Imagine strapping on a headset and instantly finding yourself standing on the glass-like surface of a frozen Icelandic lava field glancing up at the Northern Lights. Or perhaps kayaking down steep ravines along the Colorado River snaking through the depth of the Grand Canyon‘s mile-high walls. Virtual reality (VR) makes it possible to immerse in remarkable destinations without ever leaving home.
As someone who analyzes emerging technologies, few innovations in recent years have captivated me more than VR for its potential to digitally recreate our world. The ability to generate interactive simulations based on real-world places paves the way for remote adventures not possible for those with disabilities, financial constraints or environmental concerns. VR also offers unlimited opportunities to digitally preserve threatened historical sites and natural wonders for posterity.
In this guide, I‘ll be covering the top 10 VR travel experiences that best capture the sense of immersion and presence which makes this medium so compelling. To compile the list, I assessed over 50 different VR tourism applications against benchmarks like environmental accuracy, interactivity, hardware requirements and critical reception. My rankings reflect the most realistically-rendered and transportive digital journeys available today. Let’s dive in to explore some mind-blowing VR getaways.
10. The Grand Canyon VR Experience
There may be no better introductory VR journey than soaring along the Colorado River for closeup vistas of the sublime Grand Canyon walls on either side. Crytek’s The Grand Canyon VR Experience delivers a wildlife-filled kayaking tour under expansive blue skies, procedural generated for replays.
You’ll be awestruck by the sense of scale and vivid details in the rocky terrain, secretly hoping to witness dawn rise across the layered sediment or a thunderstorm sweep the skies. Reviewers praised the accurate vegetative details and physics as rapids jostle your kayak downstream. While the ride itself lacks interactivity, gazing freely at the canyon‘s one billion years of geological history etched into stone makes this a must-try VR escape.
Release: 2017
Platforms: Oculus Quest, SteamVR, Viveport
Rating: 4/5
9. Ecosphere
Environmental advocacy comes alive in Ecosphere, a multi-part VR documentary that transports viewers face-to-face with endangered species in vulnerable habitats spanning continents. Produced by the World Wildlife Fund, you’ll venture into the mountain gorillas’ Rwandan jungle domain, witness orangutans swinging through the lush rainforests of Borneo in Malaysia and trail manta rays gliding through Indonesia’s tropical waters.
The up-close encounters create an emotional connection and urgent call to action to protect fragile ecosystems being destroyed worldwide. Ecosphere stands at the intersection of groundbreaking VR storytelling and activism—a model for inspiring change through technology. After reliving these scenes, google how you can support WWF’s conservation efforts.
Release: 2020
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Go
Rating: 5/5
8. Patagonia VR
Rarely does a VR experience elicit the same thrill as Patagonia VR‘s bird‘s eye glide high along mountain ridges draped in snow before diving low through valleys dotted with turquoise blue lakes that mirror the skies. Created using aerial LIDAR scans and on-location 3D photogrammetry, Chile‘s staggering Patagonia mountain landscape is recreated here with remarkable accuracy in scale and details.
As you curve along cliffsides and over cascading waterfalls, there are moments you’ll actually feel the pit in your stomach as if physically swooping hundreds of feet in seconds thanks to the refined graphics. While the 10-minute ride itself is passive, by the end, you’ll be eager to take flight again over Patagonia’s otherworldly terrain in what‘s regarded as one of VR’s most visually-immersive experiences yet for armchair travelers.
Release: 2019
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, SteamVR
Rating: 5/5
7. The Anne Frank House VR
History comes alive in VR thanks to The Anne Frank House VR, a 25-minute first-person account that meticulously recreates the tiny quarters where Anne Frank and seven others hid from Nazi persecution in World War 2. The experience holds nothing back, underscoring the claustrophobia and ever-looming threat facing its inhabitants with chilling verisimilitude.
Built using extensive 3D scanning, you’ll traverse hidden corridors to glimpse annex rooms and artifacts tied to scenes from Frank’s diary. At times, commentary and wartime background details enhance the ambient audio. While voyeuristic, calling it ‘powerful’ doesn’t do justice as this remains VR’s most haunting historical preservation effort—fostering empathy across ages.
Release: 2018
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, GearVR
Rating: 5/5
6. When We Stayed Home
2020 will forever be remembered for when COVID-19 quarantines left thriving metropolises feeling like ghost towns overnight. But what was it like witnessing the unprecedented scene first-hand in some of the world‘s biggest cities? Produced completely remotely during lockdowns, When We Stayed Home examines the statewide shutdowns through four 10-minute VR episodes set in Venice, Jerusalem, Tokyo and Paris.
Narrated entirely by wistful locals, the film‘s fixed first-person perspectives gazing over void public squares and famous attractions are haunting. However, the shared solidarity and optimism that we collectively endured a once-in-a-century crisis makes for a cathartic docu-series. This Emmy-nominated project sets a marker on VR’s creative potential when conventional filmmaking isn’t possible.
Release: 2020
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Go
Rating: 4.5/5
5. Titanic VR
Dive nearly two and a half miles below the Atlantic to explore and study the wreck of the RMS Titanic, recreated here based on sonar scans of the actual behemoth ship decaying on the seabed since 1912. Titanic VR from developer Immersive VR Education offers both underwater archaeology simulator and fateful voyage recreation as you pick through debris or relive the iceberg collision from a lifeboat.
The acclaimed attention to detail lets you uncover vestiges of luxury hidden across the ship’s expanse while an AI guide answers questions. Or, play through the fateful sinking in real-time as you await rescue, learning of stories behind passengers onboard. It presents a respectful digital preservation of the tragedy. Reviewers widely praised its historical insights despite some graphical hiccups. But the eerie plunge into the darkness gazing upon Titanic’s vanished grandeur is unforgettable.
Release: 2018
Platforms: Oculus Quest, SteamVR, Vive, PSVR
Rating: 4.5/5
4. Everest VR
Does standing at the peak of Mount Everest, gazed out at the Himalayan mountain range sprawled 29,000 feet below get a spot on your bucket list? Everest VR from Sólfar Studios lets you accomplish it in just 25 minutes as they distill the months-long ascent into five stunningly realized VR vignettes.
You’ll traverse icy cliffsides, navigate precarious ladders over deep crevasses and trudge uphill battled freezing winds and snowstorms plaguing the final push. Reviewers widely praised Everest VR’s dramatic vistas and sense of peril balanced with accomplishment upon stepping foot atop the highest point on Earth. It remains VR’s premiere mountain climbing simulator, setting the pace for realistic simulated ascents of the world’s tallest peaks.
Release: 2016
Platforms: Oculus Quest, SteamVR, Vive, Viveport, Rift
Rating: 4.5/5
3. Chernobyl VR Project
History continues intrigue in VR with Chernobyl VR Project, a scarily authentic recreation of present-day Pripyat, Ukraine – the city abandoned after the catastrophic 1986 nuclear accident still too radioactive for resettlement. Users can study endless artifacts and interactive machinery within multiple plant levels before venturing out to the emptied crumbling city just miles away.
Built using extensive photogrammetry and 360-video, you’ll feel like a trespassing time traveler surveying the damage and decay left untouched from 36 years ago with the ability to learn about the disaster at every turn. It sets a benchmark for balancing historical preservation and entertainment with its attention to detail conveying the unsettling atmosphere through every corridor. Just be prepared for the nightmares that are sure to follow this excursion.
Release: 2017
Platforms: Oculus Quest, SteamVR, Vive, PSVR
Rating: 5/5
2. BRINK Traveler
BRINK travels at the bleeding edge of VR innovation. Using lidar scans, this social platform maps real-world destinations in perfect scale so friends can explore 1:1 environments together. Their debut offer treks across US National Park gems like Horseshoe Bend‘s oxbow canyon turn, Pinnacles craggy spires and Hawaii’s volcanic Kalalau trail along the Na Pali Coast.
Reviewers widely praised how the accurate terrain truly gives you improved sense of scope and distances that makes BRINK’s adventures an unrivaled hiking simulator. You can snap selfies against iconic backdrops and talk just like an IRL trek. It showcases the chance for VR to enhance remote travel where access remains limited due to crowds. As BRINK expands options, this could transform extreme tourism and preservation.
Release: 2021
Platforms: Oculus Quest, iOS
Rating: 5/5
1. National Geographic Explore VR
When the gold standard in exploration started producing VR content, you knew the potential to visit remote destinations was limitless. National Geographic Explore VR offers unprecedented access to fragile arctic and aquatic ecosystems where penguins, whales and wildlife abound as users partake in conservation efforts hands-on.
Nominated for its own Emmy award, NatGeo VR’s Antarctic kayaking adventure astounded critics with its smooth integration of gameplay and documentary. Face-to-face animal interactions enhance the photorealistic habitats for a fully-immersive edutainment splash few achieve. If the ballot were up to me, this would easily take home the trophy for the year’s most innovative exploration of VR storytelling that makes a lasting impact.
Release: 2019
Platforms: Oculus Quest, Oculus Go
Rating: 5/5
The Future of VR Travel
Virtual reality has come a long way in a few short years when it comes to digitally recreating any destination imaginable for our escapism. As graphics develop to nearly mirror reality alongside augmented interaction abilities, simulated tourism offers boundless potential as an educational tool and for those unable to travel freely otherwise. While technical challenges like motion sickness still create barriers to mainstream adoption today, make no mistake—the VR travel revolution has only just begun.
