Have you ever been on a vacation?

Vacations are something that we all look forward to. They can be a great way to relax after a stressful few months of work or school. Whether it’s travelling to a foreign country or visiting your hometown, vacations are something that everyone loves! All of us enjoy our vacations and can’t wait to tell people about it when it ends.

Sometimes though, we all face problems when trying to accurately convey exactly what we’re trying to say.

Read on to learn exactly what to say, to make your partner understand why you loved your vacation. Happy learning!

So, let’s start by taking a basic situation that all of us can relate to, and work from there.

*You’ve just come back from vacationing in America, and can’t wait to tell your friends about it*

Read on to find the overall flow, specific vocabulary, phrases, and expressions that can be used for an effective and fluent conversation on this topic. Right below is your guide to having an engaging conversation!

A conversation has specific phases that it goes through. Here is a quick look at what we suggest, to guarantee you a smooth conversation.  

Content : What is it that you are going to talk about?

Use the wh questions along with the keywords to help you put together the content.

  1. Where did you go on vacation? – Delhi, Bangalore, America, Europe etc.
  2. How did you travel? – Train, Aeroplane, bus etc.
  3. Who did you go with? – Family, friends, school excursion etc.
  4. What did you do there? – Sightseeing, food sampling, trekking
  5. When did you go? – Last month, last week, two months ago etc.

Choosing Contextual Vocabulary

Choosing contextual vocabulary to suit the scenario you’re talking about can be very important when it comes to giving depth and clarity to what you’re trying to say, as well as piquing* your partner’s attention. In this case, you’re talking about your vacation.

Listed below are a few words and phrases that could come in handy while elaborating on the person you like. Additionally, the meanings of a few starred (*) words are given at the end of this article that you could also use!

  1. Travel
  2. Tourist
  3. Culture
  4. Food
  5. Relax
  6. Adventure
  7. Recreation*
  8. Abroad/local
  9. Beach
  10. Theme Park
  11. Cruise*
  12. Clothes
  13. Activity
  14. Festival
  15. Tour

Similarly. given below are a few descriptive words and phrases that you could use to make your conversation more interesting!

  1. Tedious* travel
  2. Seasoned* tourist
  3. Culture shock*
  4. Different types of food
  5. Varied clothing style
  6. Interesting adventures
  7. Enjoyable theme parks
  8. Local holiday
  9. Fun activities
  10. Beach vacation
  11. Bus tours*
  12. Healthy recreation
  13. Learning new languages
  14. Colourful festivals
  15. Family bonding time

Organizing the Content : Putting it all together to create a comprehensive picture

Now that we know what to talk about and the words to use, let us put them in a logical order.

Initiate the conversation by bringing up the vacation you went on, this could be done in many ways. One such way is given below.

I went on vacation to America last month, I had a wonderful time!

Express your excitement over the vacationthis could be why you brought it into the conversation in the first place.

Visiting America was a whole new experience for me, I loved it!

Talk about why you liked the vacation – here are 5 examples of things you could say

  1. I was able to learn so many new things while on vacation, it was a great experience!
  2. I tried so many different types of food while on vacation, they were delicious!
  3. I love sightseeing, and there are so many different places to see in America!
  4. I love visiting my native place, Tirunelveli, it brings back fond memories from my childhood.
  5. It was wonderful visiting France, I was able to immerse* myself in a completely new and wonderful culture.

Tell your conversational partner why you think they should visit the place you visited, for example :-

  1. I know how much you love sampling new foods, you should try authentic North Indian food in Delhi, it’s delicious.
  2. You would love America, there are so many fascinating* places to see.
  3. I think you should visit Manali, there are so many outdoor activities like Bungee Jumping, Zorbing*, Paragliding* that you would love!
  4. You should take your family on the Caribbean Disney Cruise, it’s simply phenomenal!* The perfect family vacation.
  5. If you’re looking for a short, weekend getaway, you should visit Kodaikanal. It’s perfect for a short trip, the weather is especially nice this month.

A model answer would be as follows :-

I went on vacation to America last month, I had a wonderful time! Visiting America was a whole new experience for me, I loved it. I was able to learn so many new things while on vacation, and try so many different types of food. I love sightseeing, and there were so many different places to see. I visited San Francisco and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge. I also went to Disneyland in Florida, the kids loved it. We ended our vacation by taking the Disney Cruise to Puerto Rico. You should take your family on the Caribbean Disney Cruise, it’s simply phenomenal! The perfect family vacation.

Meaning of starred (*) words

  1. Recreation – Any relaxing activity.
  2. Cruise – Ship used for pleasure voyages (voyages – trips).
  3. Tedious – Too long, slow, or dull.
  4. Culture shock – The feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture.
  5. Bus Tours – A tour bus service is a bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions
  6. Immerse – Involve oneself deeply in a particular activity.
  7. Fascinating – Interesting
  8. Zorbing – Sport of rolling downhill inside an orb, generally made of transparent plastic.
  9. Paragliding – A recreational, adventure sport.
  10. Phenomenal – Amazing