Best Geek Vacations

by Neil Woodburn on

Hats off to Wired Magazine for always looking out for their own.

The Best Geek Vacation Destinations is a short article in this month’s issue (July) that points the nerds amongst us towards holiday locations where they can really embrace their inner geek.

As you might suspect, there is not a single beach location amongst the lot. Instead, Wired gives the nod to places like the Sidi Driss Hotel in Matmata, Tunisia (above) which doubled as Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine. Or, the editors suggest trying out Cern, Switzerland –- home to the 17-mile long Large Hadron Collider. And of course, what geek wouldn’t have Silicon Valley on their short list of exciting vacation destinations?

For a complete list of geek-friendly suggestions where not a single grain of sand will be kicked in your face, click here.

Geek Related:

Traveling Tips from a Backpacking Geek
Free Geekery: Travel with a Quirky Edge
Science Bars
Geek Alert! Comic Shop Locator
Get your Geek on: Wired Magazine’s Best Geek Cities

Tell Tripbase What You Like. It Will Tell You Where To Travel.

by Willy Volk on

I don’t know how Tripbase works, so it must be magic.

Tripbase is a website that claims to offer unbiased recommendations about where to travel. To use the site, simply move the sliders left or right to indicate how important each of the criteria is. Click submit. After a moment, several destinations will appear, ranked according to the preferences you indicated.

I set the sliders as shown, checked “hide popular destinations,” and Tripbase told me I’d like Hobart, Helsinki, and Kyoto — three places I never thought would appeal to me.

Clicking on any destination opens a new window with a brief overview of that place that also highlights activities that might interest you. It also offers quick links to WikiTravel, Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor, Google, related articles, and more. Further, if you click “Search Flights,” Tripbase takes you to Kayak to book a ticket.

Tripbase allows you to set other parameters, as well, that’ll help you focus your search. For example, you can tell Tripbase:

  • what your budget is;
  • what type of trip you’re looking to take (backpacker vs. luxury);
  • what your weather “needs” are;
  • whether you want to visit during the tourist season or low season;
  • what continents you’re interested in visiting.

Have a look and play around. Who knows? This “Magic 8 Ball” of a website might help you stumble over the best vacation of your life.