Travel & Journeys — B1 Essential Words

adventure /ədˈven.tʃɚ/ noun B1 Travel

Meaning: An exciting and unusual experience or journey, often with some risk or new discoveries.

Example: Their road trip across Texas became a real adventure.

Another example: The children read a book about pirates and their adventures at sea.

Collocations: a big adventure · adventure travel · go on an adventure

Synonyms: exciting journey, experience

Antonyms: routine

Word family: adventure (n) · adventurous (adj) · adventurer (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Use ’adventure’ for exciting trips and experiences. Don’t use it for normal daily travel: a bus ride to work is not an adventure.

🗣 In spoken American English: People call a fun, brave person ’adventurous’. ’Adventure parks’ offer climbing, zip lines, and rafting.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

abroad /əˈbrɔːd/ adverb B1 Travel

Meaning: In or to a foreign country; outside your own country.

Example: David studied abroad in his third year of college.

Another example: Many Americans travel abroad for the first time in college.

Collocations: travel abroad · study abroad · live abroad

Synonyms: overseas, in another country

Antonyms: at home

Word family: abroad (adv)

⚠ Common mistake: Don’t say ’to abroad’ or ’in abroad’. Say ’go abroad’, ’travel abroad’, or ’live abroad’ — ’abroad’ already includes the direction.

🗣 In spoken American English: College students often spend a semester abroad. People ask ’Have you ever been abroad?’

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

guide /ɡaɪd/ noun and verb B1 Travel

Meaning: A person who shows visitors around a place and tells them about it. It can also be a book or app that gives information about a place.

Example: Our guide showed us the oldest buildings in Boston.

Another example: I bought a travel guide before our trip to Seattle.

Collocations: tour guide · guide book · a guide to the city

Synonyms: tour leader, handbook (for a book)

Word family: guide (n) · guide (v) · guided (adj) · guidebook (n)

⚠ Common mistake: A person is a ’guide’, and the trip with a guide is a ’guided tour’. Don’t say ’a guider’ — the word does not exist.

🗣 In spoken American English: On tours you hear ’Follow me, please!’ from the guide. A ’guided tour’ costs more, but you learn a lot.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

tour /tʊr/ noun and verb B1 Travel

Meaning: A journey in which you visit several places, or a short trip around one place with a guide.

Example: We took a bus tour of New York City.

Another example: The band is on tour and plays in Denver next week.

Collocations: bus tour · guided tour · go on a tour

Synonyms: trip, journey around

Word family: tour (n) · tour (v) · tourist (n) · tourism (n)

⚠ Common mistake: A ’tour’ visits several places or goes around one place. A single trip from A to B is usually just a ’trip’ or ’journey’. Don’t say ’make a tour’ — say ’take a tour’ or ’go on a tour’.

🗣 In spoken American English: Free walking tours are popular in big cities — you pay the guide a tip at the end.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

luggage /ˈlʌɡ.ɪdʒ/ noun B1 Travel

Meaning: The bags and suitcases that you take with you when you travel.

Example: Please put your luggage in the car.

Another example: The airline lost our luggage on the flight to Miami.

Collocations: carry-on luggage · luggage check · a piece of luggage

Synonyms: baggage, bags

Word family: luggage (n) · baggage (n)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Luggage’ is uncountable: say ’some luggage’ or ’a piece of luggage’, not ’a luggage’ or ’luggages’. ’Baggage’ is also uncountable and means the same.

🗣 In spoken American English: At the airport you hear ’baggage claim’ — the place where you pick up your bags after a flight. A ’carry-on’ is the small bag you take into the plane.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

delay /dɪˈleɪ/ noun and verb B1 Travel

Meaning: A situation where something happens later than planned; also, to make something happen later than planned.

Example: Our flight had a two-hour delay because of the storm.

Another example: Bad weather delayed trains all morning in Chicago.

Collocations: flight delay · a long delay · delayed by an hour

Synonyms: hold-up, postponement

Word family: delay (n) · delay (v) · delayed (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’The flight was delayed’ or ’There was a delay’. Don’t say ’The flight had delay late’ — one idea, one word.

🗣 In spoken American English: Airport screens show ’Delayed’ next to late flights. People say ’Sorry for the delay’ when they make others wait.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

passenger /ˈpæs.ən.dʒɚ/ noun B1 Travel

Meaning: A person who is traveling in a vehicle such as a plane, train, bus, or car, but is not the driver or pilot.

Example: The plane can carry 200 passengers.

Another example: Passengers should stay in their seats during the flight.

Collocations: passengers on board · passenger seat · all passengers

Synonyms: traveler, rider

Antonyms: driver

Word family: passenger (n) · passage (n)

⚠ Common mistake: A ’passenger’ travels but does not drive. The person with the ticket on a plane is a passenger; the person flying the plane is the ’pilot’.

🗣 In spoken American English: You hear ’Passengers, please fasten your seat belts’ on planes. The seat next to the driver is the ’passenger seat’.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

destination /ˌdes.təˈneɪ.ʃən/ noun B1 Travel

Meaning: The place that someone or something is going to; the end of a journey.

Example: Hawaii is a popular destination for American tourists.

Another example: After twelve hours on the road, we finally reached our destination.

Collocations: final destination · holiday destination · arrive at your destination

Synonyms: endpoint, goal

Antonyms: starting point, departure point

Word family: destination (n) · destined (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’arrive at your destination’ or ’reach your destination’. Don’t say ’arrive to your destination’.

🗣 In spoken American English: Travel websites list ’top destinations’. On the plane you hear ’Our destination today is Los Angeles.’

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

local /ˈloʊ.kəl/ adjective and noun B1 Travel

Meaning: Relating to the place where you live or to an area near you. A ’local’ is also a person who lives in that area.

Example: We ate dinner at a small local restaurant in Nashville.

Another example: The locals showed us the best beach near town.

Collocations: local food · local people · local time

Synonyms: nearby, regional

Antonyms: foreign, international

Word family: local (adj) · local (n) · locally (adv) · location (n)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Local’ describes things from the area you are in. ’Local food’ in Miami means food from Miami — not food from your home country.

🗣 In spoken American English: Travelers love asking ’Where do the locals eat?’ — the locals are the people who live there and know the best places.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

souvenir /ˌsuː.vəˈnɪr/ noun B1 Travel

Meaning: Something that you buy or keep to remember a place you visited or a special event.

Example: Clara bought a small statue as a souvenir of New York.

Another example: This T-shirt is a souvenir from our trip to San Diego.

Collocations: souvenir shop · buy a souvenir · a souvenir of the trip

Synonyms: keepsake, reminder

Word family: souvenir (n)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Souvenir’ is countable: ’a souvenir’, ’two souvenirs’. Don’t confuse it with ’memory’ — a memory is in your mind; a souvenir is a thing you can hold.

🗣 In spoken American English: Airport and museum ’gift shops’ sell souvenirs like magnets, mugs, and T-shirts.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing