By MJ Wilke

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Comic books, talking travel, desert planets, UFOs, a science museum, a nerd hangout — the area in and around Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con has something for any traveling nerd. Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con is ideally located, a few hours will take you outside of Tatooine or to Area 51. Plus, in Las Vegas itself, you don’t have to wander far to find nerdy places, not to mention all the Batman slot machines. After all, Las Vegas is the place where the streets have Star Wars names.

 

Join Us

Wayward Nerd is presenting a panel with travel agency Nerds Travels on all things travel. We’ll help you plan the Ultimate Nerd Vacation, discuss Nevada Nerdy Places, talk tips on getting more from your comic-con experiences and answer all your travel-related questions. Join us Saturday, June 15, at 5 pm in Panel Room A.

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Explore the Con

Amazing! comic cons are a great place to discover independent comics and local artists. Don’t miss Amazing’s show table of con-exclusive variant covers. Walk the exhibit floor, discover new local artists, get your PhotoOps and autographs. 

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Find Nerdy Vegas 

After you’ve binged on everything indoors take a step outside and explore the nerdy places Nevada has to offer. Whether you have a couple hours in the morning or evening, before or after the con or a couple days to spend, there are ways to add nerd travel to your comic con experience.

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Star Wars Streets. Southwest of I-515 and Tropicana Avenue, in the Paradise area, you’ll find a residential neighborhood with Star Wars street names. Imagine your address being Leia Street in Paradise.

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Millennium Fandom Bar. At the end of a road trip or a comic-con day, go looking for Han Solo at the bar. The Millennium Fandom Bar is a great gathering place for nerdom—and could even be called a clubhouse. Cosplayers are welcome and patrons often come dressed in character.

 

Museums. Las Vegas is full of museums. For the science nerd, one of note is the Smithsonian affiliate National Atomic Testing Museum. Learn more about the nation’s nuclear power and weapons’ history, including the Nevada Test Site.

 

More about these locations on our Nevada Nerdy Places page, and for more information on Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con, check out our Comic-Con Travel page.

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Take a Nerdy Side Trip

Use Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con as your starting (or ending) point to head out on a road trip. In just a few hours in one direction, you can be on the Star Wars’ planet of Tatooine; a few hours in another direction brings you outside the conspiracy theory/UFO hunting mecca of Area 51. Either destination can be a day trip or expanded into a longer stay.

 

The Mos Eisley Overlook scene in which Obi-Wan says to Luke, “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious,” was filmed just two hours northwest of Las Vegas in Death Valley National Park. Bonus is no hiking necessary. The camera location for the shot was in the parking lot of Dante’s View, which is also handicap accessible. To read more about Star Wars filming locations in Death Valley, check out our Wayward Adventure – Travel to a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

 

A road trip in search of evidence of UFOs or government conspiracies takes you two hours north of the city. Nevada State Route 375, officially dubbed by the state the Extraterrestrial Highway, skirts outside of Area 51 but lands you in Rachel, NV, and the Little A’Le’Inn. Keep an eye out for the unique highway signage along this route; you may even see Open Range signs with cattle abduction scenes. Check out our Nevada Nerdy Places for more information.

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NOTE: Be aware that Area 51 is a government facility, trespassing is not allowed. Obey all signage.

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Grab your comic books, lightsaber and cue the X-Files theme music. We’ll see you there.

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