and respect look like when traveling as a trans person and how it differs from traveling as a woman
- Why small, community-driven queer spaces matter just as much as big cities
- How to find queer community anywhere using apps, events, and local businesses
- And so much more
Resources:
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