When Lisa Gomes graduated from law school in 2010, she was just coming out and looking for community. She didn’t like going to bars and clubs, so she started hosting small gatherings in her one-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C.—gatherings that evolved into an annual winter trip that Gomes would organize. Her informal events became known as Lesbifriends. “I just enjoyed hosting and bringing people together,” says Gomes.
When her friend group noticed she was travelling a lot internationally, she started getting suggestions that she organize a group international trip. In 2022 she founded Lesbifriends Travel as a company that now hosts around a dozen group trips each year, aimed at queer women of colour.
“Before, it was just a one-woman shop—myself—planning everything, doing everything. Now I have a team. I used to just send out text messages inviting people. Now we have a website, social media, and partnerships with organizations and companies,” says Gomes.
Pink Ticket Travel asked the Lesbifriends Travel founder what her guests are looking for, how she makes her trips special and how she picks which destinations she’ll include in her tours.
What was the first trip you officially offered from Lesbifriends Travel?
The first one out of the country was to the Dominican Republic. We stayed at a treehouse village resort, so we got to stay in huts that were built up in the trees. We went on excursions like hiking to a waterfall, and did activities like horseback riding, ATVing, a dance class and ziplining. We even planted trees in a local community. We had almost 25 people on that trip.
Wow, that’s a packed itinerary. What did you learn from that first trip?
That it’s good to build in some free time. Not everybody likes to do everything. People definitely want their vacation to have a leisurely morning. They don’t necessarily want to get up for a 7 a.m. hike.
How do you pick your destinations?
I’m always asking people where they want to travel to next. Where do they feel safe as a queer person, as a Black woman? Sometimes they’re selfish trips, places I want to go or where I think people should go. For example, my background and culture is Cape Verdean, which is a small group of islands in the Atlantic that not everybody’s heard of. So in December 2026, I’m planning a trip to bring people to Cape Verde. Some places are more obvious, like going to Amsterdam for WorldPride (July 25 to August 8, 2026). That’s a place that people want to visit, and as a bonus we get to be there for Pride.
Cape Verde versus WorldPride in Amsterdam—those are two very different trips. One is more relaxed, more about discovering a new culture, immersing yourselves in it, while the other could just be party, party, party. Do you wear one hat as a cultural curator, another as a party planner?
Absolutely. And as an introvert, I always have to put on an extroverted or social hat when I’m engaging with people through my business. It definitely pushes and challenges me, though I am a people person. In Amsterdam, where I’ll be showing people the Red Light District and hitting the parties, I’m not sure I’m going to get as much sleep as I will in Cape Verde, where we’ll have beach time, attend a cooking class, learn a local dance and ride in a local fishing boat. Every trip attracts the right type of traveller for it.
What is the secret sauce of Lesbifriends’ trips?
We take care of everything from the jump. We just ask people to get themselves to and from a location from their home base. We even give suggestions on what they should do in their free time. If people have never travelled before internationally, we help them book their flights. We provide packing lists, detailed itineraries. We host meetups before trips, so guests can meet virtually or in person. We know that this is not just about a trip and the experience, it’s really about the community that they form on the trip. We have a WhatsApp group chat for every trip, which starts before the trip. A year later, you see people still talking in the chat. It’s about community and connection.
When I travel with my straight friends, and I love them dearly, those girlies just want a photo-op. My Lesbifriends travellers definitely prioritize intention. They want meaning, rest, joy, community. They want trips that reflect their values, and they want culturally immersive experiences. They want to connect with the local community as well. They want to support queer Black- and women-owned businesses. We want to be known for the real meaningful stuff.
What advice would you give queer women of colour to encourage them to travel internationally?
I’m a research person, so I always tell people to do their research. I also tell people that there may never be a perfect time to travel, or a perfect crew to take with you on a trip. There are so many potential group trips that don’t make it out of the group chat. But everybody deserves joy and adventure when they want it.
What’s been the sweetest moment you’ve experienced on a trip you’ve led?
In July we rented out a whole glamping resort. We got 50 people together for a three-night, four-day trip. Those who came were craving community and connection. They might live in a city that doesn’t have a big queer population, or live in a place where they’re one of the only brown or Black people. On the third day we had a field day. The people who had gotten to know each other in their cabins came out in their Lesbifriends T-shirts, and without anybody asking or suggesting, they had naturally decorated and cut up their T-shirts to represent the groups that they had formed. They were still supportive of the other cabins, but it was really nice to see people unite and have a really joyful experience having known each other for only two days.
What’s been the funniest moment?
For my annual winter trip, I’ll rent out a mansion in Maryland, close to Washington, D.C. We get a mixture of couples and solo/single travellers together. We do this ice breaker where you’re supposed to pick one person out of these 25, 30 people you’re going to stay away from and one person to stay close to, as you move around the room for five or 10 minutes. One year, there was one woman, who was partnered at the time, who picked a certain woman to stay away from. But this woman had picked her to be close to, so there was this whole close-far thing the whole time. They just had this magnetic energy. I knew something was happening there. I found out later that they had kept in touch, and a year and a half later they got married. On the last annual trip, we had two women who became a couple and now have a whole business together. They were actually in the same bunk room and I wasn’t going to put them together originally—I’d made a last-minute switch. Everything happens for a reason.
How do you navigate homophobia and transphobia in destinations?
I do my research. I try to pick places that are not homophobic, but you have to think about it. The laws in Indonesia aren’t great, but we’ve been to Bali twice without a problem. I do communicate with hotels and suppliers, letting them know the demographic of our groups, that there will be masculine-presenting women, women who might be dressed differently than expected. I research queer groups locally and look for opportunities to connect with them, maybe at events or during nightlife experiences.
Lesbifriends Travels’ next two trips are to Puerto Rico (April 9 to 14) and Morocco (July 6 to 11). They expect to publish their 2027 trips in April 2026.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
