5 Queer Travel Films

Vacationer lists a few of our favorite queer travel films to help pass the time on a long trip or to just inspire your wanderlust to travel from everywhere between New York City and Alice Springs.

Often times a trip in a film is meant to parallel or represent the emotional journey taken by its characters. This seems especially true for queer stories where the characters are usually moving towards self-acceptance or discovering who they really are. So, as you embark on your holiday travels, big or small, we’d like to recommend these travel-centric queer stories to keep you entertained until you reach your final destination.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens: Mitzi, aka “Tick” (Hugo Weaving) and Felicia (Guy Pearce), and Bernadette, a transgender woman (Terrance Stamp), as they journey across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named “Priscilla”. They are headed to Alice Springs for a residency at a resort/ casino. Along the way, they encounter various groups and individuals, finding themselves embroiled in alternatingly hilarious and dangerous situations. The film, considered a classic by many, was adapted into a massively successful stage show which has also toured the world. An absolute must-see!

Transamerica (2005)

A transgender woman named Bree (Felicity Huffman) takes an unexpected journey when she finds out that she had a son pre-transition who is now a teenage hustler on the streets of New York. Wanting to initially leave her past behind her, Bree’s therapist insists that she deal with her son before signing off on her gender-affirming surgery. Bree acquiesces and flies to NYC where she and her son Toby (Kevin Zegers) take a life-changing road trip back west together.

Happy Together (1997)

Ho Po-Wing and Lai Yiu-Fai are a gay couple from Hong Kong with a tumultuous relationship marked by frequent separations and reconciliations. They visit Argentina together but break up after they become lost while traveling to visit the Iguazu Falls. The movie follows their attempt to rebuild their lives from that point.

Carol (2015)

Carol (Cate Blanchett) tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aspiring female photographer named Therese (Rooney Mara) and an older woman going through a difficult divorce during the 1950s. The travel theme enters the picture when Carol’s husband threatens to expose her homosexuality in order to get full custody of their daughter, after which she decides to go on an impromptu road trip with Therese to clear her mind.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

After tying for the win in New York City’s “Drag Queen of the Year” contest, Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) and Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) win a trip to Hollywood to take part in the even bigger “Miss Drag Queen of America Pageant”. Before they depart, Vida persuades Noxeema to take along the inexperienced “drag princess” Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) as their protégé (they initially refer to him simply as a “boy in a dress” rather than as a full-fledged drag queen). To do this, they cash in their plane tickets to a friend, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, and use the money to buy a yellow convertible 1967 Cadillac DeVille. They set off for Los Angeles in it, carrying with them an iconic autographed photo of Julie Newmar (signed “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar”) that Vida took from a restaurant wall.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to download one of these queer travel films before you jet off to your next fabulous destination. If you’re looking for other ways to spend your time on a long-haul flight or road trip, you should consider picking up one of the cool queer reads or downloading one of these fun podcasts before you go!