Real places or fictional worlds?
Search for "exploration games" and most results are big open-world video games. They are wonderful to explore, but their worlds are either invented or carefully rebuilt versions of real cities, and they usually mean buying a game and installing it on a console or PC.
This guide is about the real thing: actual streets, landscapes and views captured by cameras, which you can open in a browser. Some are games with a score or a goal, and some are simply windows onto the world.
Ways to travel virtually
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Fly over a 3D globe
Zoom from space to a city and tilt to see 3D buildings and terrain.
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Walk or drive on video
Sit back while a camera walks or drives through a city in real time.
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Look out of a window
See the view from someone’s window somewhere else in the world.
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Explore with a goal
Games set in real places give you something to do there, such as finding hidden treasure or guessing where you are.
Virtual travel options compared
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Huntaz
- Game or experience
- Game
- What you do
- Walk real streets in Street View and find hidden chests
- Goal
- Treasure and Huntaz Points
- Free access
- Free to play with a free account
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Google Earth
- Game or experience
- Experience
- What you do
- Fly over a 3D globe, take guided tours, jump to random places
- Goal
- None: explore freely
- Free access
- No price listed for the web version
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Virtual Vacation
- Game or experience
- Experience, with a guessing game
- What you do
- Watch walking, driving and flying tours, live cams and window views
- Goal
- Optional: City Guesser
- Free access
- Free, supported by donations
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Drive From Home
- Game or experience
- Experience
- What you do
- Watch driving, walking, cycling, drone and train videos with radio
- Goal
- None: relax and watch
- Free access
- Not stated on the home page
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WindowSwap
- Game or experience
- Experience
- What you do
- Open a stranger’s window view somewhere in the world
- Goal
- None
- Free access
- Opens in a browser
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GeoGuessr
- Game or experience
- Game
- What you do
- Explore a Street View scene and guess where you are
- Goal
- Guess the location
- Free access
- Daily Challenge free; more by subscription
Checked on each official site on 27 October 2026.
The best ways to travel virtually
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1. Huntaz
Our game: treasure hunt in real places
Huntaz turns virtual travel into an adventure. Each hunt takes you to real locations in Google Street View, from busy squares to quiet side streets, with treasure chests hidden around every one. You walk the streets, look around properly and open every chest you can find before time runs out.
Explore alone with a Quick Hunt or the Daily Hunt, or travel with friends in Scheduled Multiplayer and Sponsored Multiplayer team hunts. Each chest adds Huntaz Points, and some hunts offer Huntaz Coins, which are in-game rewards with no cash value.
- Game or experience
- Game
- Free access
- Free to play with a free account
- Where
- Real places in Google Street View
- Platforms
- Web browser on desktop and mobile
Good for: travellers who like a goal: it makes you look at places you would otherwise rush past.
Worth knowing: each hunt has a time limit, so it is less leisurely than a tour.
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2. Google Earth
3D globe
Google Earth on the web shows high-resolution satellite imagery, 3D terrain and 3D buildings in hundreds of cities, and Street View, all in a browser. Voyager collects guided, interactive tours made with storytellers, scientists and nonprofits, and the dice button sends you to a random, curated place on the globe.
- Game or experience
- Experience
- Free access
- No price listed for the web version; Google describes Earth Pro for desktop as free
- Where
- The whole planet, in 3D
- Platforms
- Web, mobile apps and a desktop Pro version
Good for: free-form exploring and guided stories.
Worth knowing: there is no game or score; you set your own goals.
Official site: google.com/earth/about/versions
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3. Virtual Vacation
Video tours
Virtual Vacation gathers many ways to look around: walking tours of more than 100 cities, driving tours, a flying tour over more than 80, live cams, a Virtual Window and road trips. It also has City Guesser, a game where you watch a street video and guess the city.
The site asks players to help keep City Guesser free with donations.
- Game or experience
- Mostly experience, with one game
- Free access
- Free, supported by donations
- Where
- More than 100 cities on video
- Platforms
- Web browser
Good for: a relaxed walk through a city you have never visited.
Worth knowing: videos follow the camera; you cannot choose where to turn.
Official site: virtualvacation.us
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4. Drive From Home
Driving and walking videos
Drive From Home plays first-person videos of driving, walking, cycling, drone flights and train journeys through cities such as Berlin, Delhi and Stavanger, with curated radio to listen to as you go. The old Drive & Listen address now leads here.
Its home page does not state pricing, and parts of the site show ads.
- Game or experience
- Experience
- Free access
- Not stated on the home page
- Where
- Cities around the world on video
- Platforms
- Web browser
Good for: background travel while you work or relax.
Worth knowing: it is something to watch rather than play.
Official site: drivefromhome.com
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5. WindowSwap
Window views
WindowSwap opens a window somewhere else in the world: a short video of the view from someone’s home, shared by real people. You can share your own window too. It calls itself the calmest place on the internet, and it is exactly that.
- Game or experience
- Experience
- Free access
- Opens in a browser
- Where
- Homes around the world
- Platforms
- Web browser
Good for: a quiet moment somewhere new.
Worth knowing: there is nothing to do but look, which is the point.
Official site: window-swap.com
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6. GeoGuessr
Location guessing
GeoGuessr places you on a road somewhere in the world and asks where you are. Its official free page lists the Daily Challenge, five locations refreshed every day, as needing no subscription, while its other modes are included in a subscription.
- Game or experience
- Game
- Free access
- Daily Challenge free; more by subscription
- Where
- Street View around the world
- Platforms
- Web; apps with a subscription
Good for: travellers who like testing what they recognise.
Worth knowing: free play is mainly the Daily Challenge.
Official site: geoguessr.com/free
Real streets, hidden treasure
Travel with a goal
Tours are lovely, but it is easy to drift. A goal makes you look harder. In Huntaz you arrive in a real place with treasure chests hidden around you and a clock running, so you notice doorways, corners and side streets you would never see from a car window.
Play alone, take on the same Daily Hunt as everyone else, or bring a team and race other explorers.
Which kind of virtual trip suits you?
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See the whole planet from above
Google Earth and its Voyager tours.
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Walk a city without lifting a finger
Virtual Vacation’s walking tours, or Drive From Home.
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A calm view from somewhere else
WindowSwap.
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Test how well you know the world
GeoGuessr, or the free options in our Street View games guide.
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Explore real streets with a mission
Huntaz treasure hunts.
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A relaxed trip with friends instead
Our guide to virtual vacations.
Frequently asked questions
What is a virtual travel game?
A game or experience that lets you explore real places from home, usually through satellite imagery, Street View or video. Some have goals, such as finding treasure or guessing the location; others are tours.
Can I explore real cities online for free?
Yes. Google lists no charge for Google Earth on the web, and Virtual Vacation is free and supported by donations. Huntaz is free to play with a free account.
Are open-world video games virtual travel?
Some recreate real cities, but most are fictional worlds or rebuilt versions, and they usually need buying and installing. This guide covers real imagery you can open in a browser.
Is Huntaz free to play?
Yes. Huntaz is a free-to-play browser game. Create a free account, explore real-world locations and start searching for hidden treasure.
Does Huntaz use real places?
Yes. Every Huntaz location is a real place shown in Google Street View. Huntaz is an independent game and is not made or endorsed by Google.
Sources and how we checked
We checked each game's own website on 27 October 2026 for how it plays, what is free and what needs an account or payment. Games change their features and plans often, so check the official site before you rely on any detail here.
Pack nothing. Start exploring.
Walk real streets, find hidden treasure chests and collect Huntaz Points from wherever you are.
Play Huntaz FreeFree account. No download required.