Travel Destination: Best Places to Visit and What Makes Them Work

When you think of a travel destination, a place you choose to visit for rest, adventure, or escape. Also known as a getaway spot, it’s not just about the location—it’s about what the place lets you do, feel, or experience. A great travel destination doesn’t need fancy billboards or crowded tourist traps. It just needs to fit your mood: quiet woods for solitude, a beach with good tacos, or a city where you can walk everywhere and still find something new to try.

Some travel destinations are built for families—think theme parks and coastal towns like Myrtle Beach, a lively, budget-friendly beach spot popular with families. Others are made for couples looking to reconnect—like the quiet lanes of Bath, a historic English city known for its romantic atmosphere and cozy inns. Then there are places built for travelers who want to do it all: Portland, Oregon, a U.S. city famous for food carts, walkable streets, and real community energy. These aren’t just names on a map—they’re experiences shaped by local culture, cost, and convenience.

And then there’s the kind of travel destination you don’t always plan for—the ones you find when you book a holiday cottage, a self-catering home in the countryside, often in England’s Lake District, Cornwall, or Scotland’s Highlands. These spots aren’t advertised on billboards. They’re passed down in word-of-mouth. You get a kitchen, a view, and the freedom to make your own schedule. No resort schedules. No crowded pools. Just you, the rain on the roof, and the smell of woodsmoke from a nearby fireplace.

Not every travel destination needs to be far away. Many Brits are choosing staycations, a vacation spent in your own country, often in a cottage, coastal town, or quiet city over overseas trips. Why? Because sometimes the best escape is just a two-hour drive from home, with no jet lag, no currency exchange, and no surprise resort fees.

And if you’re thinking about spending big on an all-inclusive resort, a vacation package where meals, drinks, and sometimes activities are bundled into one price, ask yourself this: are you paying for convenience—or missing out on real local flavor? The truth? Most all-inclusives lock you into their walls. The food is predictable. The drinks are generic. And you never really leave the resort grounds. But if you’re traveling with kids or just want zero planning, they’ve got their place.

What ties all these together? The best travel destinations don’t force you to be someone else. They let you be yourself—whether that’s cooking breakfast in a cottage with your partner, sipping coffee on a beach in Turks and Caicos, or wandering through Portland’s food carts with no agenda. The right destination doesn’t sell you a fantasy. It gives you space to breathe.

Below, you’ll find real stories from people who’ve been there—whether they spent a weekend in Devon, tried to figure out if spa access was really free, or learned the cheapest day to book flights in 2025. No fluff. No hype. Just what actually works when you’re planning your next trip.