We have traveled a lot over the years and even though every destination holds a place in our hearts, there are a few travel locations that will always be our favorites. They may not be a top vacation for everyone, but for us, it's one of our special getaways.

You can also head over to our travel list if you want to search all our adventures and not just the top picks.

Portland, Oregon

Top on the list of our favorite travel destinations has to be Portland, Oregon. First off, we chose to live here so clearly we like the place.

Even before moving here, we vacationed here often. We love the Pacific Northwest vibes and the hipster influence.

The city has some skyscrapers but is more open than typical cities. The amount of trees mixed in also takes away from any concrete jungle vibes.

We can easily go on a hike only a few minutes from the city where we feel transported to being isolated in nature. The river in the city also helps with our healthy lifestyle having plenty of paths for distance runs.

Even though we technically live in downtown Portland, we only spend about six months total in our place due to the nature of our jobs and all the traveling we do. This almost makes the place feel even more special similar to a vacation home.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Out of all the states in the Southwest, New Mexico is our favorite and our favorite city there is Santa Fe. Our very first job back in 2015 was in Santa Fe and was our first time moving away from the Midwest.

We fell in love with the city instantly. There are no tall buildings due to city ordinances so even though it's a city, it never feels that way.

There always seem to be free events going on and we love their farmers markets. We also made friends that are more like family during our first time there and have since returned almost yearly for visits.

The stars are brighter there and there are a lot of outdoor activities nearby. If we ever bought a mountain house, it would be in Santa Fe.

Treehouse Point, Washington

Our honeymoon was a bit unconventional with us camping for a few nights at Olympic National Park in the Hoh Rainforest and then spending a few nights in the most magical place on earth...Treehouse Point.

Treehouse Point is a treehouse hotel in Washington and it is amazing. After our first time going, we still try to visit yearly and have even treated many friends to the place so they can love it as much as us.

Each treehouse is unique and even though we have officially stayed in every treehouse, we still go back just to stay in them again. The place feels like a magical wilderness getaway where fairies would live.

Ladera Resort, St Lucia

You can't go wrong with any Caribbean vacation but Ladera Resort in Saint Lucia is our top. We went thereafter we finally paid off all our student loans and deemed the vacation our "honeymoon".

With all our of adventures, it was one of our most fancy and the first time we stayed in a room with "3 walls". This means one entire wall was nonexistent and instead we had an unobstructed view of the Saint Lucia mountains.

The resort was in an offseason so we had most of the place to ourselves. It started with them making us a drink the moment we arrived and Kelsey got to attend private yoga sessions looking out at the ocean.

Seattle, Washington

So clearly we have a thing for the Pacific Northwest and Seattle is our favorite "big" city. If we didn't live in Portland, we would live in Seattle.

Part of the reason why we don't live in Seattle is the price and the fact that we would spend all our paychecks at Pikes Place every week. Seattle is our go-to "staycation" destination and always feels magical.

Another reason why it has a place in our hearts is because we spend our wedding night there after eloping in Vancouver. We went out to a nice dinner, stayed in a nice hotel then got to walk around in the morning as a married couple.

Phil's favorite Hyatt is located in Seattle and it's the Hyatt Regency. He loves the high rises and the busy energy.

Place in Our Hearts

Sometimes the places that become our favorites are less about the destination and more about the memories. We may be biased on some travel spots because we will always connect them to a time in our lives that holds extra value.

We are lucky that some of our favorite places to visit get to be a yearly getaways. We are also blessed to share a lot of these places that we love with people that we love.

So I guess we should say thank you to these amazing destinations and everything they mean to us.