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A lot has happened since 2020 when I first put together a list of my favorite travel games for Oculus Quest. Including the fact that it’s no longer the Oculus Quest, it’s the “Meta Quest” now. And, there’s a whole new headset – the Quest 2!
I’m absolutely a fan of VR. I think it’s just really cool and a lot of fun. It has plenty of room to grow and improve – for one the whole weight issue with the Quest bugs me to no end, but you can mostly solve it with something like this – but I think the reality of something Ready Player One-ish, is definitely a possibility in the not-too-distant future. I also have a pretty big case of wanderlust and love to get outside and travel whenever I can. That’s been sidelined a little the last couple of years for a few reasons, including Covid. Good times. But VR is here for us in a time of need and gives us the opportunity to travel the world without ever leaving home – or even the couch.
This list of VR apps, games, and experiences are just some of my personal favorites as someone who loves travel and nature. There are also a few Quest experiences on this list that let you travel not only to distant lands but also to distant times. Let me know if you have any favorites from this list!
The Great Outdoors (VR Style)
These are games and apps built for people like me that love the great outdoors. I’ve always really liked camping, hiking, and just being in nature. Sometimes life, or the weather, gets in the way of those outings though. For times like that, you can check out these VR apps that will bring the great outdoors to you so you don’t have to go to it.
1. Nature Treks VR
Made especially for the nature-lovers, this Oculus app takes you on relaxing trips into different outdoor spaces. Meadows, beaches, forests, and even underwater – hang out in beautiful surroundings with local creatures and critters. This app is more than just a pretty view, though. You can interact with the scenes and the animals, including being able to control the weather. It’s also made to be a sort of meditative experience and there’s even a feature to help you focus on your breathing. There are 9 different nature scenes to choose from with unique experiences to be had in each.
All around a really cool VR app to start off this list.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
2. National Geographic Explore VR
National Geographic Explore lets you make your way around a couple of the most unique and recognizable areas of the planet – Machu Picchu and Antarctica. Two very different experiences but both are fun and educational.
Personally, I liked the Antarctica experience a little better. There’s just something satisfying about rowing around in the kayak in the middle of that icy landscape. You also get to see some of the local wildlife while you’re on your expedition.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
3. The Climb 2
This updated version of The Climb game includes 15 new maps, new challenges, and new gear you can unlock as you progress onward and upward! I’ve mentioned this in the last review I did of travel apps for the Oculus (now Meta Quest) but The Climb is definitely one of those games that could have you feeling a little disoriented. It’s probably worse if you have a fear of heights so I’d opt for sitting down for this game. But that’s just me.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
4. BRINK Traveler
Brink has 22 locations to explore in some of the most beautiful natural places on Earth. This is a VR experience for the nature-lovers and outdoor explorers. Use BRINK Traveler to check out some bucket list destinations in a 360-degree view. You can move around in the environment as well.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
Recommended gear for the Quest
5. Blueplanet VR Explore
With Blueplanet you can explore over 40 natural and historical sites around the world. The scenes are 360 degrees and there’s an option to hang glide your way through the environments in some of the locations. The scenes look quite realistic most of the time and this app, though relatively pricey in terms of VR apps, is a great way to get to explore many famous locations all over the world without leaving your house.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
6. Ecosphere
This VR experience is nature and community-impact oriented. It tells the stories of places and the people who live there. The “episodes” let you explore the beautiful locations and hear from the locals who live there. The stories generally center around places and communities that have been struggling with issues like war or climate change and how those issues are being addressed within the communities.
It’s a great VR app for seeing fascinating areas of the world and hearing about the issues that are affecting those places. The makers of Ecosphere hope that the app becomes a pathway toward awareness for social issues around the globe and they’ve done a really nice job with the Quest project so far!
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
If you’re the outdoorsy type you might also like:
A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking Shoes
7 Lessons from 7 Inspiring Movies about Hiking, Backpacking and the Wilderness
VR Apps for People with Wanderlust
These Meta Quest apps are for people that have the travel bug and want to see as much of the world as they can, even if it’s in a VR headset sometimes. Check out your next trip location before you go, get inspired to make new travel plans, or just enjoy jumping around the globe in a matter of seconds!
7. Wander
This is probably the quintessential travel app for Quest. It uses Google maps and street view data to let you jump around the world (and time) in VR. Pick a place and you’ll be transported to it, and once you’re there you can move around using arrows on the ground, similar to how you get around in Google Streetview.
Wander also has extra features like educational information about certain locations and the ability to see what some locations looked like at different points in time.
I really liked using Wander to travel back to places I’ve been before just to revisit them and the memories I have at those places. Highly recommend!
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
8. Wooorld
This is an interesting app that feels like a mashup between Google Earth and Wander. It feels more like an app or game than just traipsing around in Google Earth for VR (which is a thing but isn’t available for the Quest, just Rift). You get to pick a location anywhere in the world from a table in the middle of your room. It gives you a 3D map of sorts that looks kinda like locations made of legos, but with better graphics. Then you just pick a spot and off you go!
I’m curious for anyone that has tried both, do you have a favorite?
Available on: Quest 2
If you have the travel bug you might also like:
16 Books for People with Wanderlust
43 Indiana Jones-Style Classic Adventure Movies
Travel… TO SPACE
Look, I added this to my last list of vr travel apps that I love, and I’m adding it again. I don’t know what it is, guys, but I just can’t get over space travel in VR. Something about it just makes my brain super happy and so I’m going to continue to include space travel apps and videos wherever I can just in case you like them as much as I do. Here are some of my favorite VR experiences for space exploration.
Just a note: some of these are 360 videos, rather than apps or games. You can actually watch them just on youtube and use your mouse to look around, but of course, the experience is way cooler in a VR headset.
9. Take a Virtual Reality tour of six REAL exoplanets
I can’t get over the visuals of this video. It’s just SO pretty and otherworldly. The video narration is also super nice and informative so you learn a little bit on your trip to space. If you like space videos or space travel or follow NASA on Instagram, especially for their space photos (like I do), be sure to check this one out in VR.
Watch on Youtube in Quest headset.
10. Space Explorers – Travel to a space station!
This gorgeous 360 video series was literally filmed at the ISS (Internation Space Station) and it’s AMAZING. You get to see the inside of the space station and all the weird wires and thingamajigs that line the walls. You get to hear from the crew. And, maybe best of all, you get to go on an actual spacewalk! I know. Amazing.
Note: You might want to download the videos for this experience rather than relying on streaming them to your headset in real time. The better the video quality the more awesome your space exploration will be!
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
Time Travel with VR
I realize we’re getting less and less conventional with our definition of “travel” here but some of the coolest VR apps I’ve used are in this category. History can seem a little blah – but going to the places where famous historical events took place brings them to life. Well, with VR, you can take that concept and run with it. VR doesn’t just allow you to travel to interesting historical sites, it allows you to be immersed in the history itself.
Seriously if we had this sort of thing in my history classes I would have paid way more attention.
11. Traveling While Black
I’m bringing some of these choices back from my previous list of vr games about travel, but it’s because I really cannot recommend it enough. I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I started this VR experience, but the quality and the way the story was told, jumping from past to present, blew me away.
Traveling While Black is a VR-friendly production about “The Green Book” – you may recognize the name from a movie that came out in 2019 starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen. The actual “green book” was called The Negro Motorist Green Book or The Negro Travelers’ Green Book. And it was a real book that helped black travelers figure out where they could stay while traveling in parts of the United States that were often very unsafe for black people.
Not only is this Quest experience a great look into a very real and important part of American history, but it’s just done really, really well.
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
12. Anne Frank House VR
I’ve been to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and I thought this Oculus experience was going to be basically a walk-through of that tour, maybe filmed with a 360 camera. I was surprised to find out it’s actually a recreation of how the house was actually set up during WW2 in a 3D render. You get to walk through the space and see how it might have looked and felt to be living in such a small space during the time that Anne and her family were living there.
Whether or not you’ve been to the Anne Frank House I’d highly recommend this walkthrough to anyone with an interest in history. It would be very interesting to do this VR walkthrough and then go back to the actual house and do the walkthrough there to see how it felt in comparison. If you’re visiting Amsterdam anytime soon you might want to make that part of your trip!
Available on: Quest | Quest 2
