How to Talk about Vacation Plans in English

Today we are going to learn how to talk about vacations in English

Vacations are defined as a time when someone does not go to work or school but is free to do what they want, such as travel or relax.

  • We’re taking a vacation in June.
  • They went to Europe on vacation.
  • I’ve still got some vacation time left before the end of the year.

To talk about vacations in English, you have to know a few things. We have to become familiar with:

  • Verbs to Talk about Travel plans
  • Places that you can Visit while you are on Vacation.
  • Activities that you can do on your next vacations.
  • Accessories for some activities
  • Questions to Talk about vacations plans
  • Phrases to Talk about Vacation Plans
  • Useful Questions When Travelling
  • Useful Expression when Travelling


Verbs to Talk about Travels Plans

These are some of the verbs that you can use to talk about vacation plans

  1. To fly to another country
  2. To rent a car
  3. To go camping
  4. To go climbing
  5. To go swimming
  6. To go to the beach
  7. To rent a car
  8. To surf
  9. To swim in   a waterfall
  10.  To go fishing
  11. To go hiking
  12. To go dancing
  13. To take the sun
  14.  To go to an amusement park
  15. To go to a water park
  16. To go to a museum
  17. To go abroad
  18. To visit a national park
  19. To go to the movies
  20.  To do exercises
  21. To play a sport
  22. To rest

Places to Visit during your Vacation

These are some of the places that you can visit during your vacation

River Mountain
Beach Waterfal
CountrysideZoo
CinemaMovie Theater
MuseumAmusement Park
FestivalSwimming Pool

Use this Quizlet Set to introduce the vocabulary of this section


Activities to do on your Next Vacations

These are some activities you can mentioned when you talk about vacation plans

  1. You can take a swim
  2. You can go hike and enjoy nature
  3. You can bathe , surf and or get a tan in the sand
  4. You see a flow of water  going down from a mountain
  5. You can enjoy peace  and milk the cows
  6. You can go and see the animals
  7. You can go  and enjoy a movie
  8. You can enjoy plays
  9. You  can see art exhibitions
  10. You can enjoy rides and attractions
  11. You can swim
  12. You can enjoy rides , attractions , bullfighting

Accessories for some activities

These are some of the most common accessories when you are on vacation.

  • Swimsuit
  • Hiking Boots
  • camera
  • Backpack
  • Swim snorkels
  • Sunscreen
    Matches
  • Coat
  • Tickets
  • Flashlight
  • Insect repellent
  • Surfboard
  • Sandals
  • Camping tent

Question to Talk about Vacation Plans

These are some key questions to talk about vacation plans

  1. How are you going to spend your next vacation?
  2. Where are you going on your next vacation?
  3. What are you going to do?
  4. When are you coming back?
  5. When are you going to take your vacation?
  6. How long are you going to be on vacation?
  7. Is anyone going to travel with you?
  8. Are you planning to go on a vacation?
  9. Are you going to take a short vacation next summer?
  10. Are you going to belgium?
  11. Where are you going for vacations?
  12. Are you going to take a plane from Mexico?
  13. Are you going to take the train?
  14. Who are you going with?
  15. Are you going to spend a day in Las Vegas?

Key Phrases to Talk about Vacation Plans

These are some key Phrases to Talk about Vacation Plans

  1. I will visit the capitals of three European countries
  2. I will rent  a car to visit places far from the capital
  3. I am going to a music festival in Amsterdam
  4. I am going to visit my family in Miami
  5. I hope that I can see different monuments while I am in  Mexico
  6. We are planning to visit Disneyland
  7. We are thinking about exploring caves while we are in Costa Rica
  8. I’m going to take a short vacation.
  9. I’m going to Belgium
  10. I’m going to spend the weekend  in an Electronic Music Festival. 
  11. I’m going take an airplane from Mexico
  12. I’m going to take the train. 
  13. I’m going to spend a day in Las Vegas 

Useful Questions Used When Travelling

These are some very important questions that you might use when travelling.

  1. Can I drink the tap water?
  2. Where is the bathroom? Where is the restroom?
  3. Do you take credit or debit card?
  4. How much is this? How much are those?
  5. Do you have a phone charger?
  6. I need a hospital / I need a doctor
  7. What time is my flight?
  8. Where is my gate?
  9. May I have something to eat/drink?
  10. I am traveling for work
  11. Where is the currency exchange?
  12. I am traveling for leisure
  13. Where is the bus stop?
  14. Where can I find a taxi?
  15. Do you know where the hotel is?
  16. How many beds are in the room?
  17. Where are the elevators?
  18. My room needs towels?
  19. How do you get to the beach?
  20. I lost my passport
  21. Someone stole my money
  22. Excuse me, which way to platform…?

Useful Expressions to Talk about Travel Plans

These are some useful expressions when talking about your travel plans.

  • It’s a beautiful beach, the Hotel has an incredible view, the Natural Reserve, and National Park is located in Guanacaste.
  • It offers free transportation, Jacuzzi, hot water, TV. Cable.
  • There are single, double rooms.
  • Some attractions are white sand, clear water and others.
  • Some activities to do are Canopy, Rappelling, rafting.
  • I want to Check in/ out.
  • Can I make a reservation?
  • Some facilities are swimming pool, room service, and others.
  • I Suggest / recommend this hotel because it’s cheap.
  • You Should visit / can’t miss the museum, plaza de la Cultura

Travelling Conversation Questions

These are travelling conversations questions that you might find useful when talking about the vacation plan that you have.

  1. What countries have you travelled to?
  2. What cities have you travelled to?
  3. Do you prefer to travel alone or in groups?
  4. Do you like to travel with children?
  5. Would you rather visit another country or travel within your own country?
  6. Do you prefer summer or winter vacations?
  7. Are you afraid of going abroad alone?
  8. Do you have any bad travel experiences?
  9. Why do you like to travel?
  10. What three countries would you like to travel to?
  11. Where do you like to stay when you travel?
  12. Do you enjoy travelling? why / why not?
  13. What interesting souvenirs have you bought?
  14. What can you learn by travelling to other countries?
  15. Do you spend a lot of money when you travel?
  16. What sort of places do you like to visit when you travel?
  17. What are some good places to travel in your country?
  18. Who do you like to travel with?
  19. Do you like to travel by plane or train?

Lesson Plan –  How to Talk about Vacations

Schema Activation

  1. Students are given paper strips  with a narration of a last vacation, they have to read it and understand what the sentence means
  2. Then they have to make sure to find the person who has the following sentence.
  3. Once they all find the person who has the following sentence or idea in their paper strips, they all get together to see if the narrative makes sense.

Pre-Task

Task #1

  1. Teacher introduces these questions:
    • Where did you go on your last vacation?
    • Who did you go with?
    • How long did you stay there?
    • Where did you stay?
    • What activities did you do there?
    • How much money did you spend there?
    • Did you like your vacation?
  2. Student answer those questions.
  3. Once they are ready, they stand up and go around the classroom and ask those question to their classmates

Task #2

  1. Student are given a wordle.
  2. Students write a piece of writing using all words from the wordle
  3. Once they finish writing the narration of their last vacations, they hand their narrations to the teacher.
  4. Teacher distributes the narration to other students so they can review and correct mistakes.

Task #3

  1. Teacher takes some time to cover the vocabulary and pronunciation found in the listening passage
  2. Student listen to several people talking about  memories of trips and fill in the blanks with the information they hear
  3. Students listen to another listening passage about a man’s vacation to Hawaii, students answer the following questions:
    • How was dan’s vacation?
    • Who did he go to Hawaii with?
    • How long did he stay in Hawaii?
    • How was the weather like when Dan was on vacation?
    • What activity did Dan do in Hawaii?

Main-Task

  1. Student create a collage  with pictures of different activities and talk about a fictional vacation they had with a classmate

Post-Task

  1. Students take a short quiz

Manuel Campos, English Professor

Manuel Campos

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English