Plan a Vacation Around Pokémon GO? These Families Say There's No Better Way to Travel

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It was a hot day in July, and I was on an island in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The stakes were high. A rare Pokémon, a shiny Necrozma, had appeared on the scene, and my then-8-year-old daughter was intent on catching it. Hundreds of others — adults and kids alike — were equally engrossed in their own devices, trying to catch Pokémon of their own. She threw her Poké Ball. It hit — and stayed. The shiny Necrozma was hers.

Her triumph occurred during a round of Pokémon GO , a game played on phones and other mobile devices that mixes in elements of the real world. As they’re walking around, players can catch digital Pokémon, get special items from PokéStops (often tied to real-life landmarks) and battle for control of gyms.

The Necrozma revealed itself during Pokémon GO Fest , an event that takes place in multiple cities throughout the world where Pokémon fans gather in-person to play the game en masse. While I was there, I saw adults and kids come together to trade Pokémon with each other (some walked around with signs that listed their desired Pokémon), work together in group raids or pose for photo ops with giant, inflatable creatures. And even though it was a scorching hot day, everyone seemed to be in a great mood, excited by their catches.

It was only after I’d been watching the crowd at GO Fest for a while that I started remembering details from the night before. I just so happened to have tickets to see Back to the Future on Broadway. Waiting in line to get into the theater, I’d noticed that lots of people were decked out in Pokémon gear: Loungefly backpacks, team shirts, Pikachu hats and tons of plush bag charms. I pointed it out to my daughter, but since we live in New York City, I didn’t really make the connection until later: For these families, Pokémon GO Fest wasn’t just a one-off event — it was a vacation to New York City with GO Fest as a centerpiece.

And why wouldn’t families plan their trips around Pokémon events? It’s no different than focusing a vacation around pastimes like bike or hiking trips, bird-watching, or trying to visit all of the National Parks or Major League ballfields. “This taps into a big trend among millennial parents: designing travel around experiences that feel personal, nostalgic and interactive,” says Samantha Collum, Director of Operations at River Oaks Travel Concierge . “We’re seeing more families build trips that reflect the interests they already share — and sometimes that includes the games and shows they grew up with. It’s part of a larger move away from one-size-fits-all sightseeing and toward more customized, story-driven travel.”

Collum recently planned a trip for a client and their family that was built around the Pokémon GO City Safari in Milan, Italy. The event took them past the major landmarks, like the Duomo, the Castello Sforzesco and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. “The kids were totally engaged, and the parents loved that they could enjoy cultural landmarks without the usual ‘Are we done yet?’ energy,” she says. “These kinds of experiences are also easy to weave into a broader trip — we paired the two-day event with a day in Lake Como, a pizza-making class and visits to some of Milan’s fashion-focused museums and shops.” Okay, sign me up.

Madeline Miller, a writer at Academized.com , traveled from Chicago to attend the same Pokémon GO Fest I attended with my daughter. She went with her whole family, including her husband David and kids, Ethan, then 9, and Lily, then 7. “The game gave us the perfect reason to take a family vacation,” she says. “The kids’ passion for it helped us decide to blend their interest with an opportunity to discover a new city.” And she’s not the only one building trips around kids’ interests: According to a 2025 travel trends report by Hilton , 70% of families who travel with children pick their vacation destinations based on their kids’ needs and interests.

Not that Miller and her husband have zero interest in Pokémon GO. “David and I started playing Pokémon GO because Ethan and Lily had been playing,” she says. “We began with leisurely neighborhood walks and it eventually grew into a family routine.” During the event in New York City, they traded Pokémon with other players, participated in group raids and caught rare, shiny Pokémon (a Rayquaza for Ethan, an Eevee for Lily and a Snorlax for Miller). “Playing the game at home is fine,” Miller says, “but sharing it with thousands of like-minded people creates an unforgettable experience.”

And then, on the days when the event wasn’t happening, there was the rest of New York City to explore. They went to Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History (“which they loved because of its dinosaur exhibits”), ate New York pizza and bagels and saw the lights of Times Square. “The trip became an unforgettable family adventure,” she says, saying the kids are still talking about it a year later — and looking up details about Pokémon GO Fest 2025. The family plans to return again this year.

Melody Morton, who lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas, is also planning a repeat visit to the New York City area for this year’s Pokémon GO Fest. The first time she went, she was pregnant; she returned last year with her husband and 3-month-old baby in tow. “ Doing a GO Fest vacation is not one where you’re gonna relax and do nothing ,” she says. “You do so much walking and exploring. My husband and I try to get in as much exercise we can, and we always feel accomplished after GO Fest. We have awesome photos, memories and some sweet, rare Pokémon. We’re usually really happy, and ready to start planning the next event!” Their first time around, they were able to do things like see Wicked or go out to dinner in addition to GO Fest, and even with the baby they were able to make trips to the Nintendo store and relax in Central Park.

Of course, going with an infant meant doing some additional planning: figuring out a centrally located hotel for feedings, making sure there were breaks for hydration and cooling down. “This year I feel like we will try to be even more prepared,” she says. “Going with a toddler who is officially walking will be a challenge. We already talked about not being able to hit it as hard as we could go.”

But in the end, the extra prep is worth it. “We’re all big nerds, and we’re coming together to catch virtual monsters on our phone,” Morton says. “Pokémon holds a significant place in our hearts, and it’s so fun to play around others who think the same.”

I asked my daughter what she thought about planning a vacation around Pokémon. With a Pokémon GO Fest in her backyard, that event isn’t as much of a draw. But the idea of going to other countries and seeing the different Pokémon available to catch there definitely appeals to her — and she’s dying to go to Japan to visit a real Pokémon Center. (I’d have to bring a extra suitcase just for the plush she’d want to bring home.) Sometimes, we talk about what else we could visit if we ever made it to Tokyo. I’ve started squirreling away some rainy-day funds for it, too.

If we ever get there, it would make for some pretty incredible stories. “When a family builds a vacation around something they love — whether it’s Pokémon, pasta-making, or vintage shopping — the memories they come home with feel more connected and more ‘them,’” Collum says. “It’s less about checking off the top ten sights and more about building moments that feel joyful and uniquely theirs.”