The Best Travel Destinations For Sci-Fi Fans
Image: Jedi94, English Wikipedia
If you were hoping for a Black Hole of an article to get lost in and indulge your not-so-secret sci-fi fantasies then … you’re in the right place! Welcome aboard!
If you’re a fan of Star Trek …
Good news, Trekkies; there’s a convention out there for you somewhere! Here are a few options for 2022:
• Miami: 25 February - 5 March 2022 (Star Trek: The Cruise V) Visit Miami
• Chicago: 8 - 10 April 2022 (Star Trek: Mission Chicago) Visit Chicago
• Germany: 23 - 25 September 2022 (Destination Star Trek Germany) Visit Germany
• London: 30 September - 2 October 2022 (Star Trek convention) Visit London
Meanwhile, if you want to get up close to where Star Trek Beyond (and Mission Impossible) was filmed, you can book a half-day tour of the futuristic landscape of Dubai.
Beam me up, Scotty!
If you’re a fan of The Matrix …
Buckle up and fly to Sydney, Australia, where the movie was filmed! Once you’ve got your Keanu Reeves fix, you can then soak up everything else this world-class city has to offer, such as an abundance of museums, breath-taking beaches and delicious restaurants.
If you’re a fan of Close Encounters of the Third Kind …
… or just Steven Spielberg, in general, you can visit Devil’s Tower - a flat-topped mountain located in Wyoming that Roy Neary becomes obsessed with after coming across a UFO. You’ll soon see why he chose this alien-like structure to feature in the film.
The monument is open year-round and activities in the area include rock climbing the tower, hiking around it and learning about the natives that used to live there.
If you’re a fan of Lost …
Ok, the die-hard sci-fi enthusiasts among you may scoff at our inclusion of this in the list, but even those who refused to stick with Lost until the bitter end would know that much of TV’s most addictive show hinges on the paranormal. And, you know what? Even if you refuse to acknowledge that, who doesn’t want to travel to Hawaii, where the series was shot?
If you’re a fan of Starman …
When Jeff Bridges decides to leave the planet following a hostile reception from the U.S government, he must do so via Barringer Crater - also known as Meteor Crater.
Located just 45 minutes from Flagstaff, Arizona, the crater - formed 50,000 years ago - is said to be the “best-preserved meteorite impact site on Earth,” and you can see it while hiking nearby. For a more in-depth experience, head to the Meteor Crater Interactive Discovery Center to watch a movie about its formation and check out exhibits.
If you’re a fan of Contact ...
In the movie adaptation of Carl Sagan’s science fiction book, a radio telescope – the Very Large Array - receives a signal from an intelligent alien race from space, and you can visit it for yourself just outside Socorro in New Mexico! The actual site and Visitor Center are open daily and you can take a self-guided tour that includes a Jodie Foster-narrated video about radio astronomy, different views of the telescopes and various exhibits. If you choose to go on the first Saturday of each month, you’ll get to enjoy a guided tour which includes a behind-the-scenes at the VLA.
If you’re a fan of The X-Files …
Vancouver, Canada, is where most of this popular 90s show was filmed, and fans still like to visit the lush forests that feature so heavily in the series.
If you’re a fan of Star Wars …
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (well, it depends just how seriously you take your sci-fi obsession, we suppose!), you’ll already know all about the plethora of attractions on offer across the various Disneyland Parks. (We actually wrote a whole blog about Disneyland for The Fairytale Traveler, which you can read about here!). In the interests of being thorough, however, it would be remiss of us not to mention in this list that in Disneyland California and Disney World Orlando, there is a range of Star Wars attractions, including interactive exhibits, stage shows, rides and copious amounts of merchandise.
For a more authentic brush with the franchise behemoth, head to Death Valley - the largest national park just outside of Alaska – also known as Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home planet (Tozeur in Tunisia also served as this in some of the movies.). Once you’ve walked in R2-D2’s footsteps, you can then enjoy all the hiking, camping and driving opportunities on offer here.
If you’re a fan of Doctor Who …
Cardiff, Wales is the home of this classic sci-fi show, and fans can enjoy a walking tour of various film locations and see props and artifacts from the series in the Doctor Who Experience.
Science fiction just got a whole lot cooler. So, how will you indulge your fantasy for an out-of-this-world experience? Drop us your comments below!