Mastering Travel Phrasal Verbs: A Comprehensive Guide

When we talk about travel in English, we don’t just use basic verbs like “go” or “leave.” We often rely on phrasal verbs—those special combinations of verbs with prepositions or adverbs that give us more natural and precise ways to describe actions, especially while traveling.

As your teacher, I’m here to walk you through some of the most common and useful travel phrasal verbs. These expressions—like check in, take off, get away, and set out—are everywhere in conversation, airport announcements, and travel blogs. Learning how to use them correctly will make your English sound more fluent and help you feel more confident in any travel-related situation.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• What travel phrasal verbs are

• How to use them in real-life contexts

• Examples and common mistakes to avoid

• Practical exercises to strengthen your skills

Whether you’re preparing for a trip, studying English for school, or simply expanding your vocabulary, this article will help you master the phrasal verbs that make travel talk smoother and more natural.

Let’s pack our grammar bags and get ready to explore the language of travel together!

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What are Travel Phrasal Verbs?
3. Structural Breakdown
4. Types and Categories
5. Examples of Travel Phrasal Verbs
   • Getting Ready to Travel
   • At the Airport
   • During the Flight
   • Accommodation
   • Sightseeing and Activities
6. Usage Rules
7. Common Mistakes
8. Practice Exercises
9. Advanced Topics
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Conclusion

What are Travel Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and another element, typically an adverb or a preposition, to form a single semantic unit. The meaning of a phrasal verb is often idiomatic, meaning it cannot be deduced from the meanings of the individual words. Travel phrasal verbs are those that relate specifically to the act of traveling, encompassing all stages from planning to arrival and activities during a trip. These verbs are essential for discussing travel arrangements, navigating airports, describing experiences, and understanding travel-related instructions.

Phrasal verbs can be classified as transitive or intransitive. A transitive phrasal verb requires an object, while an intransitive phrasal verb does not. Furthermore, transitive phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable. In a separable phrasal verb, the object can be placed between the verb and the particle (adverb or preposition), while in an inseparable phrasal verb, the object must follow the particle. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for using phrasal verbs correctly in sentences.

Structural Breakdown

The basic structure of a phrasal verb is: Verb + Particle. The particle can be either an adverb or a preposition. For example, in the phrasal verb “set off,” “set” is the verb and “off” is the adverb. In “check in,” “check” is the verb and “in” is the preposition. The function of the particle is to modify the meaning of the verb, often creating a new meaning that is distinct from the original verb.

Separable phrasal verbs allow the object to be placed either between the verb and the particle or after the particle. For example, “pack up” is a separable phrasal verb. You can say “pack your bags up” or “pack up your bags.” However, if the object is a pronoun, it must be placed between the verb and the particle: “pack them up.”

Inseparable phrasal verbs require the object to follow the particle. For example, “look after” is an inseparable phrasal verb. You can only say “look after your passport,” not “look your passport after.” This distinction can be tricky for learners, so it’s important to memorize which phrasal verbs are separable and which are inseparable.

Types and Categories

Travel phrasal verbs can be categorized based on the stage of travel they relate to:

• Planning and Preparation: These verbs refer to the activities involved in planning a trip, such as “look up” (to research), “book up” (to reserve), and “set out” (to begin a journey).
• Transportation: These verbs relate to modes of transportation, such as “check in” (at an airport), “take off” (an airplane), and “get on” (a bus or train).
• Accommodation: These verbs pertain to lodging and staying in a hotel or other accommodation, such as “check out” (of a hotel) and “put up” (stay somewhere temporarily).
• Activities and Sightseeing: These verbs describe activities and experiences during travel, such as “look around” (to explore) and “try out” (to test or sample something).

Understanding these categories can help you contextualize and remember the meanings of different travel phrasal verbs.

Examples of Travel Phrasal Verbs

Here are some examples of travel phrasal verbs, organized by category, to illustrate their meanings and usage.

Getting Ready to Travel

These phrasal verbs are used when planning and preparing for a trip. The table below provides a comprehensive list with example sentences to illustrate their use.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Look up	To research or find information	I need to look up the best restaurants in Rome.
Book up	To reserve in advance	The hotels in that area are usually booked up months in advance.
Set out	To begin a journey	We set out early in the morning to avoid traffic.
Plan out	To make detailed arrangements or preparations	We need to plan out our itinerary carefully before we leave.
Save up	To accumulate money for a specific purpose	We’ve been saving up for our dream vacation for years.
Draw up	To prepare a plan, list, or document	Our travel agent will draw up a detailed itinerary for our trip.
Map out	To plan in detail how something will happen	We need to map out our route before we start driving.
Think over	To consider something carefully	I need to think over the travel options before making a decision.
Sort out	To resolve or organize something	We need to sort out our travel documents before heading to the airport.
Tide over	To help someone through a difficult period, especially with money	These savings should tide us over until we get back from our trip.
Run through	To review or rehearse something quickly	Let’s run through the packing list one last time to make sure we have everything.
Come up with	To produce or create something (an idea, a plan)	We need to come up with a backup plan in case the weather is bad.
Look ahead	To think about and plan for the future	It’s good to look ahead and book accommodations early.
Put aside	To save something, usually money, for a special purpose	We’ve been putting aside money each month for our trip.
Gear up	To prepare oneself for something	We need to gear up for the long flight ahead.
Sign up	To register or enroll in something	Did you sign up for the travel insurance?
Opt for	To choose something	We decided to opt for the all-inclusive package.
Settle on	To decide on something after considering options	After much deliberation, we settled on Italy for our vacation.
Embark on	To start or begin something (often a journey)	We are about to embark on an incredible adventure.
Get around to	To finally do something you’ve been planning to do	I finally got around to booking our flights.
Weigh up	To consider and compare different options or factors before making a decision	We need to weigh up the pros and cons of traveling during peak season.
Iron out	To resolve or settle a problem or difficulty	We need to iron out the details of our itinerary before we can confirm our reservations.
Pin down	To determine or decide on something specific, often after a period of uncertainty	It was difficult to pin down the exact dates for our trip due to work commitments.
Sound out	To ask someone for their opinion or advice on a particular matter	I’m going to sound out my friends about the best places to visit in Europe.
Drum up	To try to get support, interest, or enthusiasm for something	We need to drum up some excitement for our upcoming family vacation.

At the Airport

These phrasal verbs are commonly used when navigating the airport. Here are some examples:

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Check in	To register at the airport for a flight	We need to check in two hours before our flight.
Drop off	To take someone or something to a place and leave them there	Can you drop me off at the airport?
Pick up	To collect someone or something	I’ll pick you up from the airport when you arrive.
Go through	To undergo a process or procedure	We had to go through security before boarding the plane.
Take off	(Of an airplane) to leave the ground	The plane is scheduled to take off at 3 PM.
Hold up	To delay or impede	The security check held us up for an hour.
Call out	To announce a name or number	They called out my name at the boarding gate.
Fill out	To complete a form	You need to fill out this customs form.
Look out for	To be vigilant or watchful for something	Look out for your luggage on the carousel.
Get away	To escape or leave	We’re trying to get away for a long weekend.
Line up	To stand in a line	Please line up at the gate for boarding.
Show up	To arrive or appear	Make sure to show up at the airport on time.
See off	To accompany someone to their point of departure	My family came to the airport to see me off.
Wave off	To wave goodbye to someone who is departing	I waved her off as the train pulled away.
Pass through	To go through a place	We had to pass through customs before entering the country.
Speed up	To accelerate or move faster	The line started to speed up once more staff arrived.
Slow down	To decelerate or move slower	We had to slow down as we approached security.
Take down	To write down information	The agent took down our flight details.
Turn back	To return in the direction you came from	We had to turn back because we forgot our passports.
Ring up	To record a sale on a cash register	The cashier rang up my purchase at the duty-free shop.
Fork out	To spend a lot of money, especially unwillingly	I had to fork out a lot of money for excess baggage.
Splash out	To spend a lot of money on something special	I decided to splash out on a first-class ticket for this trip.
Run out of	To have no more of something	We ran out of time at the airport and missed our flight.
Clock in	To record the time of arrival at work or another place	The airport staff clock in early in the morning to prepare for the day’s flights.

During the Flight

These phrasal verbs are useful when describing activities and situations during a flight.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Settle down	To become calm or quiet	After settling down, I started reading a book.
Doze off	To fall asleep lightly	I dozed off during the movie.
Look out	To be careful or vigilant	Look out the window; the view is amazing.
Fill in	To provide information in a gap	The flight attendant asked me to fill in the immigration form.
Turn up	To increase the volume or intensity	Could you turn up the volume on my headphones?
Turn down	To decrease the volume or intensity	Please turn down your music; it’s too loud.
Get along (with)	To have a good relationship with someone	I get along well with the passenger next to me.
Catch up (on)	To do something that you haven’t had time to do recently	I’m going to catch up on some sleep during the flight.
Wind down	To relax after a period of excitement or strain	I tried to wind down by listening to calming music.
Bear with	To be patient with someone or something	Please bear with us as we experience some turbulence.
Hold on	To wait for a short time	Please hold on while I find your seat number.
Eat up	To finish eating	Eat up your meal before we land.
Drink up	To finish drinking	Drink up your juice so we can put the tray table away.
Look after	To take care of someone or something	Please look after your belongings during the flight.
Stick around	To stay in a place	We decided to stick around the airport lounge.
Drift off	To gradually fall asleep	I drifted off soon after takeoff.
Zone out	To become inattentive or detached	I zoned out while watching the in-flight movie.
Check out	To look at or examine something	I checked out the in-flight entertainment options.
Turn around	To change direction	The pilot had to turn around due to bad weather.
Touch down	To land (an aircraft)	The plane will touch down in a few minutes.
Get over	To recover from something	I hope to get over my jet lag quickly.
Put up with	To tolerate something	I had to put up with a crying baby during the flight.
Chat away	To talk continuously and enthusiastically	The passengers chatted away throughout the entire flight.
While away	To spend time in a relaxed and leisurely manner	I whiled away the hours on the flight by reading a book.
While away	To pass time in a relaxed and leisurely way	I whiled away the afternoon reading by the pool.

Accommodation

These phrasal verbs relate to staying in hotels or other types of accommodation.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Check in	To register at a hotel	We checked in at the hotel at 2 PM.
Check out	To leave a hotel after paying	We need to check out by 11 AM.
Settle in	To become comfortable in a new place	It took us a while to settle in to our new hotel room.
Put up	To stay somewhere temporarily	They put us up for the night.
Turn down	To refuse or reject	The hotel turned down our request for a late check-out.
Turn up	To arrive or appear	Even though we booked, our reservation didn’t turn up.
Drop off	To leave something at a place	We can drop off our luggage at the concierge.
Pick up	To collect something	We’ll pick up our keys at the front desk.
Eat out	To eat at a restaurant	We decided to eat out instead of cooking in our room.
Hang out	To spend time relaxing	We like to hang out in the hotel lobby.
Crash out	To fall asleep quickly and heavily	After a long day of traveling, I just wanted to crash out.
Chill out	To relax and calm down	We decided to chill out in the hotel spa.
Knock out	To exhaust or tire someone	The day of sightseeing really knocked me out.
Look around	To explore a place	We looked around the hotel to see what amenities it had.
Put away	To store something in its proper place	I need to put away my clothes in the closet.
Tidy up	To make a place neat and organized	Let’s tidy up the room before we go out.
Sleep in	To sleep later than usual	We decided to sleep in on our last day.
Wake up	To stop sleeping	I woke up early because of the time difference.
Wind down	To relax after a period of excitement	We wind down by watching TV in our room.
Get by	To manage to survive or live	We can get by with the basic amenities in this hotel.
Call up	To telephone someone	I need to call up the front desk to ask for extra towels.
Step out	To leave a place for a short time	I’m just going to step out for a quick walk.
Kick back	To relax and enjoy oneself	We’re just going to kick back and relax by the pool.
Stay in	To remain inside a place	We decided to stay in and order room service.
Pile up	To accumulate or increase in quantity	Dirty towels can pile up quickly if you don’t request fresh ones.

Sightseeing and Activities

These phrasal verbs are used to describe activities and experiences while traveling.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Look around	To explore a place	We spent the day looking around the old town.
Try out	To test or sample something	We want to try out the local cuisine.
Take in	To absorb or appreciate something	We took in the stunning views from the mountaintop.
Get around	To travel to different places	It’s easy to get around the city by public transport.
Come across	To find something unexpectedly	We came across a hidden gem of a restaurant.
Go on	To continue or proceed	The tour guide told us to go on ahead.
Join in	To participate in an activity	We decided to join in the local festival.
Sign up	To register for an activity	We signed up for a cooking class.
Look up to	To admire or respect someone	I look up to our tour guide; she’s so knowledgeable.
Bump into	To meet someone unexpectedly	I bumped into an old friend while traveling.
Soak up	To absorb or enjoy something	We wanted to soak up the sun on the beach.
Delve into	To explore or examine something thoroughly	We decided to delve into the history of the ancient ruins.
While away	To spend time in a relaxed manner	We whiled away the afternoon at a café.
Pass away	To spend time	We passed away the time by playing cards.
Go along with	To agree with or support	I decided to go along with their plans for the day.
Laze around	To relax and do nothing	We spent the day lazing around by the pool.
Get into	To become interested in something	We got into the local culture.
Make up for	To compensate for something	We tried to make up for the bad weather by visiting museums.
Look forward to	To anticipate something with pleasure	We look forward to exploring new places.
Tie in	To connect or relate	The tour ties in historical facts with modern culture.
Get by	To manage to survive or live	We can get by with limited resources while camping.
Brush up (on)	To improve your knowledge of something	I need to brush up on my Spanish before the trip.
Suss out	To discover or figure something out	We need to suss out the best way to get to the beach.
Look out for	To be careful or vigilant for something	Look out for pickpockets in crowded tourist areas.
Fawn over	To show excessive flattery or attention	Tourists tend to fawn over the historical landmarks.

Usage Rules

When using travel phrasal verbs, it’s important to remember the following rules:

• Word Order: For separable phrasal verbs, remember that the object can go between the verb and the particle or after the particle, unless the object is a pronoun, in which case it must go between the verb and the particle.
• Intransitive vs. Transitive: Be aware of whether the phrasal verb requires an object. Intransitive phrasal verbs do not take an object.
• Tense: Phrasal verbs can be used in any tense, just like regular verbs.
• Formality: Phrasal verbs are generally considered informal. In formal writing, it’s often better to use a single-word verb with a similar meaning.

Example of Word Order:
* Correct: “Pack up your bags.”
* Correct: “Pack your bags up.”
* Correct: “Pack them up.”
* Incorrect: “Pack up them.”

Example of Tense:
* Present: “I check in at the hotel.”
* Past: “I checked in at the hotel.”
* Future: “I will check in at the hotel.”

Common Mistakes

Here are some common mistakes learners make when using travel phrasal verbs:

Incorrect	Correct	Explanation
I look the information up.	I look up the information.	Incorrect word order with a separable phrasal verb.
I look after to the museum.	I look around the museum.	Using the wrong phrasal verb; “look after” means to take care of.
We must to check out by 11 AM.	We must check out by 11 AM.	Incorrect use of “to” with a phrasal verb.
I wait for.	I hold on.	Using the wrong phrasal verb; “hold on” is the correct phrasal verb for waiting.
Get on from the bus.	Get off the bus.	Using the wrong particle; “off” is used to exit a vehicle.
I am look forward the trip.	I am looking forward to the trip.	Incorrect preposition; “look forward to” is the correct form.
I going to check out the hotel.	I am going to check out of the hotel.	Missing preposition; “check out of” is the correct form when leaving a place.
Take off the shoes.	Take off your shoes.	Missing possessive pronoun; clarify whose shoes are being taken off.
I put on my clothes.	I put my clothes on. OR I put on my clothes.	Correct, but remember separable phrasal verbs offer word order choices; however, if the object is a pronoun, it must be in the middle (I put them on).
We look after the beautiful scenery.	We take in the beautiful scenery.	Using the wrong phrasal verb; “take in” means to absorb or appreciate.

Practice Exercises

Test your understanding of travel phrasal verbs with these exercises.

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct travel phrasal verb from the list below.
(check in, look up, set out, drop off, pick up, look around, try out, check out)

Question	Answer
1. We need to __________ at the hotel before going to our room.	check in
2. I want to __________ the local cuisine while I’m here.	try out
3. Can you __________ me __________ at the train station?	drop, off
4. We __________ early in the morning to avoid traffic.	set out
5. I need to __________ the opening hours of the museum.	look up
6. I will __________ you __________ from the airport when you arrive.	pick, up
7. Don’t forget to __________ __________ of the hotel by 11 AM.	check out
8. Let’s __________ __________ the city center and see what it has to offer.	look around
9. I need to __________ __________ the vocabulary before I go on my trip.	brush up on
10. I need to __________ __________ the best time to travel there.	find out

Exercise 2: Sentence Completion

Complete the following sentences using appropriate travel phrasal verbs.

Question	Answer
1. After a long flight, I just wanted to __________ __________ in my hotel room.	crash out
2. We __________ __________ a beautiful beach while driving along the coast.	came across
3. The plane is scheduled to __________ __________ at 2 PM.	take off
4. I’m really __________ __________ __________ seeing the Eiffel Tower.	looking forward to
5. We decided to __________ __________ the local market to buy souvenirs.	look around

Advanced Topics

For advanced learners, here are some more complex aspects of travel phrasal verbs to consider:

• Multiple Meanings: Some phrasal verbs have multiple meanings depending on the context. For example, “see off” can mean to accompany someone to their point of departure, but it can also mean to defeat or eliminate someone.
• Regional Variations: The use of certain phrasal verbs can vary by region. What is commonly used in British English may not be as common in American English, and vice versa.
• Idiomatic Expressions: Some phrasal verbs are part of larger idiomatic expressions that add nuance to their meaning.

Example of Multiple Meanings:

Example of Regional Variations:

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Mastering travel phrasal verbs is an invaluable asset for anyone looking to enhance their English language skills, particularly in the context of travel. By understanding the structure, types, and usage rules of these versatile phrases, you can communicate more effectively and confidently in a variety of travel-related situations.

Remember to practice regularly, pay attention to common mistakes, and continue to expand your vocabulary. With dedication and effort, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the English-speaking world with ease and fluency.

Happy travels!