Everyday English

English phrases for travel: what to say and what you will hear

Updated: October 3, 2026

Good English phrases for travel are short, polite and easy to say when you are tired after a long flight. You do not need perfect grammar at the airport or in a hotel. You need a few patterns that sound friendly, and you need to understand the questions people ask you. This guide goes through a trip in order: check-in and security, passport control, the hotel, directions and transport, restaurants and shops, and finally problems and emergencies such as I've lost my passport. For each situation you get the phrases to say and the phrases you are likely to hear.

The polite pattern that works everywhere

English speakers usually ask for things in an indirect way. Instead of an order (Give me a coffee), they use a question with can or could, or the phrase I'd like, and they add please. Could sounds a little more polite than can, and may is more formal still. You will often hear may from officials and staff: May I see your passport, please?

Two words to use carefully. I want is very direct and can sound rude in a request, so keep it for when you really mean it. I need is also direct, but that is fine for urgent things: I need a doctor.

At the airport: check-in and security

At the check-in desk the staff do most of the talking. Your job is to answer their questions and ask one or two of your own.

At security, the instructions are short and fast. Common ones are Please take your laptop out of the bag, Any liquids?, Take your belt off, please and Step through, please. Liquid rules are not the same everywhere: in the UK, for example, the rules have changed at some airports, and the government advises checking with your airport before you travel. If you are not sure, ask: Do I need to take this out?

• Excuse me, where is the check-in desk for Emirates?

  Excuse me first, then the question

• Sorry, is this the queue for security?

  queue (UK) = line (US)

• My flight leaves in forty minutes. Could I go ahead of you?

  a polite way to ask to go first

Passport control: questions you will hear

At passport control (also called immigration or border control) an officer checks your passport and visa. In the UK, the official guidance says visitors from most countries will usually be asked why they are coming. The officer also wants you to have your passport ready, out of its cover, and to take off sunglasses or a face covering. Keep your answers short, clear and true.

Notice the tense: for plans you have already made, English uses the present continuous (I'm staying, I'm visiting my brother). It helps to keep your hotel booking and return ticket somewhere easy to reach, in case the officer asks to see them.

At the hotel

Would it be possible to...? is one of the most useful phrases in travel English. It is very polite, and it works for almost any request: a different room, an early breakfast, a later check-out.

Asking for directions and getting around

When you stop a stranger, start with Excuse me and tell them what you are looking for. Excuse me, I'm looking for the train station is softer than a direct Where's the train station?

• Excuse me, I'm looking for the National Museum.

  polite opening

• Is it far from here? Can I walk there?

  check the distance

• Could you show me on the map?

  very useful when you don't understand the answer

The answers you hear use a small set of phrases: go straight on (or go straight ahead), take the second left, turn right at the lights, it's on your left, it's opposite the bank, it's next to the pharmacy, you can't miss it (it is easy to find).

Restaurants, cafés and shops

Ordering food is where Can I have...? and I'd like... do most of the work. Staff will often ask Would you like anything to drink? or Anything else?. A short answer with please or thanks is perfect.

In shops, if an assistant asks Can I help you? and you are only browsing, say I'm just looking, thanks. Other useful phrases: How much is this?, Do you have this in a smaller size?, Can I try it on?, Can I pay by card? and Could I have a receipt, please?

Problems and emergencies

When something goes wrong, use the present perfect to describe the problem: I've lost, I've missed, has been stolen. It tells the listener the problem is happening now and you need help now.

• I've lost my passport.

  go to the police for a report, then contact your country's embassy or consulate

• My wallet has been stolen.

  passive: you don't know who took it

• I've missed my connecting flight.

  miss a flight, a train, a bus (not lose)

• My suitcase hasn't arrived.

  say this at the baggage desk in the arrivals hall

• I need a doctor. / Please call an ambulance!

  direct language is right in an emergency

• Could you help me? I don't speak much English.

  people usually slow down when you say this

Before you travel, save the local emergency number and the address of your embassy in your phone. In a stressful moment it is much easier to read a sentence you prepared than to build a new one.

Practise before you go

1. Choose the three situations you are most worried about (for example, passport control, the hotel and a restaurant).
2. Copy five phrases for each one into a note on your phone.
3. Say each phrase out loud three times. Then change one word: a window seat becomes an aisle seat.
4. Prepare true answers to the passport control questions: why you are coming, how long and where you are staying.
5. The day before you fly, read the list again, and practise one dialogue with a friend: one person asks, the other answers.

Practise it

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