Poker Vacation Packages

Our poker trip reports provide a comprehensive review of some amazing cities and poker rooms you should consider visiting for your next poker vacation! Poker travel can be daunting if you don't know where to play, which rooms spread the games/stakes you prefer, the promotions offered, and how the locals play.

1. Our Casino vacation packages offer plenty of savings for the savvy globetrotter. How does as much as $583 sound? That’s what you could save if you combine your hotel, flights and rental cars into a neat and tidy package. But cheap prices are only the start of your next memorable adventure.
2. Mexico Poker Vacations brought to you by Village Cruise and Travel offers poker tournaments in Mexico for everyday players. The buy-in is included in your vacation price. Mexico Poker Vacations - 773 233-6580.

When it comes to poker vacations, the world really is your oyster. Everybody knows at least one card-playing friend who has been to Vegas (and we’ll get around to that poker-playing nirvana soon enough), but there are many other amazing destinations which the poker-loving traveller should also be dreaming about.

A Caribbean Adventure!

Held in January - when much of the world is in the midst of winter and poker tournaments are fewer-and-further between – the massive PCA festival offers over 100 different tournaments across a multitude of variants and buy-ins.

Daily $120 NL Hold'em Flipout Triple Elimination 30 Player Cap 'Winner Take All' events might seem like a mouthful, but they afford even the budget poker traveller the opportunity to mix their poker with a holiday.

At the other end of the scale, the $100,000 NL Hold'em Super High Roller 8-Handed Unlimited Re-Entries event is a high-rollers dream! And if you can’t quite afford such a buy-in, you can always try to satellite into bigger events, or just enjoy mixing with the world’s biggest and best players.

Of course, being in the Caribbean you won’t need to stick to the green felt – scuba-diving, golf, a huge fitness centre, white-sand beaches, cocktails and fresh fish – whatever mood takes you, it’s on offer here.

With the Atlantis Resort venue having looked after poker players and their friends and families for many years, they know what you’re looking for.

There are rooms to suit all budgets, and the nearby Aquaventure waterpark is complimentary to hotel guests, while swimming with the local bottlenose dolphins is just a short ride away.

In short – a holiday here is a Caribbean Adventure of a life-time - for poker players or anyone else for that matter.

2. Make an Aussie Million in Melbourne!

Barely a day after the Caribbean Adventure comes to an end, the Aussie Millions festival kicks-off Melbourne.

Naturally, Australia is a destination on the bucket-list of almost any traveller, and if you throw in one of the most prestigious events on the poker calendar – well, you’ve just hit the jackpot!

The Crown Melbourne doesn’t just cater for the poker player, it’s a high-class resort in the heart of the city, boasting 3 magnificent hotels, 2 day spas, 13 premium dining restaurants, 11 bars, 2 nightclubs and more than 20 retail stores!

The Aussie Millions poker schedule is also a thing to behold! 18 days of tournaments ranging from $1150 buy-ins up to the monstrous LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge, where the world’s biggest rollers line up to see who can take down the $multi-million pot. Phil Ivey has done it 3 times now!

Satellites starting at $20, plus cash tables to suit all pockets run almost continuously throughout the festival, and if your game is in need of some serious work you can attend the Joe Hachem masterclasses!

For those accompanying you, Melbourne is one of the most vibrant and eclectic cities in Australia – so you’ll never be short of attractions for yourself and the children or whoever you take with you.

Add the poker experience and you can’t really ask for more than that!

3. Monte Carlo Magic!

The EPT (European Poker Tour) visits some beautiful places as it snakes around the continent, but few can compete with the glamour and bright lights of Monte Carlo.

For any poker player, this end of season Grand Final extravaganza is the highlight of the European calendar – the Main Event itself attracting hundreds of players from across the globe, who shared some $5.6million in prizes last year.

With 10 days of play across many events, satelliting your way into one of the big ones might be a good idea – and sometimes poker holidays even pay for themselves if you scoop a prize.

Although this destination will not be the cheapest poker holiday destination in the world – it is after all smack-bang in the middle of the French/Italian Riviera where even the smallest of boats you’ll see riding the waves would cost the average person a life-times wages – it will give you an experience you’ll never forget, poker and holiday-wise.

With a famous Opera House, the stunning coastline and harbours and the private collection of Prince Rainer’s finest cars on show, the opportunities are very varied in this part of the world.

The EPT sails up on the 27th of April next year, so check out the online qualifiers or start saving quickly if you want to be part of it!

4. Vegas IS the Main Event!

When it comes to poker destinations, there is no other in the world like Las Vegas – and if you’re going to go you might as well time it to coincide with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in July (or even November for the final table if it’s more suitable).

For a start, you won’t find a city with a card-culture quite like it – casinos in Vegas outnumber hotels in most other holiday resorts – and no matter what your budget, Las Vegas will cater for your needs.

When the WSOP rolls into town, the place becomes even more poker-crazy – and it’s impossible for a poker player not to love his life, even if it’s only for a week. 24-hour cash tables are the norm and there’s always the chance to play your way into the Main Event if you’re there in summer.

Away from the tables you’ll probably be surprised by the choice on offer. Rock-climbing? Yup. Golf in the desert? Yup. Race-cars? Yup. Add in all the usual holiday offerings of restaurants, swimming pools and spas, guided tours and myriad other possibilities and you’ll see just why Vegas isn’t only a poker paradise.

If you ARE there only for the poker, then you simply must check out all the classic poker haunts. Bally’s, Caesars Palace, the Bellagio – you could spend weeks playing at the tables where the stars have sat; and some people do exactly that, the lights of Vegas bewitching them!

If you do go, and somehow find yourself winning the Main Event, don’t forget who sent you!

5. You Can’t Lose With a Poker Cruise!

Once the preserve of the rich and elderly, cruises are now seen as a perfectly normal, even excellent, way to spend a holiday. If you’re a poker buff, you can even go on a special cruise solely for card-players (and their friends and family of course).

Poker Vacation Packages

Companies such as CardPlayer have been offering poker cruises to destinations such as Alaska, the Caribbean, and Malaysia for a good number of years now – and they know how to keep their guests entertained - be they poker-mad or just along for the ride!

On-board entertainment is included as well, naturally, with shows and cabarets, cinemas hosting the latest movies, ice-skating, and a host of other activities put on for guests. Children, of course, are also catered for – even while you’re at the poker tables – so you can relax (while you are cracking someone’s aces hopefully!). Cocktail parties and poker seminars also appear regularly, but if you don’t want to play poker you don’t have to.

Price-wise, you’ll be happy to hear that cruises are generally cheaper than normal package holidays. The all-inclusive nature of a cruise tends to keep the costs down – so most of your spare cash can be spent at the tables where tournaments and cash games are always available.

Cruises also have the great bonus of stopping off at different ports along your route, so choose the one which covers as many great places as possible – you have to spend your winnings somewhere after all.

If you want to know more about poker cruises, check out this very recent article on PokerTube.

Gambling Vacation Packages

Hopefully this short poker-holiday guide has given you some great ideas for combining your travel plans with the world’s best poker-playing experience – now all you have to do is choose which one you want to experience first!