English for Travel: The Phrases You Will Really Use

Travel English is a small, repeating set of situations: arriving, finding your way, ordering food, buying tickets, and asking for help. If you can handle these, you can travel with confidence. You do not need perfect grammar. You need clear, polite phrases that you can say without thinking.

Be polite first

A few small words change how people respond to you. Start with "Excuse me" to get attention, say "please" when you ask, and finish with "thank you". "Could I have...?" and "Could you tell me...?" sound friendlier than "Give me..." or "Tell me...".

The situations to practise

• At the airport: checking in, bags, boarding. Practise Airport Check-in.
• At the hotel: booking, keys, problems with the room. Practise Hotel Check-in.
• Cafés and restaurants: ordering and paying. Practise At the Café and At the Restaurant.
• Finding your way: asking for and understanding directions. Practise Asking for Directions.
• Getting around: Taking a Taxi and Buying a Train Ticket.
• When you feel ill: At the Doctor and At the Chemist.

How the role-play practice works

Each scene is a short conversation. You hear the other person, then choose what to say from a few answers. A wrong answer comes with a hint, so you learn why another answer sounds better. The English phrasebook has the same scenes as model conversations with audio, so you can listen first, then practise.

Say it out loud

Reading a phrase is not the same as saying it. Play the audio, then repeat the sentence aloud two or three times. When the moment comes, your mouth already knows the words.

Start with the scene you will meet first on your trip. Open the English phrasebook →