Travel Collocations

Travel Collocations

Have you travelled recently? Or are you about to hit the road and visit a destination you’ve been dreaming about? In today’s lesson, we will look at some common travel collocations.

Travel by sea, by rail, by land, by air, etc.

Let’s look at different ways to travel first. We can travel by sea, by rail, by land, by air, etc.

• Lorna is afraid of flying, so she decided to travel to Egypt by sea.
• We went from Munich to Athens by rail. It was a pleasurable journey!
• We went to the USA last summer. We flew to New York and then rented a car and travelled to Boston by land.
• Although it is more touristy to travel by land because of the things you can learn along the way, I find it more practical to travel by air.

Travel Collocations

Travel light

Some people take a lot of luggage when they travel, but others prefer to travel light, taking only the essentials.

• We had agreed to travel light, so I didn’t want to pack too much —just what was necessary.
• If you travel by air, make sure you travel light to stay within your baggage allowance. 

Travel independently

You can go on a journey through a travel agency, which is probably an easy way to travel, but you may not really get an insight into the people and culture of the country. Nowadays, it is easy to arrange a trip online so you can visit places you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.

• More and more people choose to get off the beaten track and travel independently.
• It would be practically impossible to visit all these places, meet the people, and experience the culture unless we travelled independently.

Travel Collocations

Basic/luxury/run-down/family-run hotel

The basic hotel provides just the necessary accommodation, such as a bed, a wardrobe, a toilet and a shower, while luxury hotels offer much more. A run-down hotel is a cheap hotel where many people sleep together in large rooms, while a family-run hotel is a family business.

• The hostel we stayed in was basic, but it was in a great location, and breakfast was included, so I won’t complain.
• Sean won a weekend for two in a luxury hotel in the Maldives.
• The Peterson family spent the night in a run-down hotel in India after they’d been robbed.
• We’re going to spend a fortnight in a family-run hotel in the Lake District.

Book a flight/holiday/hotel room/table

Before you go on a trip, you need to make a reservation—book a flight, a hotel room, a holiday, etc.

• If we book a flight 6 months ahead, we will get a big discount.
• Mary usually books a holiday in January because it is much cheaper.
• John wanted to book a hotel room for the weekend, but they didn’t have any.

Travel Collocations

Non-stop flight/connecting flight

When you fly without any stops along the way, it is a non-stop flight. However, if you need to stop along the way and change planes, then you have a connecting flight.

• I called a few travel agencies and managed to book a non-stop flight to Los Angeles.
• Can I confirm my connecting flight reservation for Friday?

Leg of the journey

The collocation refers to a part of a long journey.

• The first leg of the journey was by bus and the last one by boat. We saw many interesting places and had a whale of a time.
• They are going to travel in economy class on every leg of the journey.

Travel Collocations

It takes…

We normally use this phrase to say how long it takes us to get somewhere.

• It takes an hour by plane to get to the island.
• How long does it take to get to the hotel?

Far and wide

People who come from far and wide come from many different places.

• Guests of the hotel were from far and wide, so we were able to meet people from many different cultures.
• The tourist site was known far and wide for its interesting ancient temples.

Travel Collocations

Conversation questions

And now, try to answer these questions in order to remember the new vocabulary with a friend or by yourself:

1. Have you ever travelled by sea? Do you prefer travelling by air or by land?
2. Do you take a lot of luggage when you travel or do you prefer to travel light?
3. Do you prefer to travel independently or to have your holiday arranged by a travel agency?
4. Have you ever stayed in a run-down or luxury hotel?
5. Do you prefer to book a holiday online or with a travel agency?

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