https://www.highlevellistening.

com/category/travel-vocabulary/

Getting There
 Catch a flight: Take a scheduled flight
 Public transport: UK public buses, trains, the underground
 Underground lines: the specific path a train takes
 Someone gives me a lift: UK lets me ride in their car
 Bus line: the specific path a bus takes
 Off-site: outside of the airport
 On-site: at the airport
 Get a ride from my friends: USA Asking your friend to drive you to the airport
 Rental agency: Usually a car rental agency
 Uber app: Uber taxi application/service

Check In/ Checking your bags/ Your Carry-ons

 Get dropped off: Arrive at your destination
 Self-service kiosk: Small touch-screen computer which prints your boarding pass
 Booking number / reference number: A 6-digit number you enter into the kiosk
 Scan my passport: Let the computer read your passport
 Checked baggage: Heavy or large luggage, e.g. a suitcase or big shopping items
 Carry-on bags: Light or small luggage, e.g. a backpack, briefcase, purse
 Budget airlines: cheaper airlines that often charge extra for food/luggage or other
extras
 Check their specs: read their specifications or information on how big your items can
be
 A stroller: USA a pushchair for your baby or child
 Luggage / a suitcase: some luggage (uncountable) / 2,3 suitcases (countable)
 Check-in Attendant: the person who helps you check-in
 Interaction: time you spent face-to-face with someone

Security
 Head to security: go towards security
 Liquids – 3.4 oz – 100 ml
 TSA agent: American security agents
 Take your shoes off / take off your shoes
 Loose change: coins in your pockets
 Metal detector: a machine that notices if you have metal on your person
 Full-body scanner: a machine that scans your entire body
 Pat down: Searched with hands by security officials
 Taken aside: Stopped and asked some questions
 Random: Without an pattern or routine
 Lax: Relaxed, not very strict  

Getting through customs

 Gotten through security: completed the security process
 Sit around: usually while waiting for something while bored
 Boarding process: the structured method for getting people on a plane
 Security spiel: scripted speech about security
 Take off: airplane is leaving the ground
 Land: airplane arrives at the next airport
 Customs: immigration in a new country
 Arrival card: card used to gather information about the person traveling
 Have that ready: prepare something
 Visa requirements: specific information needed in order to get a visa
 Consulate: the place you go to apply for and receive a visa
  Stamp your visa: usually done by immigration officer

Getting out of the airport

 Get through immigration: completed the customs/border patrol process
 All cleared: no problems with security
 Nothing to declare: you have no items to tell security about
 Conveyor belt : a moving band that moves your luggage around
 Carousel: the area where the conveyor belt moves around
 Figure it out: solve a problem
 Arrange a pickup: Reserve or schedule a taxi, car, bus, etc.
 Come get me: Come and pick me up
 Meeting point: A designated area to meet friends, hosts, colleagues or drivers
 Called an Uber: Call and reserve a taxi using Uber
 Data plan: Mobile data

TRAVEL2

How to Budget
 Rough estimate: a general idea of how much it will cost
 Big expenses: areas you’ll spend the most money
 Gonna be up there: high on the list
 Daily expenses: money you spend per day
 Take up the bulk of it: the most part
 Split it: divide the cost with another person
 Solo: alone
 Eating up the cost: Taking up most of the price / total
 Weekly budget: A spending amount for every week
 Over budget: Spending more than my budget allows
 Bankrupting myself: Spending all my money
How to use it:
“Budgeting always gets me excited about the trip! I search for flights, hostels and the
average daily cost of other backpackers, then I always set aside some money for
emergencies.”
“If I don’t set a budget before I go on a trip, I end up going wild and just splurging on
everything. It’s for my own good!”

Budget Airlines
 Low-cost carriers: another name for budget airlines
 Charge extra: make you pay more money
 A tiny carry-on: a small bag or purse you take on the plane
 Nickel and dime you: make you pay for any extras, no matter how small

Budget Accommodation
 Hostels: Small, cheap guest house
 Dorm room: A big room filled with beds (usually 6 or 8+)
 Foreign passport: Passport from a different country
 Motel: lodging near freeways, common in the US
 Exits: areas when you can leave the freeway, often with a lot of chain restaurants and
motels
 Run-down: Old, not very clean, needs renovation.
 Reams of information: Long lists of information

Mid-range
 Step up: better than the option below
  Airbnb: online accommodation
 Guesthouses: small, sometimes family-run lodging
 Whole apartments: private apartments only you can use
 Look down on: think something is lesser or worse than it is
 It is what it is: You shouldn’t expect more
 No frills: No extra, basic  
 Bells and whistles: No extras or special things
 Basic commodities: (Mark meant “Amenities” but he got confused.Sorry!”) Amenities
are basic pieces of furniture and appliances

Boutique/ Upscale/Luxurious/ High Level of Service

 Luxurious/Upscale: High quality and high level of service, usually very expensive
 Famous landmarks: Popular places of interest or attractions (Eiffel Tower, Big Ben,
etc.)
 Room service: A hotel service that brings food or drinks to your hotel room
 Ordered to your room: Brought or delivered to your hotel room
 Reflection of how much you paid: It represents how much you paid i.e. high price =
high quality
 Concierge on call: a person who is available at any time to explain the city and give
recommendations
 Casino: a place to gamble
 Fine dining: expensive, classy dining
 Boutique: non-branded high-end hotels, often small
 Just as high quality: the same high quality as the other hotels

TRAVEL 3

All-inclusive Resort
 Lodging: accommodation, a place to say
 Spa packages: a number of sessions at the spa at a single discounted price
 Excursions: exciting things to do outside of your resort
 Package price: everything included in one price
 Add this on top of that: add up lots of different expenses
 Pitfalls: Disadvantages, negatives, drawbacks
 Gone all inclusive: Booked or paid for an all-inclusive holiday
 Living in a bubble: Being sheltered, not being exposed to the outside world

Cruise
 Luxurious time: high-quality experience
 Float down the river: move along the river on a ship or boat
 Upper deck: The top level of a ship
 Lower deck: The lower levels of a ship  
 Seasick: Nausea and sickness from the movement of the ship on the water
 Not super keen on: I don’t really like
 Island hopping: travelling to several islands one at a time
 Doesn’t really appeal to me: I don’t like it
 Family-friendly: lots of activities and dining for kids and their families
 Family reunion: a 5 or 10 year party held for the extended family to get together
 Bachelorette parties: US parties for women before one gets married
 Spring-breakers: college students on vacation from college
 Wasted: very drunk
 Everybody in between: all types of people

Guided Tour / Tour Bus

 Perks: Benefits, bonuses [link]
  Convenient: Useful and helpful
 “World War 2 tour – “ _________ tour” can be used to describe the theme of any kind
of tour. E.g. “a French tour / a Californian tour”
 All in English: Everyone spoke English
 Sit back: sitting in a relaxed way, not worrying about anything
 Cons: negatives
 A/C: US air conditioning air-con UK
 Filled to the brim: completely full to the top
 Hoards of tourists: so many tourists
 People-watch: watch people go by
 Pictures are fuzzy: not focused
 None of my pictures came out: all the pictures were bad
 On someone else’s schedule: you don’t make your own schedule

Beach Holiday
 Jet skiing: motorized water vehicle
 Banana boating: a large inflated raft that’s pulled by a boat
 Parasailing: lifted up in the air by a parachute that’s pulled by a boat
 Right after a holiday: the day after a holiday
 Got burned: got a sunburn
 Laying out: relaxing in the sun specifically to get a tan
 Was burnt: was sunburned
 Downside: negative
 Just lie there: Lie on the beach, or in a chair
 Therapeutic: relaxing and good for you
 Snorkeling: using a mask and breathing tube to look underwater
 Diving: using specialized gear and breathing tanks to go underwater

Backpacking
 Rite of passage: an important event in someone’s life, usually for young people
 Coming of age experience: The changing of a young person into an adult or more
mature person
 Gap year: A year break that university students can take before they start their studies
 Southeast Asia: tropical area of Asia with Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam and others
 Paths are so well-trodden: the paths are so well used and popular
 You can’t get it wrong: you can’t make a mistake
 Becoming buddies: becoming friends
 I can see the appeal: I can see why people like it
 Ordeal: problem

TRAVEL 4

Solo Travel
 On a budget: Following a budget
 Solo woman traveler: solo female travelers, women who travel alone
 Taking more risks than necessary: Doing something more dangerous than you should
be
 Alone, by myself, solo
 “On the road”: traveling
 Put yourself out there: make the effort to meet new people
 You’re bound to find someone: you’re sure to find someone

Road Trip
 Good ol’ American road trip: typical way of traveling for a lot of Americans
  Navigator: The person who reads the map and gives the driver directions
 Rand Mcnally map: branded paper map of America available in most stores and gas
stations
 Pay phone: A public phone on the side of the road
 Along the way: During the journey
 Run out of gas: Run out of gasoline, run out of fuel

Camping
 Go camping: To sleep outside in a tent
 Coastal city: A city next to the ocean
 Campsite: A designated area for camping
 Rods: Collapsable poles that support the tent
 Putting up the tent / taking down the tent
 Roughed it: Didn’t have an easy or comfortable environment  
 Stuffed it into the truck: packed it tightly into the truck

RV’s / Campers
 RV: Recreational Vehicle
 Travel trailer: A portable trailer with space inside to cook, sit, wash and sleep
 Hooks up to the hitch: Connects to the back of a vehicle
 Drivable: It can be driven, you can drive it  
 Glamping: ‘Glamor Camping’, camping with full amenities, much more comfortable
than normal camping
 RV parks: A designated area for RVs  
 Caravanning: Going on holiday with a caravan  
 Beds that pull out: a bed that can be moved in and out of the way
 Kitchenette: small kitchen
 Rambling: walking without a destination

Ski Holiday
 Not the biggest fan of: I don’t really like  
 Season pass: A ticket to access the ski resort for the entire season
 Mini ski holiday: A short ski holiday
 To and from the resort: To the resort and back again
 Crack of dawn: Very early in the morning, around 4am-5am
 Rent equipment: skis, helmets, boots, poles, bindings, snowboard

TRAVEL 4

National Holidays / Bank Holidays

 3-day weekend, 4-day weekend: A national holiday which means people have Friday
or Monday off, sometimes both.
 Long weekends: See above
 Bank holidays: National holidays on certain Mondays in the United Kingdom
 Good Friday: the Friday before Easter Sunday
 Eurostar: train line around Europe
 Memorial Day, Labor Day: early summer and fall holiday
 Plan ahead of time: plan in advance
 Floating holiday: when a national holiday falls on a weekend, employers can offer their
employees to take that day off on another work day
 Trip
 Business trip: A trip just for business, or paid for by your company/employer
 Short trip: A short trip, probably no longer than 1 week
 You go to one place, visit and come home again: The definition of a trip
  Trip to the supermarket

Vacation/Holiday

 How was your trip?

 Summer/winter holiday

Go Traveling
 Went traveling: more fun and more of an experience
 Travelled: travel for work, business, pleasure
 Knew my way around: Knew the roads, names and directions to places very easily
 Enrich your life: make your life better
 Broad meaning: more open in meaning

Fly / Flight
I fly: airplane is assumed, you don’t have to say it. We know you don’t have wings.
 I flew from Houston to London.
 I’ve flown over a million miles.
 I fly (airline name) e.g. “I always fly Lufthansa.” “I try to fly AirAsia whenever I can.”
 I’ve gotta catch my flight: I’ve got a flight to catch, I’m going to take a flight
 Takes off: plane leaves the ground.
 Lands: plane returns to the ground
 In flight, in air, mid-flight: After you have taken off and you are in the sky
 In-flight service, in-flight entertainment: Foods, snacks, drinks, movies and music etc.
that is available to buy during the flight