1. Where did you go on your last holiday?

2. How did you travel there?

3. What did you do or see?
4. What was your favourite meal or food?
5. How long did you stay there? Did you want to stay longer?
6. What was the best thing about your trip?
7. What was the worst thing about your trip?
8. Who was the most interesting person you met?
9. Where was the best sightseeing location? Why was it so good?
10. What was your hotel or camping site like?

11. Is it better to travel in a tour group or organise your own trip? Why do you feel that
way?
12. Do you think that everyone overpacks? How many of the things you pack do you
actually use or need?
13. Do you prefer active or relaxing holidays? Why?
14. Are men or women better at reading maps?
15. What is the best way to travel – cars, planes, boats, busses, bicycles, or something
else?
16. What are some of the benefits of travel?
17. What do you think about hitch-hiking?
18. What type of accommodation do you prefer and why? (luxury hotels, bed-and-
breakfast hotels, AirBnB rentals, backpacker hostels, … )
19. When is the best time of year to travel? Why do you like to travel then?
20. Do you eat more or less when you are on holiday? How do you eat differently?

Present perfect travel conversation prompts

“Have you ever” style questions are great for getting detailed responses. Follow up
questions are typically in past tense, so there are good questions for beginners – upper
beginners.

These questions can also be done in a class-wide interview style activity, where students
ask at least one question of each student (plus follow-up questions).

21. Have you ever missed a flight? What happened?

22. Have you ever been in an accident or emergency situation when you were travelling?
23. Have you ever been to an exotic location?
24. What was the most unusual thing you have eaten while on holiday?
25. Has your luggage ever been delayed or gone missing? What did you do?
26. Have you ever cut short a holiday? Why did you return early?
27. What was the most beautiful place you have ever been to?
28. Have you ever needed help from an embassy? What happened?
29. How many different countries have you visited? Which was your favourite?
30. Have you ever travelled over Christmas or New Year? Where did you go? What was it
like?

Future travel conversation prompts

If you want to hammer home grammar in your class, then you can cover the difference
been “going to” future for plans, and “will” future for travel ideas that aren’t yet
planned. I don’t put much emphasis on the difference in conversation classes, as the
main aim is talk comfortably and fluently.

31. Where will you go on your next holiday?

32. What sights are you planning to see?
33. When will you next go to the beach? Which beach is your favourite?
34. Will you use English on your next trip? Are you going to do any extra preparation?
35. Who are you going to travel with on your next holiday?
36. What food and drinks are you planning to consume?
37. Are you going to fully plan your trip or see what happens each day? Which is better
and why?
38. What are you looking forward to the most about your trip?
39. How many emails do you think you will have when you get back to work?
40. Are you going to stick to a budget while you are travelling?

Conditional travel conversation prompts

These questions are best left for upper-intermediate classes or higher, the complex
sentence structures are easy to stumble upon, and conversations are killed – the last
thing you want to happen in a conversation class!

41. Would you have changed anything about your last trip?
42. What other places would you have liked to visit if you had had time?
43. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?
44. If money was not an issue, what type of holiday would you take?
45. If someone were to visit your country and city, what are the top things they should
do, see and eat?
46. What would you do if you were on holiday and a natural disaster occurred?
47. If you could work and live in a country you have visited, which one would you choose
and why?
48. If you had a time machine, where would you travel to and why?
49. If you were going on a camping trip for two weeks, what would you bring and why?
50. If you could, would you want to travel into space? Why or why not?

Group work activity – planning a trip

In small groups, students plan a week or two-week holiday that they will go on together.
They should discuss and decide on a destination, time of year, and type of holiday
(transport, accommodation, tours, sightseeings, etc).

Written homework – Tell a story

Conversation classes should allocate no time for descriptive writing, but that doesn’t
mean you can’t set it for homework.

Writing helps students become more confident in using the correct grammar and
improving vocabulary recall – both are important in conversations. That’s why I set
(optional) written homework in most of my conversation classes.
 Write a descriptive story about one holiday, or one thing that happened on holiday.
Choose a trip or experience that was funny, exciting or scary, and describe it in detail.

Your best travel questions

What questions have sparked the best travel conversations? Let me know in the
comments below.

If you found these conversation prompts useful, please share them!

How many places have you traveled to?

I’ve visited all the provinces throughout my country.
Who do you usually go with?
I often go with my family, sometimes with my best friends.
What’s your favorite tourist attraction?
That would be Venice city in Italy. I love riding the gondola along the canals
while watching Italian people live their daily lives.
Have you ever been abroad?
Yes, I have. I came to Italy last year for a business trip.
What language do you use when traveling?
English, but sometimes I have to use body language since not all people are
good at English.
What do you usually do during your trip?
I often go sightseeing, take pictures, mingle with the local people and sample
the local cuisine.
What do you do to prepare for your trip?
Before the trip, I search for information about the location, weather, famous
tourist attractions, transportation, local cuisine and prices on the internet.
What do you usually bring when you travel?
I usually pack my suitcase with some necessary items such as clothes,
medicine, food, a map, and a camera.
Do you prefer traveling by car, train or plane?
I prefer planes although it can be a little expensive. Planes are much faster
than any other mode of transport.
Do you prefer traveling alone or joining a guided tour?
I love backpacking with my friends who share the same interests as me.
How many places have you traveled to?
I’ve visited all the provinces throughout my country.
Who do you usually go with?
I often go with my family, sometimes with my best friends.
What’s your favorite tourist attraction?
That would be Venice city in Italy. I love riding the gondola along the canals
while watching Italian people live their daily lives.
Have you ever been abroad?
Yes, I have. I came to Italy last year for a business trip.
What language do you use when traveling?
English, but sometimes I have to use body language since not all people are
good at English.
What do you usually do during your trip?
I often go sightseeing, take pictures, mingle with the local people and sample
the local cuisine.
What do you do to prepare for your trip?
Before the trip, I search for information about the location, weather, famous
tourist attractions, transportation, local cuisine and prices on the internet.
What do you usually bring when you travel?
I usually pack my suitcase with some necessary items such as clothes,
medicine, food, a map, and a camera.
Do you prefer traveling by car, train or plane?
I prefer planes although it can be a little expensive. Planes are much faster
than any other mode of transport.
Do you prefer traveling alone or joining a guided tour?
I love backpacking with my friends who share the same interests as me.