Travel Vocabulary for English-Language Learners

The travel-related words below are the most important terms to know when talking about travel or taking vacations. Words are categorized into different sections depending on the type of travel. You'll find example sentences for each word to help provide context for learning, as well as a short quiz at the end to test your knowledge.

Air Travel Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Airport: I went to the airport to catch a flight to San Francisco.
Check in: Make sure to get to the airport two hours early to check in.
Fly: I like to fly on the same airline to get mileage points.
Land: The airplane will land in two hours.
Landing: The landing took place during a storm. It was very scary!
Plane: The plane is packed with 300 passengers.
Take off: The airplane is scheduled to take off at 3:30 p.m.

Vacation Travel Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Camp: Do you like to camp in the woods?
Destination: What is your final destination?
Excursion: I'd like to take an excursion to the wine country while we're in Tuscany.
Go camping: Let's go to the beach and go camping next weekend.
Go sightseeing: Did you go sightseeing while you were in France?
Hostel: Staying in a youth hostel is a great way to save money on vacation.
Hotel: I'll book a hotel for two nights.
Journey: The journey will take four weeks and we'll visit four countries.
Luggage: Can you carry the luggage upstairs?
Motel: We stayed in a convenient motel on our way to Chicago.
Package holiday: I prefer to buy package holidays, so I don't have to worry about anything.
Passenger: The passenger felt ill during the voyage.
Route: Our route will take us through Germany and on to Poland.
Sightseeing: The sightseeing in this town is rather boring. Let's go shopping.
Suitcase: Let me unpack my suitcase and then we can go swimming.
Tour: Peter went on a tour of the vineyard.
Tourism: Tourism is becoming an important industry in almost every country.
Tourist: Every May, many tourists from around the world come to see the flower festival.
Travel: Travel is one of his favorite free time activities.
Travel agent: The travel agent found us a great deal.
Trip: The trip to New York was lovely and interesting.
Vacation: I'd love to take a nice long vacation on the beach.

Overland Travel Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Bicycle: One of the best ways to see the countryside is to ride a bicycle.
Bike: We rode a bike from shop to shop.
Bus: You can catch a bus for Seattle at the bus station.
Bus station: The bus station is three blocks from here.
Car: You might want to rent a car when you go on vacation.
Lane: Make sure to get into the left lane when you want to pass.
Motorcycle: Riding a motorcycle can be fun and exciting, but it's also dangerous.
Freeway: We'll have to take the freeway to Los Angeles.
Highway: The highway between the two cities is quite lovely.
Rail: Have you ever traveled by rail?
Go by rail: Going by rail offers the opportunity to get up and walk around as you travel.
Railway: The railway station is down this street.
Road: There are three roads to Denver.
Main road: Take the main road into town and turn left at 5th Street.
Taxi: I got in a taxi and went to the train station.
Traffic: There's a lot of traffic today on the road!
Train: I like riding on trains. It's a very relaxing way to travel.
Tube: You can take the tube in London.
Underground: You can take the underground in many cities throughout Europe.
Subway: You can take the subway in New York.

Sea / Ocean Travel Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Boat: Have you ever piloted a boat?
Cruise: We will stop at three destinations during our cruise through the Mediterranean.
Cruise ship: It's the most elegant cruise ship in the world!
Ferry: Ferries allow passengers to take their cars with them to their destination.
Ocean: The Atlantic Ocean takes four days to cross.
Port: There are all kinds of commercial ships in the port.
Sailboat: The sailboat requires nothing but the wind.
Sea: The sea is very calm today.
Set sail: We set sail for the exotic island.
Ship: Have you ever been a passenger on a ship?
Voyage: The voyage to the Bahamas took three days.