Important Questions about Traveling - Please Help

[Emma_Rose]

A friend of my wife's is getting married in about a year and a half (sometime in 2017) and it is a destination wedding to the Dominican Republic. I have been trying to look into it and it sounds like they are not very LGBT friendly there so I have a few questions for all of you. Basically, by that point I will be at least a year, maybe close to a year and a half into my HRT but there is a very, very good chance I would still be pre-op, so how much I'd be able to "pass" at that point is somewhat debatable at this point.

1. Have any of you ever been to the Dominican Republic? If so, can you please let me know a little bit about your experience? One thing I keep hearing is that for the most part, you are more or less safe if you never leave the resort. Being there for a wedding, however, I don't know if this will be possible since I have no idea where the wedding would actually take place.

2. Does anyone know of any good websites for these types of things (traveling when transgender)? I keep finding websites that give general advice on staying safe (mostly what you would/could call common sense like staying in a group, keeping a cell phone on you at all times, etc.) and I am wondering if there is a website out there that tells you how friendly certain places/countries are towards the LGBT community and what, if any, risks are involved for us traveling there.

3. From what I have read so far, it seems like the locals more or less look down on the LGBT community and it sounds like homosexuality is essentially illegal. I've read a couple stories about gay/lesbian couples being told by hotel/resort staff that they are best off avoiding PDAs and that they are much better off posing as relatives or just very good friends while out in public. Does anyone know if this is true? Does anyone know how much of a risk it would be for me to travel to a place like this?

My wife and I were originally planning on turning the trip into our second honeymoon by getting there about a week before the wedding and doing all the touristy stuff that we could before the day of the wedding and then flying back home the day after. This is something I'd love to be able to do, but if it means never being able to leave the resort, I just don't see the point (this is my general opinion of travel in general, if you never leave the hotel then what is the point of going there in the first place?). Any help any of you are able to give (even a point in the right direction to finding the answers to these questions) would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Emma Rose

[Laura_7]

Well all at your own risk...

in general you might have a look at
http://www.spartacusworld.com/gaytravelindex.pdf

especially at "locals hosrtile" .

For more hints maybe someone aquainted with local customs might help...


maybe they can be convinced to marry elsewhere ?
There are lgbt friendly tropical places 


hugs

[purplewuggybird]

If you live in the United States (and I suppose even if you do not) the US Department of State traveller's info pages can be of some help. Additonally, many newer tourist guides (Frommer's, Lonely Planet) have information regarding LGBTQIA+ travel, but they are most specific about gay travel.
Hope your trip goes well!

[Emma_Rose]

Thank you for the replies. Very helpful. My wife and I were talking about it last night and it seems like maybe I will have to just stay home and she will go for the wedding and fly home the next day since I am no longer sure that I personally would feel safe enough to travel there and I wouldn't want to put her in danger either since we would be viewed as a homosexual couple and like I said, I don't want to expose her to danger. Very sad how hostile the world can be.

On the up side, with the link you shared, Laura, I was able to confirm that we live in a fairly safe area here in America. We live in Iowa right on the Iowa-Illinois border and the area we live in (on both sides of the river) sort of act like one massive city with people constantly going from one side of the river to the other (for work, visiting friends, going to events, etc.) so while this makes me feel like I wouldn't feel safe enough to travel to the Dominican Republic, its nice to know that here at home we live in a pretty safe area. I see homophobia frequently around here, but its usually just in the form of ignorant remarks and openly gay people getting dirty looks from time to time, but at least we aren't in one of the states towards the bottom of the list.

I am still going to look into the whole thing, but this helps a LOT! Thank you.