Travel

Travel is one of those topics where everyone has something to share, whether it’s a childhood trip or a dream destination. Good for practicing past experiences and future plans in a natural way.

Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.

Beginner (A1-A2)

1. Where do you like to go on vacation? Why?
2. What are the three best things about going on a vacation?
3. What are some things you always take with you on a trip?
4. What things do you like in a hotel or vacation rental? Price, style, etc.
5. What do you like to do while you are traveling?
6. How often do you travel?
7. Where are you going for your next trip? What is good there?
8. Who in your family travels the most? How often do they travel?
9. What phrases do you try to learn when you travel?
10. How much vacation time do you get a year?
11. What are good things about different types of vacations? (Beach, mountain, city, village, etc.)
12. Who do you usually travel with? What do you do together?
13. Do you like staying in hotels or vacation rentals? What’s good about each?
14. Do you take photos when you travel? What kinds of things do you photograph?
15. What kind of weather do you prefer for a vacation? What’s nice about that weather?
16. Do you like to try local food when you travel? What’s a good one you’ve tried?
17. What time of year do you usually take vacations? What’s the weather like then?
18. Do you prefer big cities or small towns when traveling? What do you usually do there?
19. What’s a place you go to every year? What’s it like there?

Elementary (A2)

1. Tell your partner about your best travel story.
2. Where did you spend your last vacation? What did you do?
3. What is the longest journey you have ever made?
4. Where is the most amazing place you have been?
5. Where are the best places for adventure vacations?
6. Where are the best places for historical vacations?
7. Where are the best places for shopping vacations?
8. Where are the best places for party vacations?
9. Where are the best places for relaxing vacations?
10. What are your best travel tips?
11. What is the strangest food you’ve seen or eaten while on vacation?
12. What souvenirs have you brought back from traveling?
13. Where are the best places to go on vacation in your country?
14. What popular travel destination do you want to avoid?
15. How adventurous are you when you travel?
16. Do you try to learn some of the local language before you travel to a new country?
17. What is the longest trip you’ve taken?
18. What do you usually forget to bring when you go on vacation?
19. What do you miss most when you are traveling?
20. What was the worst flight that you have taken?
21. What is the most interesting tourist attraction you’ve traveled to in your own country?
22. Have you ever missed a flight or train? How did you handle that situation?

Intermediate (B1)

1. Do you prefer package tours or making your own trip?
2. What’s the best way to travel? (By plane, ship, train, car, etc.)
3. What is the best and worst thing about traveling to a new country?
4. What is the ideal length for a vacation?
5. Do you like planning trips or being spontaneous? Why?
6. Do you prefer guided tours or exploring on your own? What are the downsides of each?
7. Do you prefer short weekend trips or long vacations? Why?
8. Do you prefer solo travel or traveling with others? What is good about each?
9. Do you think tourism is good or bad for local communities? Why or why not?
10. What makes a destination worth visiting? Give me some examples.
11. Should tourists try to speak the local language? Why or why not?
12. What do you think is the best age to start traveling independently? Why?
13. Should people feel guilty about the environmental impact of flying? Explain your thinking.
14. Do you think it’s better to travel to many countries or visit one country multiple times? Why do you think so?
15. Should tourists always follow local customs? Is it common in your country for tourists to make cultural mistakes?
16. Do you think tourist attractions are worth visiting, or are they overrated? What makes you feel that way?
17. Do you think smartphones have made traveling easier or more complicated? What’s your experience been like?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. What are some of the benefits of traveling alone? How often have you traveled alone?
2. What are some of the benefits of traveling with a group? How did you make decisions about what to do and where to go?
3. How has social media changed the way people experience travel destinations? What do you think about those changes?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of all-inclusive resorts compared to independent travel?
5. How has budget airline travel changed tourism? What do you think about those changes?
6. What are the implications of overtourism for popular destinations? How should cities respond?
7. How do travel review sites and ratings influence tourist behavior? What are the pros and cons of this influence?
8. What impact has Airbnb had on local housing markets and communities? Consider both hosts and residents.
9. Compare traveling for work and traveling for pleasure. How does the experience differ, and which teaches you more?
10. How might the travel industry look different in twenty years? What changes do you think will happen and why?
11. What responsibilities do tourists and local governments have in protecting natural destinations? Who should do more?
12. How do airline pricing strategies affect who gets to travel? What are the consequences of these systems?
13. What tensions exist between the tourism industry’s need for economic growth and destinations’ capacity to maintain livability for residents?

Advanced (C1)

1. How might the democratization of travel through budget airlines simultaneously promote cultural understanding and erode the authenticity of destinations?
2. To what extent does ‘voluntourism’ reveal tensions between genuine altruism, cultural imperialism, and personal fulfillment?
3. How do ethical considerations around environmental sustainability, local economic benefit, and cultural preservation create competing imperatives in tourism development?
4. How might digital nomadism simultaneously challenge and reinforce traditional concepts of belonging, citizenship, and community?
5. To what extent does the concept of ‘authentic’ travel experiences reflect problematic assumptions about culture as static rather than evolving?
6. How do visa policies and border controls reflect and reinforce global power structures while simultaneously being justified through narratives of security and sovereignty?
7. What ethical frameworks should guide decisions about traveling to countries with questionable human rights records, and how do personal curiosity and political responsibility intersect?
8. How might the post-pandemic transformation of travel reveal previously hidden assumptions about mobility as both a right and a luxury?
9. In what ways does travel photography perpetuate certain narratives about places and peoples while claiming to document objective reality?
10. How might ‘dark tourism’ – visiting sites of tragedy, disaster, or suffering – simultaneously serve as meaningful historical education and risk commodifying human grief?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions