Five of the Top Vacation Destinations for Gamers

 As a gamer, sometimes it’s hard to know what kind of vacation you’d like to take that will fit your interests and give you a good place to escape to.  Luckily, there are many places to choose from that will help satisfy your need to get away. Whether you want to meet up with other gamers like yourself and have a giant LAN party, visit the real-life places that your games are based on, experience your games in virtual reality, or a venue where your whole family can have a blast together, there is a gamer-tailored vacation idea on this list for you. 

1.  The VOID virtual reality theme park

The VOID virtual reality theme park in Lindon, UT is the ultimate augmented reality gaming experience. The park provides you with not only a virtual reality headset and glasses, but with props and an environment to walk around and interact with in order to really live the games you are playing. They have built physical maps that have digital environments laid over them to create the most realistic experience possible. If you’ve dreamed of being able to experience the game worlds you love in a completely new way, this is the theme park for you. 

2.Dreamhack

Dreamhack (taking place in Sweden and Spain this summer) is the biggest LAN party ever. It brings together computer, gaming, and esports enthusiasts from around the world to take part in coding, streaming, competing, and spectating  — all in one place. It’s a celebration of all things internet — the perfect place to unwind and interact with other gamers and enthusiasts from around the world. 

3. Real-life game settings

 When you’ve spent a lot of time playing a video game that has backgrounds based on real-life places, you can get pretty curious on how true-to-life they are. Games like Fallout 4 and The Division are good at presenting fairly accurate renditions of the real-life cities and towns they set their games in. Visiting your favorite places from the game world in real life can be a fun trip to plan around, especially without having to fight off zombies or feral ghouls or any of those pesky in-game enemies you’d have to worry about when playing the game.  

4. BlizzCon

If you’re a fan of even a couple of Blizzard’s IPs, BlizzCon is the destination to meet up with friends you’ve met through their games, create and admire others’ cosplay, watch esports, learn about the newest content and grab exclusive in-game rewards and gear to showcase your fandom. BlizzCon takes place in November of each year, and is the place to immerse yourself in being a fan of Blizzard and its games for a couple of days toward the end of the year. Since Blizzcon takes place in Anaheim, CA, it’s a perfect opportunity to grab your guildmates and set aside a day to visit Disneyland or California Adventure and add bonus fun to your trip. 

5. Ubisoft’s Rabbids Amusement Center

 If you happen to be in Montreal (perhaps visiting the setting of Assassin’s Creed?), make sure to check out Ubisoft’s new Rabbids Amusement Center coming in August of 2016. The center will be great for the whole family to let loose and have some wacky fun with the characters from the Rabbids franchise. 

What is your dream gamer vacation destination? Have you been to any of these places (or have they sparked your interest to plan a trip)? Let me know in the comments!