oculus travel experience

8 Best Oculus Quest 2 Travel Games and Experiences (Must Have)

One of the wonders of virtual reality is that you get to explore entire worlds and have it feel as real as being there. Visually, anyway. One of these worlds is our very own, and if you’ve got an interest for exploring it in VR, you’re in the right place!

In this article I’m going to be talking about the 8 best Oculus Quest 2 travel games and experiences. Namely:

National Geographic Explore VR
360 Travel Videos
Google Earth VR
Flow (Bonus Entry)

First, let’s talk about the native Oculus experiences in more detail so you can see where you want to be going!

1) National Geographic Explore VR

Spit on that virtual camera lens and wipe it clean as you experience the wonders in National Geographic Explore VR. As an explorer, you’ll have to visit locations and capture the same photographs as the one who came before you.

The VR experience that will have you demanding more. Like, seriously. The biggest criticism of the game is that it’s only got two locations for you to dive into.

An expedition to Antartica
Machu Picchu, Peru

Although the game doesn’t have the best graphics out there, it’s still worth checking out by VR standards. Survive a snowstorm, keep still during a mummy worship, and experience much more with National Geographic Explore VR!

Since there’s not much replay value with only two locations, you might want to wait for a sale to really get the most bang for your buck.

Get National Geographic Explorer for $9.99 on Oculus Store

2) ecosphere

ecoshpere is a collection of fantastic 360-degree exploration videos. But they’re not your typical 360 videos!

The ones in ecosphere are beautifully narrated documentaries that add to the element of immersion. You have over 10 episodes to download and start your virtual adventure. Learn more about locations such as Africa, Malaysia, and Indonesia from the comfort of your Oculus Quest 2.

What’s even more is that ecosphere is getting constant support with new updates and features, so the future for 360 travel is looking really good on this app!

Get ecosphere for free on Oculus Store

There’s one big reason I’d like everybody to at least give Alcove a try: variety. Okay, there are two big reasons. It’s also free. But let’s talk about the first one more.

While not being big on high-end graphics, Alcove does a fantastic job of letting you go on a tour in virtual reality. The game includes virtual tours across hundreds of landscapes and beautiful sites around the world. Ride hot air balloons or go for long drives in VR.

What’s more is that you can even take to the seas of Australia and the Pacific Ocean!

That’s not even where the possibilities end. Alcove allows you to customize your personal vacation home in VR, and invite your friends over to appreciate it even more.

Although the majority of minigames like Chess and Puzzles are single-player, Alcove is constantly receiving fresh updates and new features. The opportunity to do more with your friends may not be far off!

Get Alcove for free on Oculus Store

4) 360-Degree Travel Videos

These are the travel experiences you’re looking for if your main goal is to explore the world. Leaving out the gaming and interaction parts, 360-degree travel videos are available across the Internet and have plenty of thrill to offer.

How do they work? All you have to do is load the video from within your browser in your headset.

Oculus Browser will do just fine, but some Quest 2 users recommend using the Mozilla Firefox browser. They experience higher frame rates and an overall better VR tour experience.

Since the durations of many 360-degree tour videos are short, you can look for multiple videos and add them to a playlist. Then, simply hit play and let yourself be taken around the world from the comfort of your couch.

For your convenience, here are two of the best VR tour compilations I came across:

The best 360° aerial footage by AirPano. Part I – YouTube

Virtual Travel (VR Experience) – YouTube

Wander is not your average adventure app, not by a long shot.

And by that, I mean that this app lets you travel in time. With a unique feature, you get to actually visit different areas at different points in time . See your hometown since you moved away or the construction of Dubai from a desert.

The magic of this app also integrates Google Street view to give you a truly one of a kind experience.

Even with time travel being an amazing feature, it doesn’t mean you can’t travel in the present. Wander lets you visit the world without restrictions. Explore the Wonders of the World in VR and live the traveling dream you always had!

Get Wander for $9.99 on Oculus Store .

Best PCVR Travel Experiences for the Quest 2

Since we’re talking about the best travel experiences you can have on the Quest 2, it wouldn’t be fair to leave out the PCVR possibilities!

You can immerse yourself in PCVR experiences on your Quest 2 through PC streaming options such as Virtual Desktop or Oculus (Air) Link. If you are new to VR and want to know more about how these options work, check out this article .

6) Google Earth VR

First, let’s address the elephant in the room: Google Earth VR. When it comes to travelling experiences, everybody should have at least heard of this app.

Google Earth VR lets you travel the literal world in your VR body. You get to float around in any location and take in the marvelous sites created by man and nature anywhere!

As a bonus, this app comes with preloaded tours for selected locations like the Amazon River and The Grand Canyon. All you have to do is not forget to enjoy the ride.

So whether it’s the Eiffel Tower, Pyramids of Giza, or the entire Great Wall of China, Google Earth VR is something definitely worth trying out!

Did I mention it’s free? Get it from Steam now!

7) Realities

With additional add-ons that are just as free as the game, Realities is a mesmerizing historical VR experience.

This app takes you to a bunch of different locations that are incredibly detailed for a VR game and lets you explore what once was. Photorealism is at the core of Realities as it abandons the traditional 360-degree approach to VR experiences in favor of greater and more realistic immersion.

You’ll especially like this app if you’re interested in knowing what the less popular “tourist sites” are like!

Get to explore the chill of the Alcatraz prison, the lifelessness of Death Valley, and the ruins of old castles with Realities.

Get Realities for Free on Steam

8) Bonus Entry: Flow

Not everybody wants to travel for the fun, the thrill, or the exploration. Some people want to visit new locations for the serenity and to discover new ways to relax.

If your next trip across the world in VR is like that, then Flow is the app for you. The locations in this app revolve around what Iceland has to offer, mainly because of the natural scenery there .

The features of Flow revolve around meditation and calmness. Even the chosen locations from around the world are an inspiration to help the human brain feel more calm.

There’s also a specially curated playlist to help VR enthusiasts make the most of their virtual vacation.

Recharge yourself in all the soothing experiences that Flow has to offer on the Quest 2!

Get Flow Free from SideQuest

Note! For more information on how to sideload an app onto your Quest 2, give this article a read.

That concludes my current list for the best travel experiences on the Quest 2. There are a few games that are currently only compatible with the Oculus Go that are slowly but surely making their way to the Quest 2.

Stay tuned for more, especially as new game releases and updates roll out!

HARDWARE USED FOR TESTING AND WRITING THE ARTICLES : * Meta Quest 2 (My “daily driver” headset, which I absolutely love & recommend) * Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060, 16GB RAM) * TP-Link Archer C6 (budget dedicated router for Air Link, see my full setup tutorial ) ESSENTIAL QUEST 2 COMFORT ACCESSORIES : * VR Cover Foam Replacement (one of the easiest & cheapest ways to improve headset comfort) * BoboVR M2 Head Strap (reduce pressure on your head and improve the overall fit of the headset)

Martin Rakver

I am a software engineer and tech enthusiast. During my free time, I like to immerse myself in the world of virtual and augmented reality, which I believe will be more and more prominent in the years to come.

Screen Rant

10 virtual travel apps for oculus/meta quest 2.

VR gives people the chance to travel the world from the comfort of their own house, and these ten apps are the best for the Oculus/Meta Quest 2.

Travel is a major goal for many people, but it can be inaccessible even in the best of times because of financial and mobility-related barriers. As unfortunate as it is, some people may never have the chance to visit all the places they want to. But VR allows its users to not only explore virtual worlds but also get a better understanding of their own.

Between 360-degree breakdowns of the world, guided tour videos, and documentaries, VR allows people to get closer to the places of their dreams than was previously possible. Many travel apps even include interactive features, so the users can feel like they're actually able to connect with different cultures and topography. As systems like the Oculus/ Meta Quest 2 become more widely available, and as programmers and cinematographers put more effort into advancing the technologies, travel will truly be possible without having to leave home.

Traveling While Black

Traveling While Black is an Emmy-nominated VR experience that talks about the process of traveling, specifically focusing on the barriers that have been put in place for Black populations, in history and in the present. The experience takes advantage of every benefit VR offers, which helps its message connect with the audience.

While this is not a documentary that focuses on the freedom of VR, it does try to get its users to think outside their own bodies and life experiences to see how other people can be limited in their own freedom. It tells an incredibly important story, which deserves to be heard by those who have now gained a deeper level of freedom through the digital realm.

For those looking for a way to walk around the world, Wander is the app to download. The app's primary function is to allow users to navigate the world similarly to Google Maps' StreetView, allowing them to enter an address and be transported to that spot. This can be a great way to explore new areas or look back on places you used to live.

In addition to immersive imagery, users can use the historical jumping feature to see what different areas looked like over the years. Many famous landmarks even have the ability to be explored from the inside, giving users the feeling that they're really there.

BRINK Traveler

BRINK Traveler gives users the ability to see some of the most amazing places on Earth from the comfort of their own homes. While there are currently only 17 locations for users to visit, the additional features make each one a true travel experience that may push them to travel in real life as well .

Virtual guides can explain the features and history of each spot, and an in-app camera allows users to take all the pictures they would want if they were to visit in person. Another great feature is the ability to travel in multiplayer mode, which lets users meet up with friends from anywhere while getting a remarkable view at the same time.

OtherSight is one of the most interactive travel apps out there because it specifically focused on including usable objects in every location. Currently, users only have the option of going to four different locations, but there's a lot that they can do at each one.

Users can visit churches, streets, and museums and really get a sense of how it feels to be there. The scale, texture, and movement qualities of interactive features are especially well done. While this is a fairly limited app at the moment, the developers are working on new locations, which can provide future explorations.

The Ocean might not be the first place people think of when they try to imagine their travel plans, but it is one of the great untapped resources on Earth. There is far more to be seen and discovered in the Ocean than there is on land, and Ocean Rift gives users the chance to explore that realm.

There are 14 different habitats to explore, which can be used as an educational program or one for relaxation, depending on the settings. The sea creatures are extremely detailed, and users can actually interact with many of them, giving the perspective of a true underwater safari. However, those with a fear of the ocean and its creatures may find some modes a little too realistic for their comfort level.

Blueplanet VR Explore

Blueplanet VR Explore is one of the most expensive travel apps, but that's in part because it is so extensive. The app allows its users to travel to 40 different cultural sites, with some offering the ability to interact with the landscape or even hang glide over it.

One of the best qualities of this app is the spacial breakdown, where users can truly explore the location. It is a physically navigable terrain, which creates a greater level of immersion than standard point-and-click systems. The one downside to the app, beyond its price, is that it takes up a lot of space, requiring a lot of memory and a strong internet signal while downloading.

Alcove is not technically a travel app, but it does offer a number of virtual tour experiences for free. The app itself is a virtual home, where users can download different in-app features depending on their interests. The travel features do include a number of tours on the ground, under the sea, and even in the sky, narrated by some of the most thorough guides available in VR.

The limitation of the app is that each experience is entirely pre-determined. There are no interactive features that would make it more immersive. However, given that it is free and has such incredible visual quality, that might be a sacrifice worth making.

National Geographic Explore VR

National Geographic Explore VR is a highly-interactive app that allows users to take on the role of a National Geographic photographer. They have the ability to travel to Machu Pichu or Antarctica, where they can navigate the landscape and take pictures of the many sights to see.

Users feel the strain of rowing boats and climbing cliffs, which makes for a more immersive experience . However, the quest is fairly pre-programmed, which means that individual decision-making is only possible in the pictures a user takes rather than in the experience as a whole. Coupled with another, more interactive app, this could be a great way to feel the travel in a way that images themselves cannot achieve.

Nature Treks VR

Nature Treks VR isn't overly concerned with realism, instead focusing on making a relaxing experience. Users have the ability to go on a walk on a variety of virtual paths, with exotic animals meandering by and control of the weather allowing the user to fit the experience to their preferences.

Because it isn't definitively located in any real-world locations , users have the ability to mold the world as they see fit, interacting with the trees to summon animals and controlling the sound levels to be more immersive or more relaxing. The detail work and spontaneity make it an engaging experience, though users should be aware that it is not intended to be a completely realistic one.

ecosphere is a photo-realistic breakdown of the Earth's most beautiful locations and the people that are working to protect them. Intended as a way to help the average person connect with the environmental crises of our time , these immersive documentaries show the importance of caring for the Earth before the damage is irreversible.

This is distinct from other user-directed travel apps but also provides a sense of depth and significance far beyond what other apps can offer. There are only a handful of experiences, but they go beyond visuals to explain what really matters about the different locations they portray. As an added bonus, the app is free, making these videos some of the most accessible ways for Oculus users to travel in VR.

NEXT: The 10 Coolest Games To Play On Oculus Quest 2

10 of the best virtual reality travel experiences

With the mainstream travel industry experiencing a period of major downtime amid the Coronavirus pandemic, adventure seekers are having to put their globetrotting plans on hold. But even with planes grounded and hotels shut, there are still some alternative ways of experiencing the thrills of wanderlust – and among them are the opportunities afforded by the burgeoning world of Virtual Reality.

(Photo: Lyncconf Games via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)

There are a huge number of Virtual Reality companies all vying to create ever more unique experiences for consumers and one of the biggest VR growth categories has been travel. And what better time to get a taste of travel from the comfort of your living room, equipped only with a VR headset, than now? We’ve picked out 10 of the best virtual reality travel experiences currently on the market.

So which VR headset should you go for? Our favourite is the Oculus Quest 2, which just launched onto the market. The Quest 2 is the successor to the popular Oculus Go, which is no longer available. For immersive games and travel experiences, we believe the Quest 2 is destined to become the leading VR headset over the coming years. It’s pretty affordable, too, and unlike other headsets such as the Oculus Rift, doesn’t require cords or a computer. You can purchase the Oculus Quest 2 at Amazon.com for $299

National Geographic Explore VR

Created in partnership with National Geographic, a world leading society in the fields of geography, cartography and exploration, this magical VR experience invites you to discover two of the most iconic locations on planet earth. Don your explorer hat and head to Antartica for an exhilarating expedition. Navigate around icebergs in a kayak, climb a vast ice shelf and survive a snowstorm as you hunt for a lost emperor penguin colony. Visit the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru and get immersed in amazing digital reconstructions of the legendary site. Witness mummy worships, raise a cup of sacred chicha and encounter cute and furry alpacas as you match Hiram Bingham’s photographs from when he rediscovered the citadel. Be sure to take a camera as your best snaps may even make it into the prestigious National Geographic magazine.

PRICE £7.99 HEADSETS Oculus Quest

(Photo: Force Field Entertainment B.V)

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

Fans of the hugely popular TV blockbuster The Walking Dead can now join the world of zombies in this new VR adventure. Travel through the ruins of New Orleans as you fight, scavenge, and survive, each day unravelling another mystery lurking within the city’s historic quarters. Encounter desperate factions and lone survivors who could be friend or foe. Whether you help others or take what you want by force, every choice you make has consequences. What kind of survivor will you be for the people of NOLA? Scavenge for anything that you can; weapons, food, tools, and clues. Be wary of the living and the dead, with spatial audio drawing attention to any loud noise. Craft makeshift gear out of scrapped material; blades, guns, medicine, and more. Test your morals and make difficult choices for yourself and others. It’s all here, bringing the small screen to life in a big way.

PRICE £29.99 HEADSETS Oculus Quest

(Photo: Skydance Interactive)

Narrated by award-winning actress Anna Friel, this trail-blazing VR series opens the door to some of the planet’s wildest environments while redefining the limits of 3D-180 cameras. Meet the humans protecting our most precious wildlife, explore the great savannahs of Kenya, discover the ancient jungles of Borneo and dive into the rich coral reefs of Raja Ampat. Encounter elephants, orangutans, manta rays and some incredible humans, all in stunning cinematic footage filmed from the air and deep into the ocean. The series was produced in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF),

PRICE Free HEADSETS Oculus Quest

(Photo: PHORIA)

The world is your oyster with this interactive, immerse VR experience that’s designed to be played by the whole family. There’s global travel and adventure in which your friends and family can join city tours, hot air balloon rides, back-country road trips, and plenty more. Or you can simply kick back and relax, practice meditation and get back to nature – all in the company of a guide or going solo, if you prefer. Other features include photo sharing, sound tracks, a range of fun game and media customisation.

(Photo: AARP Innovation Labs)

Rome Reborn: The Pantheon

Created by Flyover Zone, an American company specialising in virtual travel applications that present the world’s most important cultural heritage sites and monuments, Rome Reborn is one of five applications that present different areas of ancient Rome. This particular one transports users over the entire ancient city, focussing on the Pantheon, perhaps the best-preserved building from antiquity. In the company of two virtual guides, you’ll get to explore the exterior forecourt and interior sanctuary of the reconstructed complex as you listen and learn about the Pantheon’s design and decoration, as well as the nature of the religious cult once housed within it.

PRICE £3.99 HEADSETS Currently only available on Oculus Go (soon available on Quest 2)

(Photo: Flyover Zone Productions)

The Great Pyramids of Egypt

One of the Escape Now seven-part virtual travel series, The Great Pyramids of Egypt transports viewers to one of the world’s most iconic destinations – the ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, that date back to the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. Filmed and hosted by award-winning VR filmmaker, Tarik Mohamed, the tour features full commentary and background that provides viewers with fascinating and immersive insights into the experience. Mohamed is also working on expanding into online educational curriculums for middle and high schools dealing with social studies and history.

PRICE Free HEADSETS Currently only available on Oculus Go (soon available on Quest 2)

(Photo: Captivision Media)

Olympia in VR

Australian-based start-up Lithodomos have rapidly gained attention in the VR world for their archaeology-focussed applications that recreate the ancient world for tour operators, educators, and consumer entertainment. Among their most popular apps is Olympia in VR, which allows users to embark on a self-guided tour of ancient Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the modern Olympic Games. Highlights include the chance to explore painstakingly recreated versions of the Olympic Stadium, Temple of Zeus and Temple of Hera, as well as many other monuments and buildings. During the virtual adventure you’ll get to interact with artefacts to hear their stories and gain a unique perspective on this historically iconic site.

PRICE £2.29 HEADSETS Currently only available on Oculus Go (soon available on Quest 2)

(Photo: Lithodomos VR)

Monte Fitzroy is Argentina’s most famous mountain landmark and is even used as the logo for outdoor retailer, Patagonia. It is a place that immediate evokes a sense of adventure. At the foot of the mountain is a beautiful and remote glacial lake known as Laguna Sucia. Most people who visit Monte Fitzroy view it from a location that is much easier to access. Laguna Sucia requires a much tougher hard-to-access trail that culminates in one of the most beautiful and remote glacial lakes in existence. You are rewarded with a sense of almost meditative stillness as you approach this untouched natural amphitheater. This VR experience utilizes Pterovision, a 3D technology that integrates computational photography, 360 Video, and gaming and allows you to take off like a bird, fly around the lake, visit the waterfalls along the edge, and fly over glacial formations beneath the mountain peaks. Numerous narrations will tell you about the challenges we faced when filming in this location, as well as educate you about the geology, culture, and history.

(Photo: Specterras Productions)

Crater Lake

Explore the beautiful and serene Crater Lake in Oregon, USA. Full 360 immersive virtual reality, 18 images to view, an interactive map to jump to different locations and animated scenes depicting the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama and the creation of the caldera we see today. Interact with pop-up windows showing detailed information on 18 local wildlife and listen to their call sounds, plus in depth details on the Crater Lake bathymetry and other main features.

PRICE $2.99 HEADSETS Currently only available on Oculus Go (soon available on Quest 2)

(Photo: Cicada Studio)

Redneck Road Trip

Rod Edwards is an international award-winning stills photographer and an interactive content creator who uses the VRdirect platform to create and publish his unique VR projects. The Redneck Roadtrip gives viewers the chance to become armchair virtual reality visitors and experience his tour in the comfort of their own home. When shooting Redneck Roadtrip, he enjoyed the excitement of just waiting to see what lies around every corner. It’s a wonderful way to travel, experiencing life and meeting fascinating people along the way. It’s almost as good as being there in person…

Window to the World

Aurel Manea is a photographer and VR enthusiast committed to capturing the moment when reality and photography converge. From this mission has come Window to the World, A stunning showcase of his best landscape pictures through a remarkable 3D effect, created manually from original 2D photographs using a spin on traditional parallax techniques. The result is a beautiful piece of artwork that delivers a truly immersive experience.

(Photo: Aurel Manea)

Gala360 – Travel & Relax

Taking you on awe-inspiring virtual adventures across the globe, Gala360 is the result of the magic touch of an array of exceptionally talented photographers who have captured their globe-trotting trips in all their glory before being rendered into VR form. In professional 6K resolution, more than 300 tours around the world are featured, with some also including narration which allows you to listen to the stories behind the trips. Most of the tours are free, but you can pay a small fee to unlock more.

(Photo: Gala 360)

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The Ultimate Guide to the Best VR Travel Apps on Meta Quest

Discover the world from the comfort of your own home with our meticulously handpicked selection of the best VR travel apps available on the Meta Quest platform. With these immersive and engaging virtual reality applications, you can traverse continents, delve into the depths of the ocean, soar through the skies, and embark on exhilarating adventures, all without ever leaving your living room.

As virtual reality technology continues to evolve, the experiences offered by these apps become increasingly lifelike and captivating, creating unforgettable memories and fostering a deeper appreciation for our planet's diverse beauty. Whether you're a seasoned traveler seeking new horizons, a curious explorer who loves learning about different cultures, or someone who simply wants to relax in breathtaking environments, our curated list of the best VR travel apps for Meta Quest caters to every taste and interest. These cutting-edge experiences will undoubtedly transport you to extraordinary places and provide unique perspectives that redefine the way you discover and connect with the world around you.

Introduction: The World at Your Fingertips

Virtual reality has transformed how we explore the world, allowing us to travel to far-off destinations without ever leaving our homes. The Meta Quest platform offers a plethora of immersive experiences with the best VR travel apps that take you on breathtaking adventures. From guided tours of the world's most stunning locales to tranquil meditation retreats, there's an app for everyone in this comprehensive guide.

Wander: Roam the Globe with Street View

Wander is one of the best VR travel apps on Meta Quest, providing users with access to Google Street View in a fully immersive environment. Traverse city streets, hike through national parks and visit historical landmarks as you explore the world at your leisure. Key features include:

360-degree panoramas
Time travel: view historical imagery
Multiplayer mode: travel with friends
Voice search and teleportation

Google Earth VR: Soar Through the Skies and Dive into Oceans

Google Earth VR is another top contender among the best VR travel apps on Meta Quest. It allows users to fly over cities virtually, dive into oceans, and walk the streets of their favorite destinations. Highlights of Google Earth VR include:

Immersive 3D environments
Guided tours of popular attractions
Customizable itineraries
Integration with Google Maps

National Geographic Explore VR: Embark on Exciting Expeditions

National Geographic Explore VR brings the world's most iconic locations and thrilling adventures to life. This Oculus-exclusive app allows users to:

Dive with sharks in Belize
Climb Antarctica's highest peak
Explore Machu Picchu and ancient Incan history
Uncover hidden secrets of Egyptian tombs

Guided Meditation VR: Find Peace and Serenity

Guided Meditation VR transports users to a serene, virtual world filled with breathtaking environments to aid in relaxation and meditation. This app ranks among the best VR travel apps on Meta Quest for those seeking a peaceful escape. Features of Guided Meditation VR include:

Over 100 meditation sessions
A variety of calming environments
Personalized meditation experiences
Integration with popular wearables for biofeedback

TheBlu: Dive into the Depths of the Ocean

TheBlu offers a mesmerizing underwater experience that immerses users in the beauty and wonder of the ocean. As one of the best VR travel apps on Meta Quest, TheBlu lets you explore the depths of the sea and interact with marine life in stunning detail. Key aspects of TheBlu include:

Photorealistic marine environments
Three unique oceanic experiences
Interaction with diverse marine species
Educational content about ocean conservation

Conclusion: The World Awaits in VR

Virtual reality has revolutionized how we explore the world, offering immersive experiences that transport us to distant lands and captivating environments. The best VR travel apps on Meta Quest provide an unmatched way to discover new destinations, embark on thrilling adventures, or simply unwind in peaceful settings. As you journey through these breathtaking experiences, you'll gain a newfound appreciation for the beauty and wonder of our planet.

Can I use these VR travel apps without a Meta Quest device? Most of the apps mentioned in our list are specifically designed for Meta Quest devices, such as the Meta Quest Quest and Oculus Rift. However, some apps, like Google Earth VR, may be available on other VR platforms such as HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. It is always recommended to check the compatibility of the apps with your specific VR headset.
Are there any free VR travel apps for Meta Quest? Yes, there are free VR travel apps available on the Meta Quest platform. Google Earth VR, for instance, is a free app that allows you to explore the world in immersive 3D environments. However, some apps may require a one-time purchase or offer in-app purchases to unlock additional content and features.
Can I travel with friends using these VR travel apps? Some VR travel apps, like Wander, offer multiplayer modes that allow you to explore and experience the world together with friends or family members who also have compatible VR headsets. This feature can make virtual travel more engaging and enjoyable as you share adventures with your loved ones.
Are there any educational VR travel apps? Many VR travel apps provide educational content and experiences. For example, National Geographic Explore VR combines breathtaking expeditions with informative content on history, culture, and wildlife. Similarly, TheBlu offers educational material about ocean conservation and marine life.
Is an internet connection required for using these VR travel apps? Most VR travel apps require an active internet connection, as they rely on real-world data and imagery to create immersive environments. However, some apps may allow you to download content for offline use. It is best to check the specific requirements of each app before use.
Can I use these apps to plan real-life trips? While VR travel apps primarily focus on providing immersive experiences, they can also be helpful in planning real-life trips. For example, Google Earth VR and Wander can give you a sense of what a destination looks like and help you identify places of interest before you visit. This can aid in creating a more efficient and enjoyable travel itinerary.

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Who says you can't see the world if you stay home? Virtual reality (VR) tourism experiences let you see places all over the world without ever leaving your couch. These aren't games; they're experiences, so the pace may be slower than you expect, but they are worth your patience. Here are some of the best VR tourist destinations to help you decide on your next virtual adventure.

Make sure your computer is beefy enough to handle the demands of virtual reality technology.

The Grand Canyon VR Experience

Very relaxing experience.

Excellent visual and sound quality.

Impressive attention to detail.

Predefined with little control.

Requires powerful hardware.

Short experience.

In The Grand Canyon VR Experience ($2.99 by Immersive Entertainment), you sit in a virtual motorized kayak ride through the Grand Canyon. Tailor the tour to your preferences by selecting either a sunlit or moonlit experience and controlling the ride's speed.

While you cruise along, you'll enjoy the sights and sounds of procedurally generated, artificially intelligent wildlife. Attract and feed the virtual fish as you navigate the waterways.

The ride is on rails, so you can't steer the kayak. However, you can stop at various points and enjoy the scenery by using the throttle speed controls of your motorized kayak or by exiting at scenic rest stops.

The tour is short, and there's no historical background information for history buffs. Still, it is a fun ride perfect for someone new to VR.

This tour requires one of the following virtual reality headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift , or Valve Index .

Explore amazing places.

Impressively detailed.

More locations are added to the library regularly.

Not updated recently.

Realities (free from Realities.io ) is a VR travel app that allows you to explore scanned and modeled real-world environments. The environments aren't just 360-degree photos; these locations were captured with specialized scanning equipment, allowing for immersive rendering in virtual reality.

The user interface is a giant globe you rotate with your VR controllers. Once you decide on the place you want to visit, tap the area on the virtual globe, and you are instantly whisked away to the exotic locale.

One interesting destination is a cell in the infamous Alcatraz prison. When you arrive, you're greeted by an unseen narrator, presumably a former prisoner in the cell next to you, who recalls their experiences. It's museum-like and an educational adventure worth having.

There are other destinations of varying size and complexity, and the experience is updated with new realities regularly.

This experience is compatible with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality .

Titans of Space PLUS

Great soundtrack.

Detailed 3D visuals.

Impressive sense of scale.

Flying through space makes some users feel nauseated.

No improvements since late 2019.

Do you like planetariums? Have you always wished they were more realistic? If you've ever dreamed of riding in a spaceship and exploring the solar system and beyond, Titans of Space PLUS ($9.99 by DrashVR LLC) helps make this a reality—at least a virtual one).

The original Titans of Space was one of the first polished virtual reality experiences available; it created a lot of buzz about all the potential VR had to offer.

This app provides a theme park-style ride through the solar system and beyond, allowing you to control the pace of the experience. Factoids about the planets and moons are provided throughout your journey, as are distances and other measurements of interest.

The sense of scale of the planets and moons is truly awe-inspiring and gives a unique perspective only astronauts usually get to have.

This title runs in both standard and VR modes. It does not require a VR headset. It is compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality.

Impressive rendering technology.

Auto-tunes for your GPU.

Stunning visuals.

Can feel slow.

Mostly narration with little hands-on time.

Everest VR ($9.99 from Sólfar Studios ) is an interactive Mount Everest VR tourism experience.

You'll experience Mount Everest in five iconic scenes. Prepare for your expedition at Basecamp, traverse the terrifying Khumbu Icefalls, spend the night at Camp 4, ascend the perilous Hillary Step, and finally conquer the summit of Everest.

After completing your first summit attempt, unlock God Mode to reach a unique vantage point of the Himalayas that's only possible in VR. Towering over the mountain range, this is a stunning VR diorama.

EVEREST VR is a must if you're into mountain climbing but don't like its possible death and frostbite aspects.

Requires one of the following virtual reality headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or Valve Index.

The VR Museum of Fine Art

Lots of content.

Educational experience.

Hasn't been updated since its initial release.

No voice narration.

Only takes about 20 minutes to experience.

If you've ever wanted to peruse a museum at your own pace with no limits on how close you can get to the artwork, then The VR Museum of Fine Art (free from Finn Sinclair) is for you.

This free app holds amazing educational value with incredibly detailed scans of some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. Look at the brushstrokes of Monet's Water Lilies or take a 360-degree tour of Michelangelo's David. This is an art lover's delight.

The experience makes you feel as if you're visiting a museum, complete with a pamphlet map to help you navigate your way around the exhibits.

Great VR experience.

Incredibly realistic.

Contains three episodes.

theBlu ($9.99 from Wevr INC .) is a collection of virtual reality-based underwater experiences that make you feel as if you're literally in the tank of a huge aquarium exhibit.

Stand on the deck of a sunken ship while a gargantuan whale swims by and looks you straight in the eye or swim in a sea of bioluminescent jellyfish. There's no need for expensive scuba equipment or diving classes, or even to leave your living room, for that matter.

The level of detail in this app is amazing, and the sense of scale (especially during the whale encounter in the first episode) is jaw-dropping.

Compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality.

Google Earth VR

Amazing street view VR.

Travel the world virtually.

Impressive, vast experience.

Can be slow to load.

Lacks a search feature.

May cause motion sickness.

When Google Earth was released many years ago, everyone marveled at the novelty of finding and viewing their house from satellite imagery. Now, Google Earth VR (free from Google) lets you see your house from space and virtually fly to it and stand in your front yard or on your rooftop.

Change the sun's position, scale objects to any size you like, and fly around the world. The detail levels depend on what you're trying to view. For example, tourist destinations are likely to have more detailed geospatial imagery than rural areas. There is so much to see, and Google offers virtual tours to help you get started.

Google has even added several comfort features to prevent virtual travel sickness in this must-see virtual reality app.

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Virtual reality tourism ready for takeoff as travellers remain grounded

Experts say pandemic could provide watershed moment for technology, potentially leading to more sustainable tourism

With globe-trotting banned in the pandemic, increasing numbers of people are turning to virtual reality to relieve pent-up demand for travel.

Escapism from the sofa through a growing range of VR travel experiences is whetting appetites for post-pandemic holidays and could be a watershed moment for the technology in tourism, say analysts.

“As long as the pandemic increases and we are spending more time indoors, we should see adoption keep on growing,” said Ralph Hollister, a tourism analyst at Global Data and the author of a recent report on VR in tourism.

Oculus launched its Quest 2 headset in October and the most popular experiences include National Geographic VR, which takes users to places such as Antarctica – where they can navigate icebergs in a kayak, climb an ice shelf and survive a raging snowstorm as they search for a lost emperor penguin colony.

Another app, Wander, can teleport VR travellers from the pyramids of Egypt to the gardens of the Taj Mahal, while Alcove offers immersive experiences from hot air balloon rides to city tours.

When We Stayed Home takes travellers to the heart of Paris, Venice, Jerusalem and Tokyo as they largely are today. Through the eyes of a local, you can witness the calm, the beauty and the emptiness of a places on pause during April 2020.

“In this time of social distancing, people are looking for different ways to stay entertained, connected and active, and VR offers that,” said an Oculus spokesperson. “Whether you want to transport yourself to different places in the world, play with friends, get fit or just hang out together and feel like you’re in the same room, people are realising they can with VR.”

One prominent adopter of pandemic VR is Germany’s national tourist board, which has unveiled a number of immersive projects. The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation is using VR to showcase experiences such as beach yoga and snorkelling.

Hollister said VR was still seen as a gimmick. “It remains to be seen if increased usage will last beyond when meaningful travel resumes.” But he believes it could.

“I think the increase will be sustained, especially with the Gen Z and millennials in coming years, as they move into higher-paid jobs, and marketers take them more seriously as a consumer group. They will not feel alienated by the technology,” he said.

Currently, VR is used in the pre-trip “dreamer” stage in tourism, with people looking at where they might want to go. Among the tourist operator Kuoni’s offerings, potential customers can take a 360-degree tour of the upmarket Sandy Lane luxury resort in Barbados.

Hollister predicts that in the future people could use VR to book trips directly, as well as choosing seats on planes and hotel rooms with a click of the controller.

“A lot of travellers and consumers want a seamless experience, to go from looking to booking with minimal clicks, instant gratification and saving as much time as possible,” he said.

It has its limitations. ‘Tourism is also about touch, taste, smell, all those other sensory experiences, which is something VR cannot do,” he said. The price of high-quality headsets restricts access too.

But as the world seeks more sustainable tourism, Hollister said VR also offered a solution. As historic sites are damaged through mass tourism, recreating them in VR could help conserve them.

So this could be a watershed moment for VR and travel. “Everyone will be analysing that and working out its real worth to the industry,” he said.

‘More immersive than I could have imagined’

Angel Ross hoped to be travelling this year – and he has. He’s been cage diving with white sharks, kayaked in Antarctica and played poker in China – all virtually.

Ross, who works for a London-based marketing firm, invested in an Oculus Quest 2 in January to satisfy his wanderlust after finding himself “stuck at home with the winter getting a bit depressing”.

He said: “I love travelling. I am 22 and these are the years when I have been wanting to do a lot of things, and obviously can’t do anything right now. I love the ocean and I love snorkelling. On the Oculus you can dive with all these different animals, and it’s super immersive and realistic.

“There’s a great white shark, you can get in a cage and it comes up to you. It was pretty terrifying but amazing. Then there’s more friendly animals like dolphins you can play with. I’ve done all of them, pretty much.”

To make it more inclusive, he can cast what he is seeing on to his computer or TV to share with friends. “You feel quite disorientated when you come out, because you are really tricking your brain to think you are there,” he said.

On the National Geographic VR app, he went on an Antarctic adventure. “I saw whales, I was in a kayak and you can climb an ice shelf. You really feel like you are walking and moving and going somewhere. All your senses – obviously not smell and touch – feel they are being completely absorbed.

“I am a big poker player, with friends and not for money. And the poker on there is incredible. You can go to all these different locations. And one is this Chinese rooftop garden pool. Really cool.”

He has also been rock climbing in the Alps, “which is super realistic – you chalk your hands and you can look around and see the drop. Pretty insane.”

On YouTube VR he went in a drone up to 40,000ft to see the curvature of the Earth. “It’s even more immersive than I could have imagined. One hundred per cent,” he said .

“Because it’s so immersive and intense, you can’t sit on it for hours on end. You need breaks. So you can have an intense, fun experience and do so many different things, invigorate your senses. And then you just stop, have a break. And you don’t need that constant fix.”

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Best VR experiences 2023: Explore, learn, and be entertained in virtual reality

Toy with planets, explore the ocean, or step into the past with the best VR experiences.

Best VR experiences - National Geographic Explore VR Machu Picchu_National Geographic

Space Explorers: The ISS Experience

Brink traveller, star chart vr, national geographic explore vr, all kinds of limbo xr, universe sandbox, perspectives: paradise, the book of distance, within - cinematic vr.

With virtual reality well and truly in the mainstream, there’s no time like the present to dive into the best VR experiences on offer. And we do mean experiences, not games. Yes, there’s fun to be had soaring through space in an X-Wing or gunning down bad-guys from behind a dumpster but VR has so much more to offer besides.

There are a whole range of VR applications that, from the comfort of your own home, let you visit places, times and even whole worlds that would otherwise be out of your reach. Sometimes you’re just you, while some titles put you in someone else’s shoes, offering a perspective you might never have considered. VR fitness apps are becoming more popular, and you can even work in VR .

Without the need to fend off murderous bandits or face-eating xenomorphs, you can take your time to immerse yourself in the experience of your choosing. And if you haven’t already picked up a VR headset (they’re surprisingly affordable) check out our list of the best VR headsets here.

The only snag is there are so many VR experiences out there that it can be hard to know where to start, even if you’ve a specific area of interest in mind. For example, put “dinosaurs” and “VR” into the Steam Store and you’re greeted by 80+ results.

That’s why we’ve rounded up the ten of the best VR experiences available. Some are free, others sport a reasonable price tag but all offer the chance to expand your horizons without even leaving your living room. And if you want to pick up a VR headset to check out these experiences, head to our VR headset deals page to get the best price.

Platforms: Oculus
Price: $2.99 for each of the 4 episodes (via Oculus Store)

If anyone is looking to experience the wonders of space, this VR experience may be close to what you’ll get to seeing what its like aboard a space station. Shot over two years, the VR experience was filmed at the International Space Station. It’s a gorgeous look at life aboard the station, told through four parts as you follow eight astronauts on a journey through some missions. It’ll give viewers an intimate look at living the life on orbit.

There won’t be much interaction, but the experience does dive deep into space exploration through the eyes of these astronauts. With these extreme close-ups of these workers in space together, you’ll feel like you are with them during the joys and dangers of their profession.

Check out Space Explorers on the Oculus Store .
Platforms: Steam VR, Meta (including Meta Quest)
Price: $9.99 / £7.99 (via Steam Store, Meta Quest Store)

BRINK Traveller takes you on a tour of twenty stunning natural spots, across thirteen locations. That may not sound like a lot when you can run Google Earth on most headsets, but BRINK Traveller’s locales are more than just 360° videos or shots.

Instead, you get to roam around each lookout spot, gazing down into the Grand Canyon, for example, watching the odd bird soar overhead. Should you be so inclined you can pick up a rock and pitch it into the water or take photographs. Or why not pull up a chair and just relax? It’s not 100% photorealistic but it’s convincing enough that it’s almost as good as being there.

The locations are, mostly, American but the developers are slowly adding more international locations. Besides which, (virtually) taking in California’s Death Valley, Arizona’s The Wave rock formation and more, you’re bound to come away impressed.

Buy BRINK Traveller on Steam .
Buy BRINK Traveller on Meta Quest Store .
Platforms: Oculus, Steam, Google Play
Price: $9.99

Speaking of space, this VR experience is also out of this world as it allows you to explore the solar system in a beautiful rendering of a real-time space simulation. You can take a closer look at all the planets in our galaxy whether its Saturn’s rings or the moons that orbit it. This is a great way to educate yourself in what the solar system has to offer and see how these constellations are formed in the night sky. Choose from different Star Chart modes to give you some choices in your star gazing activity.

There’s also tons of experiences like Moments in Time that take you throughout history in space expedition like the moon landing and the rover’s exploration in Mars. No matter what you choose, you’ll enjoy what our solar system has to offer thanks to this one-of-kind VR experience.

Buy Star Chart VR on Steam.
Buy Star Chart VR on Oculus .
Buy Star Chart VR on Google Play Store .
Price: $9.99

There are plenty of discoveries to be made in this world, and National Geographic help make this possible with their app called Explore VR. There are countless experiences to uncover and it’s a nice educational tool to see what this world has to offer regarding culture and exploration.

Users can explore the old ruins of Machu Picchu or even scale the icebergs in the far-off region of Antarctica. It’s perfect for the whole family to travel the world without ever leaving the house. The main goal is to capture photos on these exhibitions, so the National Geographic Explore VR experience is a nice way to discover these vast locations to get to know the landscape and learn its history.

Buy National Geographic Explore VR for $9.99 at Oculus store .
Platforms: Steam VR, Meta (including Meta Quest 2)

It’s estimated that 80% of the ocean’s depths remain unexplored and while Ocean Rift is based on what we do know, it still offers some amazing encounters. Swimming around one of several sub-aquatic areas, you’ll get to gawp at humpback whales, play with dolphins and, should you so choose, swim with a handful of prehistoric animals.

Ocean Rift isn’t the only application to offer a similarly watery experience, but what’s impressive is the freedom it grants you. You can roam to your heart’s content, assuming you’ve not chosen the shark cage area, and, occasionally, stumble on some unsettling aquatic items. Ocean Rift doesn’t set out to kill you, but we still got the chills when we stumbled across an abandoned submersible.

Buy Ocean Rift on Steam .
Buy Ocean Rift on Meta Quest Store .
Platforms: All
Price: £6/$8

Live theater still draws in a big crowd with the likes of Broadway shows, concerts, and other types of entertainment. If you would rather see live entertainment from your own home, look no further than the performers behind All Kinds of Limbo. The musical performance is developed by artists Raffy Bushman and Nubiya Brandon alongside the NuShape Orchestra in the U.K.

Using just a VR headset on a mobile device or PC, audiences can take part in this immersive experience that brings the Caribbean culture to life in a story of a life in limbo across different genres of music. Called All Kinds of Limbo XR, this special production from the National Theater utilizes VR technology to create a place for audiences to watch these musicians perform with the tunes of the Caribbean.

See upcoming All Kinds of Limbo events here.
Platforms: Steam VR
Price: $29.99 (via Steam Store, also includes non-VR version)

Universe Sandbox happily caters to those who just want to watch the planets leisurely orbit the sun or, with the click of a button or two, watch days pass in seconds. Even without touching the extensive and sometimes silly Steam Workshop items (space whale included), just poring over solar systems (ours and a handful of others) will keep stargazers happy.

However, it’s the option to experiment that really elevates Universe Sandbox. You can move planets, alter their size, their composition, blow them up – the Solar System is your oyster. Yes, there’s nothing to stop you swapping the Sun out for a black hole and the resultant planetary chaos is really something. But you can have just as much fun making little tweaks and observing the knock-on effects.

Buy Universe Sandbox VR on Steam (Early Access)
Price: Free (via Steam Store)

Perspectives: Paradise starts with a bang and ends with a whimper which, given the subject matter is entirely appropriate. It’s a virtual reality dive into the 1952 test detonation of the first hydrogen bomb and the effect it had at Enewetak/Bikini Atoll, both upon the environment and the original inhabitants.

Aside from a spectacular VR recreation of the detonation of the bomb, you get to delve into the unsettling aftermath, standing atop the sealed mound where radioactive materials were buried. On top of that, there are 360° views of the island, interviews (including with the people who live there now) and more.

The subject is treated with an appropriate level of dignity – it’s not a fist-pumping celebration of America’s might, thanks in part to the involvement of some Finnish journalists. And it’s absolutely going to leave you with food for thought.

Get Perspectives: Paradise on Steam .
Platforms: Steam VR, Meta
Price: Free (via Steam Store, Meta Quest Store)

Aside from visiting remote locations, VR allows you to experience other people’s stories. The Book of Distance tells just one such story, about a Japanese man who emigrated to America. That might be an interesting tale in its own right, but what makes his story so significant is that he was one of the many, many Japanese American citizens who spent some or all of WWII in American internment camps .

What makes this such an impactful experience is that it has such a narrow, personal focus. It was produced with the involvement of Randall Okita, the man’s grandson, and it lets you delve into various aspects of his life. It’s presented as sort of a play, one that will absolutely hold your attention, and it’s the perfect way to illuminate an important but often glossed over chapter of America’s history.

Get The Book of Distance on Steam .
Get The Book of Distance on Meta Quest Store .
Platforms: Oculus, Steam, Google Play, Apple
Price: Free

For those in need of a cinematic experience at home, Within VR can make that happen. Get immersed in some amazing stories in different genres like documentaries, horror, music videos, animation, and so much more. What’s great is that these are viewed at no charge at all.

You can catch the best from indie filmmakers and studios from around the world. These videos are also available to download in high-resolution, so you can take it anywhere you go if you don’t have an internet connection to stream it. If you’re up for some video content, then you’ll find plenty of that through Within.

Best of all, there are no platform limitations, as the Within website proudly states that it's "available everywhere fine VR is served".

Check out Within VR on Steam , Oculus, Google Play , or Apple .

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Chris is a freelance journalist who, aside from covering games and gaming-related tech, has a taste for horror, sci-fi and the post-apocalyptic. As well as Live Science, you can find his work at Space.com, The Escapist, GameSpew (where he’s the morning news writer) and more. You can follow him on Twitter @MarmaladeBus .

Mufsin Mahbub

Virtual Reality

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Explore the World

See amazing places as if you're there in person.

Get BRINK Traveler

Where will you visit today.

for VR Headsets

Supports Meta Quest & Rift and Steam VR compatible headsets.

for AR Phones & Tablets

Supports Apple iPhones & iPads and Android Phones & Tablets.

Step into a postcard

Travel the world from your living room.

The world is filled with amazing places to see and experience, but travel is becoming increasingly expensive, difficult, and inaccessible. But what if you could bring the experience of traveling the world into your home today?

BRINK Traveler is a virtual travel experience that takes you to amazing locations in full 3D to feel like you're really there. Step into a postcard and visit some of the most breathtaking places on Earth today!

Arizona, United States

Mount Whitney

California, United States

Horseshoe Bend

Lone Pine Peak

South Korea

Delicate Arch

Utah, United States

Cirque de Gavarnie

White Pocket

Pulpit Rock

Death Valley

Crystal Crag

Antelope Canyon

Mobius Arch

Navagio Beach

Zakythos, Greece

Aoraki / Mount Cook

New Zealand

Landmannalaugar

Pena Ezkaurre

Mount Sunday

Virtual Travel Experiences

A new way to see the world.

We capture amazing places in volumetric 3D to create incredible immersive experiences that bring you as close as you can get to really being there.

BRINK Traveler for AR turns your phone or tablet into a window to the world, walk around and explore a location as if you were there in person!

BRINK Traveler for VR is the closest thing you'll have to a teleport button anytime soon. Put on a headset and feel like you’re really there!

BRINK Traveler for Phones & Tablets (AR)

Brink traveler for virtual reality (vr).

Fully 3D (6 DoF)

Volumetric capture of real locations all the way to the horizon. Move through a place as you would in person.

BRINK Traveler gives you a feeling of presence, scale, and immersion not possible from any other medium.

Shared experiences with friends and family to travel together from anywhere in the world.

Interactive

More than just seeing! Each location offers a unique experience to interact with a living environment.

Our experiences work on all phones, tablets, and VR headsets, from the comfort of your own home.

We capture the most incredible locations of the world. Places that inspire and stir emotions!

About BRINK XR

Making the world more accessible.

Our Mission

BRINK XR is dedicated to making the wonders of the world personally accessible to all through Virtual Travel Experiences. We aim to give people who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit the amazing places of the world a chance to feel like they’ve experienced it in person.

We see virtual travel as a tool to help lower the barrier of entry for those who don’t have the time, money, or health to travel freely. We believe virtual travel experiences can be a tool to build connection and empathy for these amazing places - to protect and ensure them for future generations. Beyond entertainment, we see profound uses for virtual travel - including education, healthcare, and historic documentation.

Our world is filled with amazing places to see and explore. Our passion for travel and the great outdoors is the guiding light of our work on BRINK Traveler . We strive to recreate the connection we have to the incredible natural places we love being in, and enable anyone to have their own connection to these wonderful locations.

We're an award winning team of VFX artists, VR creators, mountain climbers, and world travelers.

BRINK XR was formed because we recognized an opportunity to use our skills in a new and exciting way to create meaningful content that provides entertainment, education, awareness, and scientific / historic relevance to the world.

We've always been trying to capture and present the world as we experience it with 360 photos, timelapses, photography - but with BRINK Traveler , it finally feels like we've found something that does justice to the scale and feeling of being in these amazing places—something no other medium has been able to really capture before now.

Interested in joining our team? Get in touch with us

You don’t have to pack a bag or bring a passport to be instantly transported around the planet. BRINK Traveler gives you your own personal guide to each meticulously captured location.

BRINK Traveler is a stunning app to have loaded onto your Quest. It falls into the category of essential apps to keep installed for when you’re introducing someone to VR.

Teleport yourself across the planet with BRINK Traveler, a first-of-its-kind virtual travel experience that lets you explore breathtaking real-world places in fully volumetric 3D.

This VR Travel App makes me long for the real thing. Brink Traveler might be a suitable replacement and a lot cheaper than a plane ticket.

Latest Press and Updates

BRINK Traveler's fall update now out on Meta Quest! (and coming soon to PCVR)

October 26 2023 BRINK XR

We're back with another great big content update - this time we've added twelve new spots to visit across eight spectacular locations. We're also releasing the beta of our brand new AI Travel Assistant, along with many other great improvements and fixes!

BRINK Traveler & Puzzling Places present "The Wave" as an immersive puzzle!

August 18 2023 BRINK XR

Puzzling Places is thrilled to announce its latest premium puzzle, "The Wave," in partnership BRINK Traveler. The collaboration is an exciting adventure in itself, bringing together two innovative worlds to create a meditative experience for users...

BRINK XR for the Environment & Earth Day 2023 fundraiser!

April 20 2023 BRINK XR

Our passion for the amazing natural places of Earth is the guiding light behind our work on BRINK Traveler. We believe that everyone should be able to experience the great outdoors — both in our apps and in the real world. Our mission relies on ensuring these wonderful places...

BRINK Traveler's winter locations update now out on Quest, Rift, and SteamVR!

December 24 2022 BRINK XR

Happy Holidays and New Year from BRINK XR - our gift to you is our latest Winter Update for BRINK Traveler! This update focused on bringing in eight new highly diverse and international locations into the experience - places like Norway, South Korea, New Zealand, France...

BRINK Traveler's summer multiplayer update now out on Meta Quest!

August 01 2022 BRINK XR

Summer is finally here and we’re excited to announce the Summer Multiplayer Update for BRINK Traveler! This update focused on the much-requested Social Multiplayer experience so you can travel with friends, family, and other explorers from across the world...

BRINK for the Environment and joining 1% for the Planet

April 20 2022 BRINK XR

BRINK Traveler's winter update now available on Oculus & Steam!

February 01 2022 | BRINK XR

Today we're excited to release our Winter Update as a FREE UPDATE for all existing users. Our main focus for this update is to begin growing the experience with more spots to visit, adding language localization, allowing for greater settings customization based on user feedback, and readying the framework for more updates we have planned in 2022.

Here's a quick rundown of all the new things in the BRINK Traveler Winter Update (v1.1.0)...

BRINK Traveler named one of Oculus' Best Exploration Apps of 2021

December 14 2021 | Oculus

It's been an exciting launch for us, and we're very proud to announce BRINK Traveler has been selected as one of Oculus' best apps of 2021 in the Exploration category!

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support, positive ratings, and touching emails we've received. We're looking forward to the coming year as we release seasonal updates to the app - including many more amazing places to visit and features like multiplayer and guided experiences.

BRINK Traveler Offers Some Of VR’s Best Travel Content Yet...

September 12 2021 | Upload VR

BRINK Traveler is available now for Oculus Quest and PC VR, allowing you to travel to a selection of stunning locations that are displayed in full volumetric 3D by way of photogrammetry-based capture technology.

The app was announced a few weeks ago and launched more recently for Oculus Quest and PC VR via the Oculus Store and Steam. After jumping into the app on Quest and trying out a few of the locations yesterday, it’s clear that Brink is one of the best travel apps available on the Quest...

See the world From the Comfort of Home with BRINK Traveler on Oculus Quest

September 09 2021 | Oculus Blog

Teleport yourself across the planet with BRINK Traveler from Brink XR, a first-of-its-kind virtual travel experience app that lets you explore breathtaking real-world locations in fully volumetric 3D environments created from meticulously scanned photogrammetry and LiDAR.

Visit over a dozen gorgeous locations around the world with BRINK Traveler, out now on the Oculus Quest and Rift Platforms, as well as Steam for $9.99 USD...

Send us a message and we'll be in touch! You can also chat with the team on our Discord or email us directly at: [email protected]

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Best Meta Quest 2 Games, Apps and Experiences

Art, fitness, multiplayer sports, virtual theater, strange worlds: Here's our list of the Meta Quest 2 games to check out first.

Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps

If you want a one-of-a-kind virtual reality experience, you should look at the Meta Quest 2 . While the Quest 3 has already been announced, it is yet to go on sale, so the Quest 2 remains your best budget bet to get into VR. Meta's Quest Store has lots more to play than just Resident Evil 4 VR . The Quest platform brings you the best Meta Quest 2 games, and the VR headsets create the perfect escape to other immersive experiences like virtual painting and workouts. Meta plans to release the updated Quest 3 later this year, but our favorite VR headset continues to be Quest 2 even years after its release. Both for its extensive app library and its accessible price. So clear some play space and try it out for yourself.

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After years of testing games and apps across the Meta app store, I love some more than others, and I recommend several to friends and family. Some games also work with the original Quest, but a growing number of apps are now exclusive to Quest 2. Note that to access top PC VR games like Star Wars: Squadrons or Half-Life: Alyx , you'll need to connect to a gaming PC, either wirelessly or with a USB cable.

Note: All these games and apps also work with the newer Quest Pro , a headset that adds eye tracking, color cameras and newer controllers along with better lenses and higher-res displays. However, we still recommend Quest 2 over Quest Pro for its value.

We'll update this list as new options become available.

The Light Brigade

Best vr roguelike shooter.

Dreamy, a bit surreal, tactical. randomly generated: The Light Brigade is everything I like in a VR experience. Much like In Death: Unchained, which is archery-based, The Light Brigade keeps changing every time you play. The minimal interface and design keep it feeling mysterious and yet clear to understand. I can't survive very long, but I want to play more.

What The Bat?

Best random novelty game that defies description.

What The Golf? is one of my family's absolute favorite indie games. Its spiritual sequel has arrived for VR with What The Bat? and it's the type of whimsical, random fun I wish VR had more of. It's about living life with baseball bats for hands, and everything else is best left as a surprise to discover. Expect lots of rapid-fire, clever-weird puzzle challenges -- the average quick experience here is much shorter than the typical hole in What The Golf?

Iron Man VR

Best marvel vr game.

Ever dream of being Iron Man? This game will have you hovering around in a jetpack, using your hands to aim and blast through a series of missions that are surprisingly kinetic and fun. Iron Man was originally a game on the PlayStation VR, but the move to Quest 2 is far more fun because there are no wires to worry about getting tangled in.

Moss: Book 2

Best magical miniature platform puzzler.

Moss was one of my very favorite VR games, and has been a classic on Quest for a while. There's a sequel now, and its graphics look even better on Quest 2 headsets. The gameplay, which involves moving a sword-bearing mouse hero named Quill on a quest to save her world, is mostly the same: Move through massive miniature worlds and solve puzzles. It's a great sit-down-and-play experience, and fun to share with family.

Waving your tentacles around.

Best monster squid simulator

Devolver's adorable VR game turns you into a sea monster living near a seaside town. Your hands are tentacles. The sensation of bodily transformation works wonderfully, and you'll find yourself flip-flopping your sucker-filled arms to grab things and try to help your little cartoony townspeople as you navigate a dollhouse-sized world all around you.

Best VR musical playground

A bunch of wild VR instruments you've never seen before, recording tools and the ability to multitask -- Virtuoso isn't just a toy, it's a music platform in VR. It's soothing and fun to play for fun on the fly, but digging deeper is surprisingly rewarding, too. Setting up drums, a weird VR xylophone, and a Theremin-like music cube side by side to jam with is really cool.

Best painting in VR

Instead of sculpting or drawing in 3D like many VR art apps do, Vermillion focuses on the canvas. It feels uncanny to paint with a palette and an easel, even more so if you use the mixed-reality mode to make the painting feel like it's sitting in your home. Bringing up video tutorials while you paint feels like a preview of our AR-overlaid future and can feel surprisingly calming.

Puzzling Places

Best vr jigsaw puzzle.

I had no idea how a VR jigsaw puzzle would feel or whether I'd care to play one. While I don't love this game's limited number of puzzles or its strange interface, its 3D environments that you can piece together (with up to hundreds of pieces per puzzle) are weirdly hypnotic. More, please!

Resident Evil 4 in VR sometimes feels like a whole new game.

Resident Evil 4

Best console port to vr.

Playing the classic Resident Evil 4 in VR feels like a whole new game. The ability to use your hands, holster weapons and actually walk into creepy settings is transformative. Other than 2D cut-scenes, this feels like a native VR game. Resident Evil 4 is a Quest 2 exclusive, so original Quest owners can't play it. But this is an excellent game to show off how good stand-alone VR has become.

Read our Resident Evil 4 review .

I Expect You To Die 2

Best spy-puzzle escape room.

VR is a great format for escape room experiences. I Expect You To Die is a game you can play seated, leaning over desks and flipping switches, using telekinetic powers to control items from afar. The puzzle designs can be as challenging as any escape room I've ever been in. Try the original game and this one for double the challenge.

Walkabout Mini Golf

Best vr mini-golf.

My overall favorite VR game just might be mini-golf. Walkabout's multiple golf courses are brilliantly designed, with extra-hard challenge modes and hidden golf balls to collect. The game's golf physics are perfect. The multiplayer modes are great for having friends join in online. A number of increasingly-good courses keep arriving as DLC, from one based on Jim Henson's Labyrinth to a series of Jules Verne courses. Every time a new course comes out, I get excited. Seriously, you have no idea how good VR mini-golf is.

Best tabletop RPG in VR

Demeo is a miraculous four-player online RPG that captures the feel of collaborative play, but in VR. The 3D map, the characters and your hovering hands, holding cards that can be played in-game, feel like a session of D&D that's animated into reality. A recent update adds more free content; games are randomized a bit each time to keep the excitement going indefinitely.

Read our Demeo hands-on .

ForeVR Bowl

Best vr bowling.

Sometimes, I really miss Wii Sports. Or real bowling alleys. ForeVR Bowl is the best simulation of both, with online play and solo challenges, and a mix of realistic and weird environments. The ball physics is more realistic than Wii Sports could have ever dreamed of, but it's also forgiving enough to have fun. Just leave some arm room in your home play area... you need a bit more free space than you think.

The Climb 2 has ledges, ropes, and ziplines. If you're afraid of heights, maybe this isn't for you.

The Climb 2

Best rock climbing simulation.

You have no idea how surprisingly intense VR rock climbing can be until you've tried The Climb 2. This sequel to a classic VR game (also on Quest) uses your hands to reach up and grab ledges, grab ropes and zipline. It sounds easy, and yet discovering ledges, holding the right grip and keeping focus can be a real challenge. It's also absolutely beautiful.

Read our The Climb 2 first take .

Best co-op cooking game

This isn't Overcooked, but Cook-Out is a charming and really immersive cooking game where you race to put sandwiches together using a grill and tools right in front of you. Other players can join in, up to four players at once. At full speed it feels like a theme park attraction created in VR just for you.

Myst has arrived in VR, and it's a perfect fit.

Best retro game to reboot in VR

Cyan Worlds' new version of Myst is the same game you've probably played a million times, but the environments here are really beautiful to move through. Consider this a puzzle game that doubles as meditative escape. Read our Myst VR hands-on .

Looking out at Black Spire Outpost, in VR. The closest I'll get for a while.

Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge

Best star wars theme park experience at home.

I missed my chance to go to Disney and see Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, but ILMxLab's Batuu-themed game is the next best thing. It's not exactly a tour of Black Spire Outpost, but the incredible character acting, world design and intense blaster battles are an impressive feat. It's over too soon, but this Quest game still costs less than most Disney souvenirs. The $10 expansion pack is worth getting to complete the storyline. (Also check out Vader Immortal , ILMxLab's previous lightsaber-wielding adventure involving Darth Vader.)

Read our Galaxy's Edge hands-on and interview .

Population One

The closest thing to fortnite in vr.

The multiplayer battle royale experience of Population One is very Fortnite-like. In fact, it's extremely Fortnite-like. That's a good thing. There are few large-scale multiplayer VR games right now, and this is one of the best. Dropping down from above, navigating the shrinking map, climbing and hunting for supplies, and excellent controls make this a must-play team shooter. Plus, there are constant season updates.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

Best zombie-horror game.

It's expensive, and the file size can get up to 8GB on the Quest 2, but this is console-quality VR shrunken down into a portable headset. Saints & Sinners was already an acclaimed PC VR game, and the transition to the Quest keeps its polish and RPG-like feel. It's freaky, but it's also deep. There's a lot more going on than simple shooting.

Best free social game-iverse

A lot of Quest games are expensive, but a surprising number are free. Rec Room is a social hub that's also a doorway to tons of social games, with a seemingly limitless set of possibilities. Sometimes it feels a bit like Wii Sports or VR Roblox. There are mini-adventures, paintball games and more. I just want there to be improved parental-control features (there seem to be a lot of parents letting kids into Rec Room lately).

Read our Rec Room hands-on, pre-Quest .

Beat Saber is probably the best game on Oculus Quest.

King of music fitness

This is the Quest's killer app, and if you want to get moving, love lightsabers, or just want a fun dance challenge, this is it. There are plenty of tracks to keep you busy, the lightsaber tracking is fantastic, and there are extra music packs to buy if you feel compelled. I'm still exhausting myself trying to beat my nephew's high scores.

Superhot VR

The action game to beat.

Bullet time, grab the gun, wait -- the faster you move, the faster everything else moves. Get it now? Superhot was one of the first games that hit the Quest, and it's still amazing. Runner-up pick: Pistol Whip. (Sorry, I still like Superhot more.)

Eleven Table Tennis

Next best thing to real ping-pong.

Seriously, ping-pong in VR is so good. The table physics, the size of the play area, the way VR matches what you need perfectly -- who knows? You can play online with real people, and the gameplay is shockingly unforgiving.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter

Best horror vr escape room.

If you're up for a creepy dive into mysterious puzzle boxes, this unique VR game from the makers of the hit game series called The Room is a fantastic and spooky mental challenge (it's not great for kids, though). There are lots of other escape room games on Quest, including the excellent I Expect You To Die 2 (listed above), and a ticketed live multiplayer escape-room experience from Adventure Labs , too.

Read our The Room VR: A Dark Matter review .

The Under Presents for Oculus Quest

The Under Presents

Best theater head trip.

I can't explain The Under, really. Nightmare cabaret? Apocalyptic playground? There's stuff to explore , and secrets to find, and real actors who perform in it from time to time. There's a ticketed performance of an immersive theater version of The Tempest . There's a variety show. You'll find other people who can't speak, and neither can you. But somehow, it all ends up feeling magical and strange.

Read our The Under Presents review .

Tetris Effect is a PC and PS4 game. Now it's on Oculus Quest.

Tetris Effect: Connected

Best puzzle meditation.

The synesthetic Tetris Effect was one of the best games of 2018, and the Quest version is mostly as good. It's intense, the music is amazing, and even though the levels are frantic, it's also weirdly zen. This is a perfect way to unwind.

Read our Tetris Effect review .

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Best vr party game.

With other people in your home, VR can be a solitary disconnect. Keep Talking involves others by having people not in VR handle a bomb-defusing manual while the person in VR tries to communicate and stop the bomb in time. It feels like a weird board game, which is something most VR games never succeed at.

In Death: Unchained

Best archery survival game.

An endless and randomly generated set of castle enemies meet you every time you play, and this roguelike game uses a bow and arrow as your only method of navigation and attack. The mechanics feel great, and being surrounded by enemies you're firing arrows at can be incredibly intense.

Space Pirate Trainer

Best arcade game.

Talk about a game that never seems to get old. While Space Pirate Trainer has been around since the launch days of the HTC Vive, the simple arcade design is perfect. You stand still, shoot at aliens and shield yourself. Survive as long as you can. It's perfect.

Pixel Ripped 1995

Best virtual retro game world within a world.

Want to revisit '90s games, including the experience of sitting on the floor with a controller playing games on a TV? You can do that already with a little retro 16-bit console, but Pixel Ripped pulls it off uncannily in VR. You're a kid in a house, playing games that don't exist. Then you enter the pixel world, and it gets stranger. The original '80s-set Pixel Ripped 1989 is now inside as add-on DLC, too.

A Fisherman's Tale

Best trippy puzzle game.

VR can turn your sense of reality inside out, and A Fisherman's Tale is the best type of out-of-body experience. A room with puzzles to solve also has a dollhouse, which is a perfect model of the room you're in. You can reach into your own space and as you do, a larger hand from above enters your room. It's like living in your own weird puzzle dollhouse universe, and it's fantastic. FYI: a sequel is coming very soon, so you might want to wait for that. Or play both.

Most amazing-looking adventure game

Red Matter was one of the best-looking Oculus Quest games, and an update for the Quest 2 pushes the graphics even further. The puzzle-solving, atmospheric, brooding adventure is set in an alternate-timeline Cold War in space. Your tool-filled space suit glides around and grapples with the brilliantly evoked world, which often has Half-Life vibes. There's also a sequel now, Red Matter 2, which is also worth getting.

What's the best way to get a workout in VR?

There are lots of ways the Quest can be a surprisingly good fitness device , provided you're OK with sweating with a headset on (buy silicone face covers for the Quest 2, or replacement foam inserts). Beat Saber is still a classic, but Supernatural is the best subscription-based Peloton-type experience, and it uses the Apple Watch to track heart rate. Meta's connecting its fitness tracking in VR to Apple Health now, too.

Is the Quest appropriate for kids?

I still wouldn't recommend a Quest 2 for kids unless you're occasionally sharing games with them in a place where you can watch them play and make sure they're playing safely, but Meta is starting to address parental controls in VR . The Quest still doesn't officially allow you to create an account for kids under 13, though, and any game or experience with voice chat should be avoided, or if possible, disable voice chat if the game involves play with strangers.

Is a Quest 3 coming soon?

Yes, it's been confirmed that the Quest 3 is coming this year, probably in the fall. The price is expected to be the same as the Quest 2. New features could include better color passthrough cameras, a more compact design, and better graphics. The Quest 2 is still great, but you might also want to wait a year and see what happens.

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The 12 Best VR Travel Apps for the Quest [2023 Update]

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!

Table of Contents

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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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!

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!

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

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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!

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.

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!

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Black Friday Meta Quest 3 and Oculus Quest 2 deals and bundles 2023

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Virtual reality headsets continue to populate wishlists of children and adults alike. We're here to help keep your bank account above water by pointing out the Black Friday Meta Quest 3 and Oculus Quest 2 deals and bundles that'll fetch maximum savings.

The Oculus Quest 2 made VR gaming much more accessible and was the first mainstream hit for VR hardware. It was a fresh breath of disruptive air in a field where quality experiences once cost a minimum of $800 (not including the pricey gaming PC required to run the games). The headset was rebranded to Meta Quest 2 after the Facebook company acquired it, but it's still popularly known as Oculus to this day. This is where the cheapest offers will be over Black Friday as the headset is still on general sale and provides a fun VR experience.

The Meta Quest 3 is only a few months old but offers a significant upgrade over the previous model, although it's significantly more expensive, too, with a starting price of $499. Sales have been a little slow so far, as savvy buyers are hanging on for a discount or a more appealing Meta Quest 3 bundle around Black Friday, and we think that's a smart move. Keep checking back with us for the latest prices on Quest 2, Quest 3, and more Black Friday deals leading up to the big sale weekend.

Best Oculus Quest 2 Black Friday deals

If you want to maximize your value and savings, you want a Meta Quest 2 bundle. Amazon has one of the best offers—you can save the same $50 that most of the retailers we highlight below are offering, but you'll also get a $50 Amazon gift card to spend on anything you want, whether that's accessories for your headset or something else among our favorite Black Friday deals.

This holiday Meta Quest 2 bundle from Amazon takes $50 off the headset's MSRP, and you'll get a $50 Amazon gift card to spend on whatever you want. That's $100 in total savings for a VR headset with a ton left in the tank.

HSN also has a decent bundle on offer right now. Its current price for the Meta Quest 2 matches major retailers at $250 for the 128GB model and $300 for 256GB . The TV shopping network bundles it with a free Elite Strap ($60 value, but currently $30 separately at Amazon) for your troubles, and you can pay for it over five payments.

HSN has taken $50 off the Meta Quest 2, and it throws in a free Elite Strap. If that's not a good enough reason to consider this bundle, you can pay for it interest-free over five equal monthly payments using FlexPay.

More Meta Quest 2 deals

Amazon , Walmart , and Best Buy have taken $50 off the Oculus Quest 2 as part of its early Black Friday deals. Considering how rarely the headset goes on sale, we're surprised to see this offer ahead of Black Friday weekend. According to Walmart, thousands have been purchased already. There's no telling how much inventory there is among all the retailers selling it, so grab yours before they're all gone.

This standalone virtual reality headset doesn't require cables or connections to operate, which means you don't need a nearby PC and it's completely portable. Still wholly supported even with the sequel out, the Quest 2 was a hit at $399. But it goes for $299 these days, and the price is even better with this discount.

Walmart was the first to discount the Meta Quest 2 to the price that other major retailers have since price-matched. That deal went away fairly quickly, but it's back now with free shipping. This VR headset should continue to serve up immersive metaverse experiences well into 2024 despite its double-cost sequel recently stealing the spotlight.

The Meta Quest 2 is still a hot VR headset to buy in 2023. It plays all the same games as the newer model, but at costs half as much when factoring in the latest discounts. Best Buy sweetens the deal with three months of YouTube Premium thrown in with each purchase.

Meta Quest 2 accessories on sale

Don't forget to grab a few accessories alongside your Meta Quest 2. You'll especially want to take advantage of rare discounts on official Meta accessories, as these are much more expensive than third-party alternatives. Here are a few Quest 2 accessory deals you should check out:

Oculus Quest 2 Elite Strap ( $59.99 $29.99 at Amazon )
Oculus Quest 2 Carrying Case ( $59.99 $55.35 at Amazon )
Logitech Chorus Off-Ear Speakers for Meta Quest 2 ( $99.99 $49.99 at Best Buy )

Meta Quest 3 Black Friday deals

Don't hold your breath for massive discounts on the hardware for Meta Quest 3 deals on Black Friday. However, we think some cool bundles with extra games and accessories are likely. In any case, we'll update this story if anything substantial materializes. For now, Best Buy remains the only retailer offering an extra incentive (a month of Game Pass Ultimate for free) on top of the free Asgard's Wrath game every Quest 3 purchase includes.

The Meta Quest 3 VR headset builds on its predecessor with mixed reality capabilities, 4K resolution, an upgraded processor that offers double the speed, and new ergonomics for the head unit and controllers. In addition to the free game that you get with all purchases, Best Buy is throwing in a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free.

Browse more Quest 3 deals: Amazon | Walmart | Best Buy

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday lands on November 24, 2023. Cyber Monday is just a few days later, on November 27. Early Black Friday sales have popped up at several retailers. While you'll likely find the best deals on the actual sale day, you may find a rare chance to grab products you've been eyeing at their cheapest well before the holiday rush begins. Keep your eyes peeled for new deals in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.

Will the Meta Quest 3 be on sale for Black Friday?

The Meta Quest 3 will have only been in the market for less than two months when the calendar turns to Black Friday. We wouldn't expect significant discounts, if any. However, some retailers may bundle the VR headset with free accessories or games to get you through the door. We're keeping a close watch on storefronts everywhere to call these opportunities out if or when they're available.

Is now a good time to buy the Meta Quest 2?

You're much more likely to find a Meta (aka Oculus) Quest 2 on sale during Black Friday than the newer model. We've spotted rare discounts early at retailers like Walmart that take as much as $50 off the $300 going price. It's not quite as nice as the Quest 3. Still, Meta has committed to continued support for the Quest 2, previously noting that those holding onto the older headset will continue to enjoy nearly all of the VR games launching in the Meta Store in the coming year.

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These Oculus Quest Black Friday 2023 deals offer VR headsets at deep discounts

By Brittany Vincent

November 14, 2023 / 1:48 PM EST / Essentials

CBS Essentials is created independently of the CBS News editorial staff. We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

These Oculus Quest Black Friday 2023 deals offer VR headsets at deep discounts

Virtual reality is one of the most exciting realms of tech out there. It may sound like far-off science fiction, but you can experience it right now. You can score your own Meta Quest 2 Black Friday deal right now, just in time for the biggest shopping holiday of the year. VR headset Black Friday deals are all over the place, but which ones are worth your time and hard-earned cash?

One of our favorite Oculus Black Friday sales is on the newly-renamed Meta Quest 2 VR headset. You can get the 128 GB edition for 17% off at Amazon, which equates to $51 off, making it just $249. That's an all-time low price, down from its debut price of $400.

There are plenty of other fantastic options to choose from as well, from the all-new Meta Quest 3 to the VR accessories you can snap up for your VR headset Black Friday needs. Keep checking back for some of our favorite finds so you can save a bundle on one of the hottest way to game and enjoy media in the industry right now.

Meta Quest 3 + 'Asgard's Wrath 2:' 16% off

The latest and greatest Meta Quest 3 is the most powerful Quest yet. It boasts double the graphic processing power of the Meta Quest 2, a 30% improvement in resolution from the Quest 2, and 3D audio with improved sound quality.

All this, and new Touch Plus controllers to give you a more nuanced virtual experience that can follow your hand gestures. You can navigate menus and games without the controllers too with Direct Touch.

This Walmart bundle ends up saving you 16%, given that it's $499 with a copy of "Asgard's Wrath 2," which is $60 when purchased separately. You can bring home the new headset with a game to enjoy the same day.

Meta Quest 2 - 128 GB (headset only): 17% off

Not quite ready to jump in and get the best Meta Quest VR headset yet? The Meta Quest 2, or Oculus Quest 2, is still every bit worth its admission price. With over 500 games to choose from, it practically puts the world at your fingertips so you can decide what you want to do out of a wide variety of different games and apps.

This advanced virtual reality headset offers zippy, high-speed performance with immersive graphics and 3D positional audio with hand-tracking and controllers to make it feel even more like the worlds you're exploring feel more real than before.

You can get the 128 GB version of the Meta Quest 2 at Amazon right now for just $249, which is 17% off its normal price of $300. That's its lowest price yet, making Amazon your best bet for getting a model of your own.

Meta Quest 2 Elite Strap: 37% off

The Meta Quest 2 is comfortable the way it comes out of the box, but there are several options you can use that make exploring the virtual world a bit easier. It can also help make playing for longer stretches much less frustrating.

The Meta Quest 2 Elite Strap comes with special adjustable straps, a weight-balancing design, and bracing to help keep your headset in place and stabilized while you're messing about online. All you need to do is just strap it on and adjust as necessary around your face and head.

You can get the Meta Quest 2 Elite Strap for 37% off at Amazon right now. That makes it just $38, down from its normal price of $60 -- that's the lowest price we've seen it go for yet.

Upgraded charging dock with LED light for Oculus Quest 2: 25% Off

While the Meta Quest 2 is perfect for long stretches of playtime, it will of course run out of battery at some point. Then you've got to stop playing while you charge it up.

With the upgraded charging dock with LED light for Oculus Quest 2, you can just toss your unit on the charger and let it juice up for a quick and easy charge, all back to 100% in just four hours with both controllers. This dock can even charge up other devices simultaneously.

Right now, the dock is just $35, down from $46 thanks to a 25% off on-page coupon. Be sure to clip the coupon before purchase and the discount will be applied automatically.

Meta Quest 2 carrying case: 12% off

Since the Meta Quest 2 can be played just about anywhere, you'll probably want to take it with you on the go. Get a workout in at a friend's house or enjoy a game together in the backyard. It's possible!

But you don't want to just toss your headset into the backseat and go. Put it in something that can protect it -- you don't want to ruin your investment, after all. Keep your Meta Quest 2 safe with this official carrying case. Its contoured foam moulding inside keeps everything in place and secure. It can even carry your VR accessories, so you know everything's accounted for even when you're out and about.

Right now, you can get the Meta Quest 2 carrying case for just $53, which is 11% off its normal price of $60. It's the best case on the market, and it comes with the Meta seal of approval. Grab one now at a Black Friday discount.

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Ukraine-Russia war: Ukraine sacks 'corrupt' cyber defence chiefs

Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Ukraine has sacked two top cyber defence officials after they were charged with orchestrating a multi-million pound embezzlement scheme.

Yurii Shchyhol and Viktor Zhora, the head and deputy of the Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), are accused of inflating the value of a software deal for personal gain by £1.4million ($1.7million).

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said four others had been charged in connection with the embezzlement scheme, which took place between 2020 and 2022.

The SSSCIP is responsible for government communications and defending Ukraine from cyber attacks.

Ukraine has stepped up efforts to curtail corruption in recent months as it pursues European Union membership, which has made the fight against misappropriation a key prerequisite for negotiations to begin.

03:05 PM GMT

That's all for today.

Thank you for following the Telegraph’s coverage of the war in Ukraine. We’ll be back again tomorrow with all the latest developments.

03:04 PM GMT

Today's headlines.

A Ukrainian teenager kidnapped by Russia from Mariupol returned home

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin made a surprise visit to Ukraine to show America’s continued support for the war

The Kremlin made a formal diplomatic protest against Finland closing its border, calling it ‘Russophobic’

Japan pledged £140million for reconstruction in Ukraine

Zelensky fired a major general from her command of Ukraine’s medical forces

Ukraine sacked two cyber defence chiefs for their role in a multi-million pound embezzlement scheme

Russia put the Ukrainian winner of Eurovision 2016 on a wanted list

02:59 PM GMT

Pictured: ukrainian official charged with embezzlement, 02:47 pm gmt, russia lodges formal protest over finland border closure.

Russia has summoned Finland’s ambassador to Moscow to lodge a formal diplomatic border over the closure of four border crossings between the two countries.

Finland has accused Russia of encouraging illegal migrants to cross the border in retaliation to Finland joining Nato earlier this year.

Russia’s foreign ministry described the closures as a “rushed” decision that violated the rights of people on both sides of the border.

02:06 PM GMT

Russian shelling kills 83-year-old woman.

An 83-year-old woman has been killed by Russian shelling in a southern Ukrainian city.

Serhii Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk, said a man, 53, was also injured in the attack by Russian artillery today in Nikopol.

Several houses, cars and gas and electricity lines were also damaged in the incident, Mr Lysak said.

Nikopol is on the northern bank of the Kakhovka reservoir near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and is a regular target for Russian attacks.

01:52 PM GMT

Russia puts ukrainian eurovision winner on wanted list.

Russia has put the Ukrainian winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list.

Susana Jamaladinova, known professionally as Jamala, was charged under a law adopted last year that bans spreading so-called fake information about the Russian military and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine.

Ms Jamaladinova is of Crimean Tatar descent and won Eurovision with the song 1944, the title of which refers to the year the Soviet Union deported the Crimean Tatars from the peninsula en masse.

Russia protested “1944” being allowed in the competition, saying it violated rules against political speech in Eurovision.

01:32 PM GMT

Zelensky hails austin's visit to kyiv.

Volodomyr Zelensky has hailed Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv as a “very important signal for Ukraine” as the pair met.

The American defence secretary said US support for Ukraine would continue “for the long haul”.

“We count on your support,” Mr Zelensky said, thanking Congress as well as the American people for their backing.

Mr Austin is also set to meet Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, and defence minister Rustem Umerov during his visit.

I was honored to meet with President @ZelenskyyUa in Kyiv today to reaffirm the United States’ steadfast support for Ukraine. We, along with our allies and partners, will continue to support Ukraine’s urgent battlefield needs and long-term defense requirements. pic.twitter.com/Odv6ClgcrP — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) November 20, 2023

01:27 PM GMT

Finland prepares to totally shut russia border.

Finland is preparing to completely shut its border with Russia after an upsurge in illegal migration, a report has claimed.

Finnish outlet Iltalehti reported that the border could close as soon as Wednesday, with four of the nine crossings between the two countries already shut.

President Sauli Niinisto has said it is now impossible for the country to return migrants who do not meet the criteria for asylum.

“Finland has chosen the path of confrontation with Russia,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“From the Kremlin’s point of view, this is a big mistake.”

12:34 PM GMT

Ukraine sacks two cyber chiefs amid corruption probe.

Ukraine has sacked two senior cyber defence officials as a probe into multi-million pound corruption begins.

Cabinet chief Taras Melnychuk said Yurii Shchyhol, the head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), and Viktor Zhora, his deputy, have been sacked.

The firings came as anti-corruption prosecutors announced they were investigating officials in cyber defence over a six-person plot to embezzle £1.4million ($1.7million) in 2021.

Prosecutors did not identify Mr Shychyhol and Mr Zhora by name.

Ukraine has stepped up efforts to curtail corruption as it pursues membership in the European Union.

12:07 PM GMT

Zelensky demands rapid operational changes as he sacks general.

Volodomyr Zelensky has demanded rapid operational changes to Ukraine’s armed forces after sacking a general.

Major General Tetiana Ostashchenko, commander of Ukraine’s medical forces, was dismissed on Sunday in a decision defence minister Rustem Umerov called “obvious”.

“We need a fundamentally new level of medical support for our soldiers,” Mr Zelensky said, adding there was a need for improved tourniquets, full digitalisation and better communication.

“There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”

Mr Umerov acknowledged the change on the Telegram messaging app and said digitalisation, “tactical medicine” and rotation of servicemen would be top priorities moving forwards.

Mrs Ostashchenko’s dismissal came a week after a Ukrainian news outlet suggested her removal, as well as that of others, was imminent following consultations with paramedics and other officials responsible for providing support to the military.

Tensions between Ukraine’s political and military leadership have spilled out into the open as its counter-offensive has stalled.

11:48 AM GMT

Putin to tell g20 russia's view of 'deeply unstable world'.

Vladimir Putin will tell the G20 Russia’s view of the “deeply unstable world situation” at a virtual summit on Wednesday.

The Russian president skipped the annual in-person summit in India in September.

He has not attended any since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

11:15 AM GMT

Japan pledges £140million for ukraine reconstruction.

Japan has pledged £140million for reconstruction in Ukraine.

Japan’s foreign minister and industry minister are visiting Ukraine with members of its largest business lobby to meet officials ahead of a reconstruction conference it is hosting in February next year.

“Japan’s experience in post-war reconstruction could be useful for the economic recovery of Ukraine,” prime minister Denys Shmyhal said.

He added that Ukraine’s priorities are energy supply, housing, infrastructure, demining and business support.

10:55 AM GMT

Zelensky congratulates new argentinian president.

Volodomyr Zelensky has congratulated Javier Milei after he was elected as Argentina’s new president.

“I appreciate his clear stance in support of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.

“I look forward to working together to strengthen our cooperation and restore international order based on international law.”

Russia’s response was much more muted.

“We noted a number of statements that Mr. Milei made during the election campaign, but we will focus on and judge him mainly by the statements that he makes after the inauguration,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Milei expressed support for Ukraine on the campaign trail and has said that he sees the United States and Israel as Argentina’s main partners.

10:40 AM GMT

Lachlan murdoch meets zelensky in kyiv, claims report.

Lachlan Murdoch met Volodomyr Zelensky in Kyiv over the weekend, Axios has reported.

Mr Murdoch last week succeeded his father Rupert as chairman of Fox and News Corp, which is the ultimate owner of The Sun and The Times.

Fox is a key news source for Republican voters in the US, whose support for funding Ukraine has declined as the war has gone on.

Mr Murdoch declined to comment on the report.

10:16 AM GMT

We can dodge effects of western sanctions, boasts kremlin.

The Kremlin has boasted that it is able to “minimise the negative consequences of sanctions” as a proposed European Union ban on Russian diamonds looms.

The EU is planning to ban diamond imports from Russia as part of a new sanctions package.

“As a rule, it turns out that a boomerang effect is partially triggered: the interests of the Europeans themselves suffer,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“So far, we have been able to find ways to minimise the negative consequences of sanctions.”

Russia is the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds by volume.

09:54 AM GMT

Kremlin condemns finland's 'russophobic' border closures.

The Kremlin has condemned Finland’s decision to close four of its border crossings with Russia as “Russophobic”.

Helsinki shut the crossings on Saturday in a bid to halt an upsurge in illegal migration, which it says is Russia’s retaliation to it joining Nato.

“This causes nothing but deep regret, because we had long-standing, very good relations with Finland, pragmatic, based on mutual respect,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“And of course, we regret that these relations were replaced by such an exclusively Russophobic position, which the leaders of this country began to espouse.”

09:32 AM GMT

Pictured: ukrainian troops on the frontline, 08:57 am gmt, draconian russian laws silencing soldiers' families, says mod.

Russia’s draconian laws are silencing soldiers’ families and crushing dissent, the Ministry of Defence has said.

In its latest intelligence briefing, the MoD said extended deployments on the frontline have sowed dissent among the soldiers and their families.

“However, Russia’s draconian legislation has so far prevented troops’ relatives from coalescing into an influential lobbying force, as soldiers’ mothers did during the Afghan-Soviet War of the 1980s,” it added.

On 7 November, wives of soldiers serving in Ukraine held their first public street protest in Moscow since the war began. It was broken up by police within minutes.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 20 November 2023. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/0d2kiwdC97 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mMReqku2o3 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 20, 2023

08:41 AM GMT

Russian shelling kills two civilians in kherson.

Two civilians have been killed and another injured by Russian shelling in Kherson this morning.

A war crimes investigation has been opened into the incident in the southern Ukrainian city, which occurred at 7am GMT.

The victims were drivers for “a private transport business”, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

08:27 AM GMT

Rain slowing combat as winter sets in, says isw.

Rainy conditions in eastern and southern Ukraine are slowing combat as winter sets in, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has said.

It reported claims that Ukraine has been unable to use armoured vehicles in Zaporizhzhia, although infantry units are active.

“Freezing weather conditions during the winter will likely prompt the resumption of more active combat operations,” it added.

08:16 AM GMT

Us defence secretary in surprise visit to ukraine.

American defence secretary Lloyd Austin has made a surprise visit to Ukraine in a bid to “reinforce the staunch support of the United States for Ukraine’s fight for freedom” amid the war in Gaza.

“He will also underscore the continued U.S. commitment to providing Ukraine with the security assistance it needs to defend itself from Russian aggression,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Austin said: “I’m here today to deliver an important message – the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future.”

It is his second visit to Ukraine since the war began.

07:57 AM GMT

Russia intercepts two ukrainian drones over moscow oblast.

Russia intercepted two Ukrainian drones over the Moscow oblast on Sunday, Moscow’s mayor has said.

The drones were downed over Bogorodskoye, in the capital’s east, and the city of Elektrostal, 36 miles further east.

Sergey Sobyanin said they caused no damage and killed no one.

Ukraine rarely comments on reports of operational activities inside Russia’s borders.

07:45 AM GMT

Ukrainian teenager kidnapped by russia returns home.

A Ukrainian teenager who was kidnapped by Russia from Mariupol has returned home.

Bohdan Yermokhin, who turned 18 on Sunday, was placed in a foster family near Moscow and had been told to report to a Russian army draft office next month.

Fearing conscription, Mr Yermokhin appealed to Volodomyr Zelensky to bring him back to Ukraine, having being turned back on a previous attempt in March.

“The emotions are overwhelming, all good, with the notion that Ukraine needs me,” Mr Yermokhin told Reuters after crossing the border on Sunday.

Ukraine says 20,000 children have been illegally transferred to Russia since the war began.

07:36 AM GMT

Ukrainian soldier killed by grenade in kyiv apartment.

A Ukrainian soldier and a woman were killed in a Kyiv apartment when a grenade exploded.

The blast in the city’s eastern Dniprovskyi district hospitalised another man but its cause is not yet known, the Kyiv police said on Sunday night.

Earlier this month, Major Gennadiy Chastiakov, a close aide to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was killed at his home when a grenade believed to have been sent to him as a birthday present exploded.

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Google admits YouTube's war on ad blockers is resulting in 'suboptimal viewing' experiences

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Stock market news today: US futures slip with Nvidia results on deck

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EU widens scope of food delivery cartel concerns probe

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Starfield update brings DLSS support and a number of fixes

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Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin to give shock G20 speech as Zelensky shrugs off assassination attempts

Moscow being forced to rely more heavily on penal recruits and mobilised reservists, kyiv claims, article bookmarked.

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New foreign secretary David Cameron meets Zelensky

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Vladimir Putin will set out Russia ’s view of the “deeply unstable world situation” in a shock G20 speech this week, the Kremlin has said, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that the Kremlin had tried to assassinate him at least “five or six times”.

Putin has avoided meeting Western leaders since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February. The upcoming event, held virtually, will be the first time in months he has spoken at an event in which major Western leaders have been either present or invited.

It comes as Ukrainian wartime leader Volodymyr Zelensky said he had become numb to the threat of assassination as he compared recent attempts to like having Covid-19.

“The first one is very interesting , when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid,” he said in a new interview.

Wife of twice-poisoned Briton held in Kremlin prison fears ‘time is running out’

The wife of a British-Russian national held in a Krelimn prison says she fears time is running out, and has called for the UK to take more urgent action to free him.

Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two near-fatal poisonings, in 2015 and 2017, which resulted in organ failure and polyneuropathy, a condition that causes nerve damage.

The Vladimir Putin critic was jailed for 25 years in April this year on charges of treason and spreading “false information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine .

Read the full article here

Exclusive: Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Russian prison in April this year for criticising the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine

Zelensky calls for rapid operation changes and sacks commander

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday demanded rapid changes in the operations of Ukraine’s military and announced the dismissal of the commander of the military’s medical forces.

Zelensky’s move was announced as he met Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, and coincided with debate over the conduct of the 20-month-old war against Russia, with questions over how quickly a counteroffensive in the east and south is proceeding.

“In today’s meeting with Defence Minister Umerov, priorities were set,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”

Zelensky said he had replaced Major-General Tetiana Ostashchenko as commander of the Armed Forces Medical Forces.

Zelensky has demanded changes and dismissed a commander

“The task is clear, as has been repeatedly stressed in society, particularly among combat medics, we need a fundamentally new level of medical support for our soldiers,” he said.

This, he said, included a range of issues -- better tourniquets, digitalisation and better communication.

Umerov acknowledged the change on the Telegram messaging app and set as top priorities digitalisation, “tactical medicine” and rotation of servicemen.

Plight of one Ukraine village illustrates toll of Russia’s invasion

Kamianka lies in a charming valley of bright flowers and lush trees. It used to be portrayed as a model village for a contented life in rural idyll. It was also a place of archaeological and geological lure, with its rare bronze age and Scythian sites and Jurassic limestone cliffs attracting visitors from afar.

The settlement , set in a sleepy hollow, was established in the 18th century by a count from the Tsar of Russia ’s court who had returned from Britain with new methods of farming and an English bride. Keen to put his new knowledge into practice, he allocated land, built a mill, constructed roads and funded a church and a school.

But Kamianka, in eastern Ukraine , also has a dark history of violence.

Read the full article from Kim Sengupta here

hen Italy ’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni , was fooled recently by two well-known Russian “comics” – surely paid-up Kremlin agents – into saying she was “tired” of the war in Ukraine and that everyone would soon be looking for a “way out”, too many of her counterparts in the West would have tacitly agreed (and perhaps sympathised: she is hardly the first to be pranked by these two).

But Ms Meloni deserves no sympathy. She thought she was talking to the head of the African Union Commission so this should have been a chance to exercise statecraft and reason with the supposed representative from the Global South and argue that Russia ’s war in Ukraine is nothing if not colonialist itself – a desperate attempt to maintain its empire.

Russia, with an abundance of chutzpah and an absence of shame, claims that it is the West that is being colonialist in forcing its designs on Kyiv (even supposedly “Nazi-ruled Kyiv”). You have to apply to join Nato and the EU, of course, but facts like these are irrelevant.

Read the full article from James Nixey here

Russia’s plan B in Ukraine is working – the West must not turn away now

Despite slow progress, the war in Ukraine has not reached a stalemate, writes James Nixey. But Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces can only win if the West shows a renewed commitment to forcing Russia out

Moscow mayor says air defence units intercept drone targeting city

Air defence units in Moscow intercepted a drone targeting the city on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said units in the Elektrostal district in the capital’s east had intercepted the drone.

According to preliminary information, falling debris resulting from the operation had caused no casualties or damage, Sobyanin said.

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