Are you going on holiday soon? Or simply preparing yourself for future travels? Wherever you go around the world, you’d often find that English would be the best medium of communication between you and the locals. Even if you’re travelling domestically within Malaysia, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to practice your English too! From checking into hotels to booking train tickets, knowing English would make the process much easier. 

As an English learner, you might also come across essays that ask you to describe a recent holiday or share about your dream vacation. Therefore, we’re hoping that this list of travel-related vocabulary below would be helpful for you in real life as well as in your English essay writing too!

1. Travel Accommodation

Useful vocabulary to know when booking travel accommodation

• Check-in –  The process of registering guests arriving at a hotel

• Check out – The process of leaving the hotel after paying and returning the room key

• Room service – a service provided in a hotel where guests can order food and drink to be brought to their rooms

• Housekeeping – the department that is responsible for cleaning the hotel and guest’s bedrooms

• Porter – A person employed to carry luggage and other things for guests 

• Complimentary – given free of charge

• Toiletries –  things that we use to wash or take care of our body. For example, soap, shampoo and toothpaste

• Safe – a small metal cupboard with a lock where you can store valuables such as money and jewellery

• Lobby – the entrance hall of the hotel

• Reception – the area in a hotel where guests are greeted and dealt with

• En-suite – A room with an attached bathroom

2. Air Travel

Useful vocabulary when talking about air travel

• Round trip – a journey to a place and returning to where you started from

• Customs – the place at the airport where bags are checked or scanned

• Immigration – the place at the airport where officials check your passport and other documents to make sure that you are allowed to enter the country

• Travel insurance – insurance for people who are travelling, to pay for any medical treatment, loss of money or property, etc

• Boarding gate – The gate or area where passengers wait to board an aircraft

• Cabin – the area where passengers sit in an aircraft

• Aisle – a long and narrow space between rows of seats in an aircraft

• Baggage claim – the area in an airport where you collect your luggage when you arrive

• Duty-free goods – duty-free goods are things that you can buy from certain shops where you don’t have to pay government tax

• Transit – refers to the stop in between the journey or a non-direct flight where you will have to change aircraft

• Turbulence – strong, rocky or sudden movements on the plane due to changes in the airflow

• Jet lag – the feeling of tiredness and confusion after a long journey by plane to a place where the time is different from the place they left

3. Sea Travel

Useful vocabulary when talking about sea travel

• Ferry – a boat or ship that carries passengers and often vehicles on a regular basis

• Cruise – a holiday journey on a large ship where passengers usually visit several places

• Deck – a flat area for walking at the sides of a boat or ship, especially the upper level

• Jetty – A platform where boats stop to let people get on or off or to load or unload goods

• Harbour – a place by the sea where ships and boats can shelter and be secured, especially one that is protected from rough water 

• Port – a town by the sea or by a river that has a harbour, or the harbour itself

• Embark – to go onto a boat or ship

• Disembark – to get off the boat or ship

• Choppy water – rough water, strong waves

• Life jacket – a piece of equipment like a jacket without sleeves that is designed to help you float in water

• Anchor – a heavy metal object attached to a strong rope or chain that is dropped from a boat into the water to prevent the boat from moving away

4. Land Travel

Useful vocabulary when talking about land travel

• Vehicle – a thing used to transport people or goods, especially on land

• Platform – a long, flat raised structure at a railway station, where people get on and off trains

• Railway – a track made of steel rails along which trains run or a system of tracks that trains travel along

• Tram –  an electric vehicle that transports people, usually in cities, and goes along metal tracks in the road

• MPV – a large car, typically with six or more seats

• Coach – a bus-like vehicle with comfortable seats used to take groups of people on longer journeys

• Trishaw – a light vehicle with three wheels and pedals 

• Rickshaw – a small, covered passenger vehicle with two wheels that is usually pulled by a person

• Fare – the cost of a journey, the price of a ticket

• Delay – when something happens at a later time than originally planned or expected

• To hail a taxi – to hold up your arms to call for a taxi

Sample essay with some of the travel vocabulary above

Last year, my family and I went on a holiday to Bali, Indonesia. It was my first time on a plane, and it was very exciting. 

During the flight, I sat by the window while my dad sat on the aisle seat, so there was more room to stretch his leg. I was nervous when we encountered some turbulence, but I was told that there was nothing to worry about.

In Bali, we stayed in a beautiful resort near the beach. The check-in process was smooth, and the staff were very friendly. I also enjoyed the daily complimentary breakfast. Although the sea was quite choppy on some days, I went for a swim every morning.

Since there were 6 of us on the trip, we mostly travelled around Bali to the many tourist attractions in an MPV. However, I had the chance to go on a rickshaw with my sister when we went to the nearby night market. 

When it was time to leave, I felt a bit sad. I had a wonderful time in Bali and would recommend people to visit. If there was ever an opportunity for me to go back, I would not think twice!