Do you like travelling?
I love it. Even a short trip gives me a break from my routine, and I always come back feeling refreshed. What I enjoy most is the small stuff, like wandering round a market or trying food I've never heard of.
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Travel and holidays questions and answers
Questions here mix habits, past experiences and future plans, so the examiner is checking your control of tenses as much as your vocabulary.
All Part 1 topics
The questions
Answer each one aloud before you read the model — two to four sentences, then stop.
- Do you like travelling?
- How often do you go on holiday?
- What kind of places do you like to visit?
- Where did you go on holiday when you were a child?
- Do you prefer to plan your trips carefully or be spontaneous?
- Do you prefer travelling alone or with other people?
- Is there anywhere you'd really like to visit in the future?
Model answers
Written to be spoken, at about band 8. Useful phrases are in bold. Borrow the structure and the phrases — never the whole answer.
How often do you go on holiday?
Usually twice a year: one longer trip in the summer and then a few days away somewhere closer to home in the winter. I'd happily go more often, but between work and the cost, that's about as much as I can manage.
What kind of places do you like to visit?
I tend to go for quieter places, like coastal towns or the countryside, rather than big cities. I like being able to slow down and walk everywhere. Cities are exciting for a day or two, but I find the crowds quite draining after a while.
Where did you go on holiday when you were a child?
We mostly went on road trips, because flying with three children was too expensive. My dad would drive for hours while we argued in the back seat. At the time I found it boring, but looking back, some of my happiest memories are from those trips.
Do you prefer to plan your trips carefully or be spontaneous?
Somewhere in between. I always book my accommodation in advance, because I don't want to arrive late at night with nowhere to stay. Once I'm there, though, I prefer to play it by ear rather than follow a strict itinerary.
Do you prefer travelling alone or with other people?
With one or two close friends, ideally. It's nice to share the experience, and we can split the costs. I have travelled alone once, and while it was great for meeting new people, I found eating on my own every evening a bit lonely.
Is there anywhere you'd really like to visit in the future?
I'd love to do a long train journey across a whole continent, stopping in small towns along the way. There's something appealing about watching the landscape change gradually, instead of hopping on a plane and arriving somewhere completely different.
Useful vocabulary for travel and holidays
- a break from my routine
- A pause from the things you normally do every day.
- closer to home
- Somewhere not far from where you live.
- looking back
- Used when you think about the past with a different view from the one you had then.
- play it by ear
- To decide what to do as things happen, without a fixed plan.
- a strict itinerary
- A detailed travel plan that you follow closely.
- split the costs
- To share what something costs between two or more people.
- hopping on a plane
- An informal way to say taking a flight, suggesting it's quick and easy.
Now answer them with the clock running.
Timed Part 1 practice with an AI band for each criterion.