Travel
Words for travelling, transport and holidays.
When you travel, you need to know many words. This lesson teaches you words for transport like 'flight' and 'ferry', things you take like 'passport' and 'luggage', and actions like 'book a ticket' and 'explore'. After this lesson, you will be ready to talk about your next trip in English.
Key terms
| Word | Means of Travel | Example |
|---|---|---|
| flight | by plane / air | The flight to Istanbul takes two hours. |
| ferry | by boat / sea | We took the ferry across the Caspian Sea. |
| coach | by bus / road (long-distance) | The coach from Baku to Tbilisi is comfortable. |
| underground | by train (under a city) | The London Underground is also called the Tube. |
| taxi | by car (you pay the driver) | Let's take a taxi to the hotel. |
Five common types of transport and what they mean.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| book a ticket | reserve a seat before you travel | I booked a ticket online. |
| pack | put clothes and things into a bag | She packed her suitcase the night before. |
| explore | walk around and discover a new place | We explored the old town all morning. |
| depart | leave a place | The flight departs at 6 am. |
| arrive | reach your destination | The train arrived at 7 pm. |
| go sightseeing | visit famous or interesting places | They went sightseeing in Rome. |
Six useful verbs and verb phrases for talking about travel.
- 1Talking about the trip: 'Where are you going for your trip?' — Use 'trip' for a short journey with a return.
- 2Talking about transport: 'I am flying to Istanbul. My flight departs at 9 am.' — Use 'flight' for air travel and 'depart' for leaving.
- 3Talking about preparation: 'I packed my luggage last night — I have my passport and a guidebook.' — Use 'pack', 'luggage', 'passport' and 'guidebook' together.
- 4Talking about the destination: 'When I arrive, I want to explore the city and go sightseeing.' — Use 'arrive', 'explore' and 'go sightseeing'.
Many students say 'a luggage' but luggage is uncountable — say 'some luggage' or 'a piece of luggage'.
'Journey' and 'trip' are not the same. A journey focuses on the travel itself (often long); a trip includes the return and is often shorter.
Do not say 'do sightseeing' — the correct phrase is always 'go sightseeing'.
Rules
- 1'Flight' always means travel by air; 'ferry' is travel by boat.
- 2'Journey' is usually longer and focuses on the travel; 'trip' is shorter and includes going and coming back.
- 3'Coach' in British English means a long-distance bus, not a sports teacher.
- 4You 'book' a ticket (reserve), 'pack' your bag (put things in), and 'explore' a place (walk around and discover).
- 5'Luggage' is an uncountable noun — you say 'some luggage', not 'a luggage'.
- 6'Go sightseeing' always uses 'go' — you say 'let's go sightseeing', not 'let's do sightseeing'.
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard
10 random questions per test