While he was hoping to go unnoticed, Bass says his incognito look actually made him stand out more

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Lance Bass at the 33rd Annual EMA Awards Gala on Jan. 27, 2024

During the height of *NSYNC’s popularity in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Lance Bass occasionally needed to get away from it all — so he opted to travel in disguise, even ditching his signature frosted tips.

“When I was in *NSYNC, I did a couple of trips by myself where I dyed my hair blue-black,” Bass, 44, recalled to Travel + Leisure. Unfortunately, the look had the opposite effect. “It made me stand out more because I looked like this goth guy that was very pale because we didn’t see the sun back in those days.”

Those incognito solo trips of his boy-band days remain a pleasant memory for for the father of two, who recently reunited with *NSYNC to perform their new song “Paradise” during  Justin Timberlake’s Los Angeles concert on March 13.

“I went to Cancun just to relax and have a me-time vacation,” he recalled. “It’s nice to just chill and let your brain relax and have no responsibility for a couple of days.”

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*NSYNC in 1999
These days, Bass is more focused on making memories with his husband, Michael Turchin, and their  2½-year-old twins, son Alexander James and daughter Violet Betty.

“The first couple of years, it was tricky to travel with them because you never know when one’s gonna have a meltdown since you can’t really communicate with them to understand why they’re crying,” he told T+L. “Now that they’re having full conversations, it’s a lot easier to fly with them. You can distract them easier with games and some snacks. Traveling is just a breeze these days compared to what it was a year ago.”

In an interview with PEOPLE earlier this month, Bass shared that his family is planning to visit Utah, where the twins will “see snow for the first time and put skis on for the first time.”

“I’m so excited for them to really, hopefully, enjoy all of that, because I didn’t even know how to ski until I was in my 30s,” he added with a laugh. “So I want to give them this gift.”

Bass noted that he and Turchin, 37, also enjoy bringing their toddlers to spend time with other family members.

“We love going to Mississippi and Florida to visit the grandparents,” he said.

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Lance Bass and Michael Turchin arrive at the 2023 Gold Meets Golden 10th Anniversary Year Event on Feb. 4, 2023
The couple, who tied the knot in 2014, hope to journey abroad with the kids in a few years.

“I plan on taking them to different countries, eventually. Not right now, but when they’re old enough to start remembering things, hopefully 4 or 5 years old,” Bass said.

“I would love to let them choose. ‘Where do you want to go this year?’ and give them an option of like, ‘Do you want to go to England? Do you want to go to Spain? Do you want to go to Central America?’ ” he explained.

Bass added. “Just something different where they get to choose where we go adventure.”