IELTS VOCABULARY

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY

1.Go on/have/take a holiday – experience a time away from home, school, or
business usually in order to relax or travel
2. To book in advance – to make a reservation beforehand
3. Arrival time - the time when someone or something arrives, arrived, or will
arrive
4. Departure time - the time when a plane, train, bus, etc., is scheduled to
depart/arrive.
5. Avoid peak holiday times – to travel during off-peak season, which is usually
cheaper
6. Foreign currency - money from a country that is not your own
7. Take cash with you - take money in the form of notes and coins, rather than
cheques or credit cards
8. Itinerary – a detailed plan or a route of a journey
9.Touristy area - a place where a lot of tourists go and it has many things for
them to buy and do (often seen as something negative)
10. In season - at the time of year when people want to travel or take a holiday
11. Out of season – outside the most popular holiday period
12. A tourist attraction - a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its
inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural
or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement
13. Hordes of tourists - crowds of tourists
14. A tourist trap - place with many tourists
15. Pampered – given special treatment that makes you feel as comfortable as
possible or given whatever you want (“We left the spa feeling pampered and
relaxed”)
16. A wealth of activities – many entertaining things to do
17. A breathtaking landscape – very beautiful area or land
18. To cater for – to provide what is wanted or needed by someone (“It is a
resort that clearly caters for the well-off”)
19. Affordable destinations – places within a reasonable price range

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 IELTS VOCABULARY

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY

20. Affordable travel – travel which is within your price range
21. All-inclusive - a hotel deal where the price includes accommodation,
meals and drinks at any time
22. Around the world – in all corners of the globe
23. Ecotourism - going on holiday to places of natural beauty in a way that
causes less damage to the environment
24. Air travel – travelling by plane
25. Rail travel – travelling by train
26. Arts and culture – the art, music and other cultural aspects of an area
27. Craft markets – stalls where goods made by the local people are sold
28. A modern/contemporary art gallery – a gallery where the art created
between the late 19th and the late 20th centuries is displayed
29. Efficient public transport – a functioning transport system intended for
the use of residents and visitors
30. Exotic destinations – unusual or strange holiday destinations
31. Ancient ruins - the remains of a hisorical building, city, etc., that has
been destroyed or that is in disrepair or a state of decay
32. Historic site/heritage site - an official location where pieces of
political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to
their cultural heritage value. A historic site may be any building,
landscape, site or structure that is of local, regional, or national
significance.
33. Travel agency/agent – agency or a person who helps you out with
planning your trip
34. To rent a car/boat/bike - to pay or receive a fixed amount of money
for the use of these
35. Low-cost carriers - also called low-cost or budget airlines, are
airlines that offer lowerfares—and fewer amenities—than traditional full
service airlines
36. Amenities - useful or pleasant facilities or services (free amenities,
hotel amenities)

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 IELTS VOCABULARY

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY

37. B&Bs – a guest house that provides bed and breakfast
accommodation
38. Pebbly beach - a beach covered with pebbles (галька, камушки) or
stones rather than sand.
39. Shuttle bus – a shuttle consisting of a bus that travels between two
points
40. Glamping - a form of camping involving accommodation and
facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional
camping.
41. A cancellation fee - a sum of money you must pay if you cancel a
hotel reservation after the cancellation deadline
42. To check out – when you check out of a hotel or clinic where you
have been staying, you pay the bill and leaved
43. Youth hostel - a place providing cheap accommodation, aimed
mainly at young people on walking or cycling tours.
44. Domestic tourism – tourism involving residents of one country
traveling only within that country. A domestic holiday is a holiday
(vacation) spent in the same country
45. A staycation – (informal) a holiday spent in one's home country
rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to
local attractions.
46. Time difference - the difference in standard time between places in
different time zones
47. Jet lag - extreme tiredness and other physical effects felt by a
person after a long flight across different time zones ("to suffer from
jet lag”).
48. A bumpy journey – a bumpy journey by car or plane is
uncomfortable, with movements up and down because of bad road or
weather conditions. The plane made a bumpy landing.Opposite of
“bumpy” is “smooth”.
49. An emergency landing - a prioritized landing made by an aircraft in
response to an emergency containing an imminent or ongoing threat
to the safety and operation of the aircraft or involving a sudden need
for a passenger or crew on board to be on land, such as a medical
emergency
 IELTS VOCABULARY

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY

50. On-board entertainment (in-flight entertainment) – entertainment
available to aircraft passengers during a flight
51. A flight delay – it is a situation when an airline flight takes off
and/or lands later than its scheduled time
52. Lost luggage - any bag, suitcase, or other form of luggage
misplaced by an airline or other transportation company during a trip.
Sometimes, due to human error, theft, or other causes, luggage may
be damaged, misplaced, or lost and never make it back to the original
owner.
53. Long haul flights – long distance flights
54. A passport control - a place where you get your passport checked.
55. A bucket list – a number of things to do or achieve that a person
hopes to accomplish for his/her lifetime
56. A thirst for adventure - strong desire for travelling/adventure
57. Guided tours – walking, hiking or driving visits led by a guide who
knows the area
58. Holiday brochures – pamphlets advertising holiday destinations
59. Holiday destination – place to which you leave on holiday
60. Lush rainforests – luxuriant equatorial forests
61. Magnificent landscapes – impressive scenery
62. Make advance reservations – booking ahead of time
63. Memorable experiences – activities that you will remember for
years
64. Off the beaten track – somewhere that is out of the way or out of a
central, popular or touristy area
65. Packaged deals – travel deals that are put together by an agency
and sold as a package
66. Quaint villages – old-fashioned or charming small towns
67. Scenic views – lovely scenes
68. Self-catering accommodation – a place to stay where you see to
your own food
69. Spectacular beaches – impressive sandy shorelines
70. Stunning architecture – magnificent buildings

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 IELTS VOCABULARY

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY

71. Swarming with tourists – full of holiday makers
72. To have time on your hands – to have a lot of free time and not
know what to do with it
73. To get away from it all – to get away from everyday routines
74. To go sightseeing – take a trip around an area to see what it has to
offer
75. To have a stopover - have a brief overnight stay in a place when on
a long journey to somewhere else, usually by air
76. Travel abroad – travel to overseas destinations
77. Traveling light – traveling with little luggage
78. Visa regulations – laws that relate to entry into a country
79. Wildlife safari – a guided tour through a game park
80. Wander the streets - to walk slowly across or around an area,
usually without a clear direction or purpose
81. To have the time of your life - to have an extremely fun, exciting, or
enjoyable time
82. In the middle of nowhere - in a place that is far away from where
most people live.
83. A well-deserved vacation - a vacation that a person really deserves

Buildings: churches/ cathedrals/ mosques/ shrines/ synagogues/

temples
Street crime: pickpocketing, bag snatching, mugging
Buses: local/ shuttle/ long-distance/ open-topped/ tour/ hop-on-hop-
off/ night/ highway
Flights: budget/ domestic/ international/ connecting/ direct
Holidays: adventure/ beach/ domestic/ family/ overseas/ public/
summer/ winter sun
Hotels: two-star/ three-star/ four-star/ five-star/ luxury
Museums: local history/ ethnography/ science/ natural history
Rooms: single/ double/ twin/ adjoining
Tours: guided/ package/ study
Waterfronts: riverfronts, canal sides, lakesides