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Welcome to our Daily English Listening Practice with this week’s series:

Travel Vocabulary: Types of Vacations

What kind of vacation are you into? There are tons of different kinds of vacations and we’re gonna help you discuss 10 kinds in today’s and tomorrow’s posts. Bon voyage!

Please listen to the audio files for explanations.
Transcripts unavailable.

Notes from the Audio Files

All-inclusive Resort

• Lodging: accommodation, a place to say
• Spa packages: a number of sessions at the spa at a single discounted price
• Excursions: exciting things to do outside of your resort
• Package price: everything included in one price
• Add this on top of that: add up lots of different expenses
• Pitfalls: Disadvantages, negatives, drawbacks
• Gone all inclusive: Booked or paid for an all-inclusive holiday
• Living in a bubble: Being sheltered, not being exposed to the outside world

How to use it:
“I would love to go to an all-inclusive resort! They are such a good deal, with everything included. No worries, no cares, just me and my cocktail by the pool all week.”
“Our drinks, our food, the activities were all-inclusive. We didn’t have to worry about a thing.”

Cruise

• Luxurious time: high-quality experience
• Float down the river: move along the river on a ship or boat
• Upper deck: The top level of a ship
• Lower deck: The lower levels of a ship  
• Seasick: Nausea and sickness from the movement of the ship on the water
• Not super keen on: I don’t really like
• Island hopping: travelling to several islands one at a time
• Doesn’t really appeal to me: I don’t like it
• Family-friendly: lots of activities and dining for kids and their families
• Family reunion: a 5 or 10 year party held for the extended family to get together
• Bachelorette parties: US parties for women before one gets married
• Spring-breakers: college students on vacation from college
• Wasted: very drunk
• Everybody in between: all types of people

How to use it:
“My friends just got back from a cruise to Alaska, it was a really kid-friendly line, with lots of onboard entertainment like shows and plenty of buffets!”
“We went on a 14 day Baltic cruise. It was absolutely stunning! We spent most of our time on the top deck in the sunshine.”

Guided Tour / Tour Bus

• Perks: Benefits, bonuses [link]
• Convenient: Useful and helpful
• “World War 2 tour – “ _________ tour” can be used to describe the theme of any kind of tour. E.g. “a French tour / a Californian tour”
• All in English: Everyone spoke English
• Sit back: sitting in a relaxed way, not worrying about anything
• Cons: negatives
• A/C: US air conditioning air-con UK
• Filled to the brim: completely full to the top
• Hoards of tourists: so many tourists
• People-watch: watch people go by
• Pictures are fuzzy: not focused
• None of my pictures came out: all the pictures were bad
• On someone else’s schedule: you don’t make your own schedule

How to use it:
“We did most of the planning ourselves, but we took a guided tour of the north part of the coast, because we had no idea how to get there on our own!”
“Try to get to the temple before noon – when the guided tours arrive there will be hundreds of people there.”

Beach Holiday

• Jet skiing: motorized water vehicle
• Banana boating: a large inflated raft that’s pulled by a boat
• Parasailing: lifted up in the air by a parachute that’s pulled by a boat
• Right after a holiday: the day after a holiday
• Got burned: got a sunburn
• Laying out: relaxing in the sun specifically to get a tan
• Was burnt: was sunburned
• Downside: negative
• Just lie there: Lie on the beach, or in a chair
• Therapeutic: relaxing and good for you
• Snorkeling: using a mask and breathing tube to look underwater
• Diving: using specialized gear and breathing tanks to go underwater
• Straight off the beach: no boat required, walk from the beach into the water

How to use it:
“Time for a beach vacay! Gonna lay out and get my tan on, sip on margaritas and go to sleep with sound of the waves.”
“I love beach holidays, sun, sea and sand. I read more books on a 2 week beach holiday than I do all year!”

Backpacking

• Rite of passage: an important event in someone’s life, usually for young people
• Coming of age experience: The changing of a young person into an adult or more mature person
• Gap year: A year break that university students can take before they start their studies
• Southeast Asia: tropical area of Asia with Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and others
• Paths are so well-trodden: the paths are so well used and popular
• You can’t get it wrong: you can’t make a mistake
• Becoming buddies: becoming friends
• I can see the appeal: I can see why people like it
• Ordeal: problem

How to use it:
“Me and some friends went backpacking through Europe in college, then I went backpacking again years later through Asia, both trips were amazing!”
“I did a big backpacking trip through South East Asia in 2014, it was an incredible experience. Now I’ve got the travel bug.”

What kind of vacations have you been on? Do you feel comfortable talking about these types of vacations? Let us know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Kat and Mark