10 Star Trek Vacation Spots We’d Love to Visit

With the weather warming up and summer now here, many of us are already dreaming of faraway holidays and much-needed vacations. If travel plans aren't in the cards for the time being, dreaming about it wouldn't hurt.

And if we’re going to fantasize about the ultimate getaway, we might as well shoot for the stars. Here are 10 Star Trek vacation spots we’d love to visit.

Light on latinum? Looking for a unique vacation experience that won’t break the Beryllium bank? Consider a trip to Quark’s Bar, the premier entertainment facility on the Federation starbase Deep Space 9.

The bar itself is nothing to send a subspace message home about. The atmosphere is dark and dank, the replicators always seem to need service, and the bar staff and clientele are an acquired taste, to put it politely.

But the holosuites, dear reader, are what makes this trip to the wormhole worth it. Why risk life and limb to visit exotic places and times when, for a few strips of latinum, you can fulfill all your travel fantasies from the comfort of a Cardassian holosuite? And while recreational holo facilities can be found all over the quadrant, we recommend the ones at Quark’s, if only for the unique programs available there. If you can dream it, Quark and his staff can make it a reality.

Forget what you’ve heard, Risa isn’t the only go-to destination for Alpha Quadrant vacations.

As Jadzia Dax put it, in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Change of Heart,” if you want pampering, room service, and a balcony with a view that will make you break down and cry, then Casperia Prime is the place for you. This destination might not offer all that much for those of you looking for character-building experiential trips, but it certainly has the rest and relaxation part covered.

The ringed planet was also the site of a medical conference Dr. Julian Bashir was scheduled to attend in 2374, and if it’s good enough for Starfleet Medical, it’s good enough for us.

After all, they don’t call it the "vacation capital of the Hovarian cluster” for nothing.

Are you an explorer at heart? Do you appreciate art, architecture, and history, but yearn to experience them in their proper cultural context rather than vacuum-packed and freeze-dried in some dusty Federation museum? Bajor is a unique travel destination you won’t want to miss.

Now liberated from decades of Cardassian occupation, this Alpha Quadrant jewel has tens of thousands of years of captivating history, philosophy, and art to obsess over and lose yourself in. And while the planet’s population has fallen on hard economic times lately, a booming tourism industry could be just what Bajor needs to get it back on its feet.

Not everyone dreams of holosuite fantasies and bar-hopping on popular vacation worlds. Some of us just want some peace, quiet, and a chance at spiritual enlightenment. And if you’re the stoic type of traveler, the Klingon Temple on Boreth will offer you just that. Enjoy an unforgettable cultural experience as you contemplate the wisdom of Kahless and the true meaning of honor among the soaring peaks and fresh air of the Boreth mountains.

While Boreth has been the site of the Klingon Empire’s most sacred temple for generations, it has some more recent claims to fame as well. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Rightful Heir,” the clerics of Boreth bio-engineered a clone of the original Kahless, the legendary father-figure of the Klingon Empire, and tried to pass him off as an authentic second coming. This Monastery is also where Worf chooses to spend his time after the events of Star Trek Generations prior to his appearance in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “The Way of the Warrior.”

So if Klingon philosophy and history is your passion, this should be at the top of your list of places to visit before departing for Sto-vo-kor.

Old fashioned hedonism is the name of the game on Argelius II. If intoxicated bar hopping is your pleasure, this is your destination.

And unlike a few other spots on this list, crime on Argelius II is incredibly rare — despite the abundance of bars, pubs and pleasure houses. In fact, a string of murders in 2267 had the planet’s populace considering closing the entire world to outsiders indefinitely in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Wolf in the Fold.” But don’t let that one unfortunate event scare you off, we haven’t heard of anything quite so gruesome from the Argelians since then.

If you’re truly taken with the place, you might just be able get permanent residence. The Argelians are so pleasure-obsessed, they outsource plenty of unpleasant jobs to the rest of the galaxy. As Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk once said, “The Argelians think very highly of their pleasure.”

Wholesome cultural experiences and placid beach resorts are one thing, but if you’re looking for a vacation spot that’s a little less PG rated, the glitz and glamour of Freecloud’s Stardust City might be just what the EMH ordered.

Personal liberties are totally unencumbered on Stardust City; and whatever your pleasure, you can find it here. Leave the holocam at home though because, as the old saying goes, what happens on Freecloud stays on Freecloud.

Fair warning, traveller — there are parts of Freecloud frequented by some less-than-reputable characters, so keeping your latinum locked up and sticking to well-lit streets at night is advised, and packing a phaser set on stun wouldn’t be the worst idea.

If you’re looking for an unforgettable vacation in the Alpha Quadrant, then Risa should always be top of mind.

The gold standard in galactic getaways, Risa offers breathtaking beaches, all-inclusive resorts, exotic foods, an active nightlife, and an opportunity for intimate companionship — if that’s what you’re into. Just be sure to mind your horga'hn, or risk putting out precisely the wrong vibe, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard did in “Captain’s Holiday.”

It might surprise you to learn that crime is not completely unheard of on this paradise planet. Just ask officers Trip Tucker and Malcolm Reed of the Enterprise NX-01, who spent most of their shore leave tied up in a basement, stripped to their underwear after being robbed in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Two Days and Two Nights.” And there are even urban legends of over-eager young men meeting exotic Risian women and waking up the next morning sans one kidney, as told in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Fury.”

But we’re pretty sure such unpleasant incidents are few and far between, at least the five-star resorts.

Should you ever find yourself in the Delta Quadrant and in need of some serious R&R, set course for Sikaris, maximum warp.

Both technologically and socially advanced, the Sikarians are just about the friendliest hosts you could imagine and their hospitality is renowned throughout the quadrant. Sikarian society is fueled by pleasure — both the giving and receiving of it. In other words, they get a kick out of making you happy. That sounds like a pretty good deal to us.

If there’s a downside to this reciprocal pleasure paradise, it’s that the Sikarians tend to get bored with new playthings easily, as Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew discovered in the Voyager episode “Prime Factors.”

And don’t worry about the bill, you may not even need a traditional form of currency when visiting Sikaris, just be sure to come with a few good stories. The locals are wild for them.

Let’s be honest, the Federation is a big place, and if you’re just looking for an idyllic M class planet to spend a few peaceful weeks on, you’re spoiled for choice.

But for those of you who feel truly young at heart, consider Ba’ku. This unassuming ringed planet not only boasts beautiful rolling hills, crystal clear lakes and blue skies — it also includes a modern day fountain of life. The planet’s unique metaphasic radiation has healing and anti-aging properties which can eventually bestow seemingly eternal life.

Of course, there’s always a catch. Ba’ku is located within the Briar Patch, a dangerous region of space that can make travel in and out quite hazardous. Still, if you can manage to make it there, this planet might be as close as any mortal can get to paradise.

With a name like the “Shore Leave Planet,” this probably won’t be a hard sell. But no catchy nickname or travel agency brochure could ever do this world in the Omicron Delta region justice.

Created by an ancient race of beings exclusively for the purposes of relaxation and leisure, the entire planet responds to your thoughts and desires, conjuring up your fantasies in real life via a massive underground industrial computer complex. These aren’t holograms or hallucinations, the constructs of the Shore Leave Planet are about as real as unreality can get.

A word to the wise, though. Unlike the controlled environment of a holodeck, the creations of the Shore Leave Planet conduct themselves based on your own unconscious thoughts, no matter how unpleasant or traumatizing they might be. When the U.S.S. Enterprise first visited the planetary amusement park in The Original Series episode “Shore Leave,” Captain James T. Kirk was attacked by a vision of a former Starfleet Academy classmate, Dr. Leonard McCoy was temporarily killed by a rampaging medieval knight, and Yeoman Tonia Barrows was assaulted by a reconstruction of the fictional literary character Don Juan.

This vacation destination might be the answer to all your innermost desires and wishes, but as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

This article was originally published on May 4, 2020.