Geek Retreats | 8 Travel Ideas for Gamers

While it is great sometimes to go and explore a brand new adventure well outside of your comfort zone, most travel tends to be about things that you are familiar with and to destinations geared to your interest. It’s easy to find standard fare like a beach vacation, or an escape to a mountain retreat to hit the slopes, but what if your interests involve proudly getting your Geek on?

Geek Retreats are a thing and one of the big benefits is that more often than not, they are typically where the big tourist traps are not. So, if playing the newest casino games at the top-rated European sites like those listed at CasinoTopsOnline is your thing, then you may wish to scour the planet for unique brick-and-mortar experiences to visit.

But whether it’s politics, computer history, dinosaurs or superheroes and of course, gamers there are multi-genre Geek travel destinations out there to explore. So if you are pondering over where to go for your next trip, then consider some of the world’s top Geek retreats.

London

If you are in a wizarding mood, head to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London. You can step into Harry Potter’s world and walk around some of the great sets that will be familiar to franchise lovers, like Diagon Alley, the Great Hall and the Forbidden Forest.

Props and costumes from the movie are on display too, and there are different exhibits at different times of the year, but Platform 9¾ is always open. While in London, you can skip over to King’s Cross station where there is an actual Platform 9¾ where you can snap a photo of yourself pushing a cart through the wall.

England

There’s so much to love about travelling to England, its rich history, the Royal Family, famous old castles – no, forget that and geek out with some zombies instead. A major theme of video games is horror, where your task in a first-person shooter is to survive hordes of the undead. The good news is that there is a Zombie Survival Experience available, which puts you in full Resident Evil mode.

The brilliant concept involves you being dropped in an abandoned mall which is populated by Zombies (played by actors, not the real undead). To prepare, you get training and an imitation firearm before getting into the live horror scenario.  There are different experiences to choose from, even a night one.

Tunisia

Maybe the ultimate Geek getaway. You have seen the movies and played the video games so why not step into the world of Star Wars yourself? Tunisia is home to the locations where many of the first movie’s scenes were filmed. The locations can be visited from major cities like Monastir and Sousse on tours out to the Tataouine, Tozeur, and Medenine regions.

However, for a bigger Geek experience, why not immerse yourself fully by staying at a traditional Berber house out in the desert? The cave-like dwellings will remind you of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tatooine, and for an extra bit of travel, you can visit other Star Wars locations like Sidi Bouhlel where the droids got ambushed.

Iceland

Fans of Games of Thrones can hit several European hotspots to see some filming locations, like Dubrovnik in Croatia, where a lot of the King’s Landing happened, and around Northern Ireland for places like Castle Ward where Winterfell was shot and Dunluce Castle, aka Pyke Castle from the show.

Many scenes from North of the Wall were filmed in Iceland at many different locations, like Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, Thingvellir National Park and the famous mountain Kirkjufell (Arrowhead in GoT) where the first White Walker was created. Many tours are available to various filming locations, some including dress-up and photo ops.

Laconia, New Hampshire

Not immediately a destination that jumps off the page for many people looking for a vacation spot. But there’s a reason why it makes for a great Geek retreat. That’s because of the American Classic Arcade Museum located in Laconia, which does get inclement winter weather, so it’s best to avoid travel during that season to avoid snow closures!

It isn’t a museum where you have to keep your hands off things, instead, you are encouraged to game. There are more than 300 old-style video arcade games run by the non-profit organisation that preserves old units. If you grew up around arcades in the 70s and 80s then you’ll probably have a blast on authentic old titles like Donkey Kong, Q*Bert and Dig Dug.

San Diego, California

San Diego is beautiful as it is, a glorious stretch of the Pacific coast, filled with idyllic beach towns, and just a chill, cool vibe. It is, of course, also home to Comic-Con where you can dive into a world of fantasy and gaming characters.

This is a mega gathering for everyone who loves video games, comic books, zombies, wizards and any modern culture characters and themes. Comic-Con is a huge deal that features seminars, guest panels and movies plus of course, plenty of comic books to buy to add to your collection. Cosplay dress-up is also fully encouraged.

Nikko, Japan

Who hasn’t enjoyed playing the role of a stealth ninja character in a video game? For a jaunt further afield, Nikko in Japan, a few hours outside of Tokyo in the mountains, has something special to Geek out on. There, you can step back in time to enter the world of the Samurai.

Called Edo Wonderland, the venue preserves the heritage of the Samurai and invites the modern world to share in its glory. You can rent costumes to dress up as a shogun, lord or princess, get hands-on with some workshops from the Edo period (1603-1868) and wander around a traditional village while catching a Ninja show.

US Space & Rocket Centre

Yes, there’s the NASA Kennedy Space Centre and Cape Canaveral, but what about a bigger, more astronomical geek-out for space fans? At the US Space & Rocket Centre in Alabama, you can enrol in Space Camp where you get to train like an astronaut and use real tools and computer equipment that NASA astronauts would train on.

This has been running since the 1980s and there are camps for both children and adults. You get to stay at the Space Academy and bunk in pods with other cadets for the duration of the training, which includes hands-on interactive space missions. Spots fill up quickly on this limited experience, but it’s an out-of-this-world experience that won’t be forgotten.

Explore The World

There are great alternatives to the traditional vacation. There’s a big world out there, filled with other like-minded gamer geeks, meaning that you can find the perfect getaway in whatever area your fandom lies. From zombies and anime to visiting famous film locations or getting hands-on in museums, there’s a rich experience waiting out there.