On the road with Rox and the Nomadic Boys

Hi, I am Roxanne (or Rox) and I come from the Netherlands. After I finished my studies, I travelled around the world with my then girlfriend. We were fully nomadic for three years. Travelling the world as a lesbian couple made me see the world differently. On the road, we started sharing our adventures on Instagram and on the LGBTQ+ website Once Upon A Journey. There weren’t, and sadly still there aren’t, many (online) travel resources for queer women and lesbians. Inspiring other LGBTQ+ travellers and helping them travel around the world safely is still something I do through my Instagram account @roxonajourney. My second great passion is cooking. Whenever possible, I try out new recipes I picked up from my travels. I also share my favourite vegetarian and vegan recipes on my blog Vega Recepten.

Stefan and Seby: Discovering a new place is always exciting. It’s fascinating to see how we as people can be so different in basic things like the way we eat, the way we worship, the way we celebrate. Our best travel experiences almost always involve interactions with people.

Roxanne: I love a good combination of fully enjoying the moment by capturing it solely with my own eyes and getting my phone or camera to capture it later. While travelling alone, my tripod is my best friend! It’s a bit bulky to bring and can be a bit heavy, though it’s so worth it if you want to capture all your adventures, experiences and moments with yourself in the picture as well!

Stefan and Seby: Today we use our smartphones to capture moments via photos and videos. When it comes to details, Stefan is a geek and loves to record things on the Notes app on his phone, which later becomes the backbone of a blog post for that destination.

Stefan and Seby: Thailand is our happy place, closely followed by Iceland and Bhutan.

Thailand: We both love it. It’s the country we return to every year for our Christmas/New Year’s holiday. It ticks all the boxes. First, it’s very gay-friendly – the people are welcoming, no one bats an eyelid at seeing two men together, and we’ve never had a problem booking a hotel bed to share here. It is also set to legalise gay marriage later this year. Then there’s the gay scene in Bangkok. It’s one of the best in Asia (we’d say in the world). 

Iceland: Iceland is one of the most gay-friendly nations in the world. Every place you go, even the most rural town, people welcomed us. Tolerance and diversity are woven deep into the fabric of Icelandic society. However, beyond this, Iceland is just magnificent – the landscapes just blow your mind with glaciers, epic waterfalls, fjords – and then there’s the Northern Lights! 

Bhutan: We’ve always been fascinated by this hidden Himalayan kingdom between Tibet and India. They got rid of their anti-gay law in 2021 and have been welcoming LGBTQ+ travellers ever since. For years it was cut off from the world and only recently opened up to tourism. It’s the most memorable place we’ve ever been to. 

Roxanne: My favourites are Thailand, Mexico and Mongolia! Here’s why.

Thailand: I believe I’ve already been to Thailand more than ten times. I simply love the country. The food; the welcoming and kind people (it’s truly the land of smiles). If I could, I would simply book that plane ticket right now to go there and get a local veggie Pad Thai. What’s also important is that I always feel like I can be myself as a queer person.

Mexico: I have the same with Mexico. It’s such a diverse country with many places to explore. Whether you want to relax on the beach, adventure in the mountains, try delicious food or explore a super colourful town, it’s all possible. I lived in Mexico City for a few months, which was amazing.

Mongolia: I visited Mongolia in 2017, and it’s truly the most unique country I’ve been to. It’s one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries. You can travel for hours (and probably days) without seeing anyone. Maybe things have changed in the last few years, but I hope the country will always stay as authentic as it is.

 I am not a fan of boycotting countries and places because I don’t feel that boycotting will help make the world a better place. There are LGBTQ+ people everywhere, also in countries where it’s illegal to be gay. A boycott will only hurt the local LGBTQ+ communities in these places. 

In addition to Malta, which took first place in 2023, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal rank highly. In a separate ranking of the United States of America, New York State holds first place.

Roxanne: Taiwan is also very queer-friendly. It was the first (and is so far the only) country in Asia to legalise LGBTQ+ marriage. It’s definitely one of the most progressive places in Asia. It’s also one of the very few places in Asia that has anti-discrimination laws based on orientation. Places that are still on my list are Canada, Argentina and Costa Rica.

Stefan and Seby: The obvious ones are places like Fire Island or Provincetown in the US, Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. Over in Europe, Gran Canaria, Sitges, Barcelona and Madrid. Most West/North European cities are renowned for their gay-friendliness – in particular Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Lisbon to name a few. Australia and New Zealand are fellow LGBTQ+ trailblazers, as are large swathes of South America, in particular Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Chile. Meanwhile in Africa, South Africa is gay-friendly, particularly Cape Town and Johannesburg. 

Roxanne: I am planning a hiking trip with my girlfriend in Norway. I will definitely be in Amsterdam during Pride.

Stefan and Seby: This summer, we hope to go to EuroPride in Thessaloniki – Greece’s second city. It is a special place for Stefan who spent most of his summers here with his family who live there. To have Thessaloniki host EuroPride is such an honour, particularly in a year when Greece legalised gay marriage.