Find the best places to fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with scenic routes, airport codes, aircraft picks and fixes for blurry scenery.
The best places to fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator include New Zealand’s South Island, the Swiss Alps, Norway’s fjords, Oahu, the Grand Canyon, Patagonia, Tokyo and the Caribbean. For one standout first trip, fly a light aircraft from Queenstown to Milford Sound, following the valleys rather than the direct GPS line.
These locations work well in both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. Their exact appearance depends on the simulator version, installed regional content, optional scenery and the quality of streamed world data.
Which Microsoft Flight Simulator locations are best?
New Zealand, the Alps, Norway, Hawaii and the south-western United States deliver the most consistently rewarding VFR sightseeing.
| Location | Suggested flight | Highlights | Best aircraft type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand’s South Island | Queenstown (NZQN) to Milford Sound (NZMF) | Deep valleys, mountain passes, lakes and the Milford Sound arrival | Light aircraft or turboprop |
| Swiss and Austrian Alps | Samedan (LSZS) towards Innsbruck (LOWI) | High terrain, narrow valleys and demanding mountain airports | High-performance piston or turboprop |
| Norwegian fjords | Bergen (ENBR) to Sogndal (ENSG) | Fjords, steep shoreline terrain and rapidly changing weather | Single-engine piston or turboprop |
| Oahu, Hawaii | Honolulu (PHNL) island circuit | Waikiki, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and the Ko‘olau Range | Slow piston aircraft or helicopter |
| Arizona and the Grand Canyon | Sedona (KSEZ) to Grand Canyon (KGCN) | Red-rock formations, high desert and canyon terrain | Light aircraft |
| Caribbean islands | St Maarten (TNCM), St Barthélemy (TFFJ) and Saba (TNCS) | Short sectors, steep approaches and unusually short runways | STOL aircraft or small twin |
| Patagonia | Local flight from Ushuaia (SAWH) | Beagle Channel, rugged mountains and dramatic weather | Turboprop or capable piston aircraft |
| Tokyo and Mount Fuji | Haneda (RJTT), Tokyo Bay and Mount Fuji | Dense urban scenery followed by volcanic terrain | Light aircraft or helicopter |
| Cape Town | Cape Town (FACT) around the Cape Peninsula | Table Mountain, coastline and a major-airport departure | Light aircraft |
These are sightseeing suggestions inside the simulator, not real-world routing advice. Several areas have controlled, restricted or environmentally protected airspace that requires proper charts, clearances and approved routes in real aviation.
What is the best scenic flight for a first visit?
Queenstown to Milford Sound is our first choice because it combines an accessible airport, obvious visual landmarks and some of the simulator’s most impressive mountain scenery.
Use clear daytime weather for the first attempt and choose an aircraft that can climb comfortably. A mistake we see constantly is following the direct GPS line towards Milford Sound: that track can lead straight across high terrain. Follow the valleys, gain height before crossing any pass and leave enough room to turn back.
For an easier flight with fewer terrain concerns, circle Oahu from Honolulu. Stay slow enough to identify Waikiki, Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor before continuing around the island. Our enhanced Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and Oahu scenery gives PC users more detail around this particularly good sightseeing circuit.
Which aircraft is best for sightseeing?
A stable piston single cruising at roughly light-aircraft speeds is the best general sightseeing choice; use a turboprop only when the route is too long or the terrain demands better climb performance.
- Training aircraft: Ideal for coastlines, cities and familiarisation flights because they are stable and slow enough to inspect landmarks.
- STOL aircraft: Best for short strips, canyons and confined mountain destinations, although low speed does not remove the need for terrain clearance.
- Turboprops: Choose one for Patagonia, Norway or longer island-hopping sectors where a piston aircraft would take too long.
- Helicopters: Excellent over cities and detailed landmarks, but harder to control and less suitable for covering large regions.
- Airliners: Better for challenging arrivals than sightseeing. At normal cruise altitude and speed, most terrain detail passes unnoticed.
Aircraft availability differs between editions and simulator versions, so use the closest equivalent included in your installation.
Where does optional scenery make the biggest difference?
Optional scenery helps most where a recognisable landmark, city centre or canyon is simplified in the stock world.
In the western United States, the detailed Yosemite Valley enhancement improves focal points such as El Capitan, Half Dome and the major waterfalls. For lower-level canyon flying, the enhanced Zion landmarks and terrain package makes Angels Landing and the surrounding temples easier to recognise.
Urban VFR benefits in the same way. An expanded Washington and National Mall package adds many of the buildings expected on a simulated city circuit from Washington National (KDCA). Do not reproduce that sightseeing route in a real aircraft without understanding the area’s stringent airspace restrictions.
External freeware packages are intended for PC-style Community folder installations. Check each package’s stated compatibility before using it with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024; Xbox and PlayStation users cannot install these PC Community downloads.
Why does a famous location look blurry or incomplete?
Blurry ground textures or melted-looking buildings usually mean streamed data is unavailable, still loading or being shown at a low level of detail.
- Check online world data: Confirm that online functionality and streamed scenery data are enabled. Offline fallback scenery is less detailed.
- Allow the area to load: Pause on the ground briefly after spawning, especially after jumping directly to a dense city or detailed airport.
- Check regional content: Make sure the simulator and any optional content covering that region are updated.
- Inspect the rolling cache: If one familiar area remains corrupted after restarting, clearing and rebuilding the rolling cache can remove stale tiles.
- Test without add-ons: Temporarily remove overlapping scenery packages when buildings duplicate, terrain spikes appear or an airport sits at the wrong elevation.
Photogrammetry only improves supported areas; enabling it cannot create detailed three-dimensional buildings everywhere. Poor visibility can also be entirely weather-related, so use a clear preset and sensible daylight first, then repeat the flight with live conditions once the route is familiar.
What common mistakes spoil scenic flights?
Flying too fast, too high or directly through mountain terrain causes most disappointing sightseeing flights.
- Starting in a jet when the intended landmarks require low-speed VFR flying.
- Trusting a straight GPS track in the Alps, Patagonia or New Zealand without checking terrain.
- Flying at dawn inside deep valleys, where shadows can hide the features being visited.
- Assuming every satellite image includes a detailed three-dimensional model.
- Judging an area while world data is disabled or another large download is consuming the connection.
- Treating a simulator sightseeing route as legal or safe guidance for a real flight.