12 Virtual Travel Experiences to Enjoy From Home With Kids

You can take your kids on amazing virtual adventures right from your living room! Explore ancient Egyptian pyramids with 360° tours, swim through the Great Barrier Reef’s colorful coral, walk inside Rome’s legendary Colosseum, and even visit the International Space Station floating 300 miles above Earth. Journey through the Amazon rainforest, discover lost cities like Petra, tour world-famous museums like the Louvre, and experience the icy polar regions. These incredible destinations await your family’s exploration.

Journey Through Ancient Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza

Pack your virtual bags because you’re about to explore one of the world’s most incredible ancient wonders without leaving your living room! The Great Pyramid of Giza stands an amazing 449 feet tall and weighs 5.75 million tons. That’s like stacking 2.3 million limestone blocks, each weighing as much as a car!

You’ll discover mind-blowing engineering secrets that’ll make your jaw drop. The pyramid’s sides are perfectly aligned with compass directions, and the base is level within just one inch across its massive 755-foot width. Amazingly, it took about 20 years for ancient workers to complete this massive monument according to the historian Herodotus.

Ancient builders used 2.5-ton blocks with joints so precise they’re tighter than any other Egyptian masonry.

Virtual tours let you explore hidden chambers made from giant granite blocks and learn why this structure remained the world’s tallest building for over 3,600 years!

Explore Rome’s Magnificent Colosseum

From the ancient sands of Egypt, you’ll now step into the heart of the Roman Empire to explore the world’s most famous amphitheater! The Colosseum’s virtual tours offer incredible 360-degree views that’ll transport your family back 2,000 years.

You’ll discover underground chambers where gladiators once prepared for battle, explore towering stands where emperors watched spectacles, and learn how this massive structure took eight years to build.

Your kids will love the interactive features and professional reconstructions that bring history to life. The virtual experience includes kid-specific guided tours, free 360-degree views, and engaging YouTube presentations.

You’ll see how gladiators trained, witness the grand velarium curtain system, and explore the hypogeum’s narrow corridors. These immersive 3D experiences make learning about ancient Rome exciting and accessible for all ages. The virtual reality tour explores three distinct areas including the square, arena floor, and underground corridors for a comprehensive historical journey.

Dive Into the Great Barrier Reef’s Underwater World

While gladiators once battled in ancient arenas, you’re about to plunge into an even more spectacular adventure beneath the waves of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef! This massive underwater wonderland stretches 1,429 miles and houses 1,500 fish species, 600 coral types, and 130 kinds of sharks and rays.

Start with David Attenborough’s interactive journey featuring 360-degree VR views, or explore Google Arts & Culture’s underwater expedition to Lady Elliot Island and the century-old SS Yongala shipwreck.

You’ll witness colorful angelfish, parrotfish, and butterfly fish swimming through coral gardens with 30-meter visibility. The reef is home to fascinating creatures like the Maori Wrasse, colorful and friendly fish where males can grow up to 2 meters long.

Interactive features let you control pollution simulations and experience mantis shrimp vision.

Visit Fitzroy Island’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre virtually, where six of seven marine turtle species call this reef home.

Adventure Through the Amazon Rainforest

After exploring underwater coral gardens, you’re ready to journey into the world’s largest rainforest! The Amazon spans 2.5 million square miles and houses incredible wildlife like spider monkeys swinging through treetops, colorful blue morpho butterflies, and slow-moving sloths hanging upside down.

You’ll discover four distinct layers: the emergent layer with towering trees, the canopy where two-thirds of animals live, the shadowy understory, and the forest floor below.

Take virtual field trips through National Geographic’s explorer videos or Conservation International’s “Under the Canopy” VR experience. Make learning interactive by comparing Amazon animals to local species, sampling tropical fruits like mangoes, and creating food chain diagrams.

Draw your favorite rainforest creatures and discuss how they use camouflage to survive in this biodiverse ecosystem. This amazing rainforest is home to 50% of the world’s plant and animal species, making it one of the most important ecosystems on our planet.

Tour the International Space Station

Three hundred miles above Earth, the International Space Station orbits our planet at 17,500 miles per hour, and you can explore every corner of this incredible floating laboratory! You’ll discover virtual tours that make you feel like you’re floating alongside real astronauts.

The NASA YouTube tours let you glide through modules while astronauts explain cool features like EXPRESS Racks supporting 100 experiments and the Cupola’s seven windows for Earth views.

ESA’s interactive panorama, created by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, shows modules like Unity and Destiny with clickable hotspots. You’ll learn fascinating details about daily life in space—like taking sponge baths instead of showers and eating with specially oriented utensils. The ESA virtual tour is available in six languages including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.

This space station’s larger than a six-bedroom house with sleeping quarters, bathrooms, and even a gym!

Discover Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum

When you step into the virtual halls of the world’s most famous art museum, you’ll discover treasures that have captivated visitors for centuries! The Louvre’s virtual tours let you explore three wings packed with masterpieces.

You’ll spot Leonardo da Vinci’s mysterious Mona Lisa and his Virgin and Child with St. Anne in the Denon Wing, alongside the armless Venus de Milo statue and the majestic Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Use the official Louvre.fr website for 360-degree gallery views, or try the “Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass” VR app for an immersive experience. Google Arts & Culture offers gigapixel images that reveal brushstrokes you can’t see with naked eyes. Don’t miss exploring the ornate Apollo Gallery dedicated to Sun King Louis XIV, which showcases spectacular decorative arts.

Interactive floor plans help you navigate like a real visitor, making art exploration educational and exciting!

Walk Through History at Ancient Archaeological Sites

Beyond museum walls filled with paintings and sculptures, you can explore ancient civilizations that shaped our world thousands of years ago! Walk through Greece’s National Archaeological Museum to discover artifacts from ancient history, perfect for family exploration. This museum houses one of the largest collections of antiquities worldwide, making it an exceptional virtual destination for families.

Journey to Mexico’s Palenque Maya Site via virtual pickup truck, where you’ll see the Temple of Inscriptions and learn to decipher ancient glyphs on the Hieroglyphic Stairway.

At Chichen Itza, explore the famous Pyramid of Kukulcan and learn about the ancient Maya ballgame.

Travel to Egypt’s Giza Pyramids through 360° tours, including Queen Meresankh III’s tomb from 2500 B.C.

Finally, step inside England’s mysterious Stonehenge stone circle to discover its 5,000-year-old secrets through interactive hotspots.

Experience Wildlife Safaris in African National Parks

Why wait years to visit Africa when you can set out on thrilling wildlife safaris from your living room right now? You’ll join expert guides streaming live from South African game reserves like Sabi Sands and Djuma, where you might spot elephants, leopards, or rhinos during three-hour adventures offered twice daily.

Fixed webcams positioned throughout Kenya, Tanzania, and Botswana let you check for wildlife anytime, though sightings aren’t guaranteed—just like real safaris!

Pre-recorded videos from top lodges teach tracking skills and animal behavior while showcasing drone footage of the wilderness. These virtual experiences support conservation efforts by funding anti-poaching programs and helping local communities. The immersive experiences help foster global interest and responsibility for protecting these precious wilderness areas.

Your family can explore Africa’s incredible wildlife on phones, tablets, or computers whenever adventure calls.

Visit World-Famous Art Museums and Galleries

After exploring Africa’s amazing animals, you can spark your child’s creativity by stepping inside the world’s most famous art museums without leaving home. Google Arts & Culture offers virtual tours of over 2,500 museums worldwide, letting you explore incredible places like the Louvre in Paris, London’s British Museum, and New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

Your kids can zoom in on artwork details, read descriptions in multiple languages, and navigate through galleries using interactive maps. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam showcases over 200 paintings, while the Rijksmuseum features Dutch masterpieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt.

These 50-minute virtual tours work on any device with internet. You’ll find docent-led Zoom tours, “Masterpiece Minute” podcasts, and mobile apps for offline exploration—all completely free! The British Museum’s virtual tour includes highlights like the Great Court, Rosetta Stone, and Egyptian mummies, offering access to hundreds of artifacts online.

Explore Deep Ocean Trenches and Marine Life

How deep does the ocean really go? You’ll discover the answer when you virtually explore the Mariana Trench, Earth’s deepest underwater canyon! This incredible trench plunges 36,037 feet down—that’s deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Located near Guam in the Pacific Ocean, it stretches 1,580 miles long and formed when massive tectonic plates collided. The trench features hydrothermal vents called “white smokers” that release mineral-rich water and gases into the deep ocean environment.

NOAA’s interactive resources let you visualize the trench’s mind-blowing depth using sound pulses. You can watch James Cameron’s expedition videos from his solo dive to the bottom in 2012, where he discovered amazing creatures living in complete darkness.

Compare the Mariana Trench to other deep trenches worldwide, like the Tonga Trench. These virtual adventures show you the mysterious hadal zone—our planet’s final frontier that’s harder to reach than space!

Journey to the North and South Poles

While most kids dream of visiting tropical beaches, you can virtually travel to Earth’s most extreme destinations—the North and South Poles! These frozen worlds offer incredible contrasts: the North Pole reaches 13°C in summer, while the South Pole never rises above freezing, with its warmest temperature hitting -12.3°C.

You’ll discover amazing virtual experiences through AirPano’s 360° North Pole videos and the British Antarctic Survey’s polar station tours. Explore the elevated Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station pods or watch live North Pole webcams.

NASA’s virtual tours reveal three different South Poles: ceremonial, geographical, and magnetic.

These polar deserts receive almost no precipitation, making them Earth’s most challenging environments. Fewer than 300 people visit the geographic South Pole yearly! Kids can even experience a first-of-its-kind 360° VR film that was shot during an actual Antarctic expedition, allowing them to control their immersive experience with simple movements on tablets or mobile phones.

Discover Ancient Civilizations and Lost Cities

From Earth’s frozen extremes, you can now journey back thousands of years to explore magnificent ancient civilizations that once ruled the world! Your kids will be amazed by virtual tours of lost cities like Petra, where Nabataeans carved stunning facades into red sandstone cliffs over 2,000 years ago. Walk through the narrow Siq gorge to discover the famous Treasury and Roman Theater.

Explore Alexander’s Lost World along the ancient Oxus River, where 3D modeling brings fortress cities back to life. Visit Pinara’s mysterious “beehive” rock formations in Turkey, or discover Nan Madol’s 90 man-made islands in Micronesia. Journey deep into the Amazon rainforest to uncover ancient settlements that once supported populations of up to 60,000 people, complete with intricate networks of roads and walls hidden beneath the lush landscape.

At Megiddo, you’ll uncover 26 layers of ancient ruins. These digital reconstructions use real archaeological data, letting your family experience history’s greatest mysteries from your living room!

Last Words

You’ve just discovered amazing virtual adventures that’ll transform your living room into a global classroom! Whether you’re diving with colorful fish, exploring ancient pyramids, or floating through space, these experiences will spark your curiosity and fuel your imagination. Grab your family, pick an adventure, and start exploring the world together. Who knows? These virtual journeys might inspire your next real-life adventure when you’re ready to travel again!