English Lesson: Collocations with Holiday

In this lesson, you will learn the most common collocations with 'holiday' as well as key phrases with 'go' that are used to talk about travel and different holiday activities. 

Note: Holiday is used in British English. American speakers say vacation. 

'Holiday' as a noun has three different meanings. 

1. a period of time when you travel to another place for pleasure 
2. a period of time to rest from work or school 
3. a day fixed by law when people do not have to go to work or school 

The collocations in this lesson refer to the first meaning of 'holiday' -- when you travel to another place for pleasure. 


VERB + Holiday 

• go on holiday 
• have a holiday 
• take a holiday 
• book a holiday 
• cancel a holiday 

Examples: 

• We’re going on holiday to Portugal this summer. 
• Are you having a holiday this year? 
• It’s that time of year when we all want to switch off the laptop and take a holiday. 
• 'Have you booked your summer holiday?' -- 'Yes, I booked it online.' 
• I got sick and we had to cancel our holiday to Thailand. 

ADJECTIVE + Holiday 

• a good / great / nice holiday 
• a lovely holiday 
• someone's dream holiday (= the best holiday you can imagine) 
• an exciting holiday 
• a wonderful holiday 
• a disastrous holiday 

Examples: 

• We had a great holiday in the Philippines. 
• What would be your dream holiday? 
• That was the most exciting holiday we’ve ever had. 

Holiday + NOUN 

• a holiday brochure 
• a holiday destination 
• a holiday resort 
• the holiday season 
• holiday photos | holiday snaps 

Examples: 

• We spent a lot of time looking through holiday brochures and searching for information on the Internet. 
• Marmaris is one of Turkey’s most popular holiday destinations.
• Páros is one of Greece's most popular holiday destinations for young people. 
• We went to a holiday resort in Spain. 
• The pool is open throughout the holiday season. 
• I can show you some of our holiday photos. 

VOCABULARY 

• a holiday brochure - a magazine that shows what holidays you can take 
• a holiday destination – a town or country where a lot of people go on holiday 
• a holiday resort – a place with many hotels where a lot of people go on holiday 
• holiday photos (also holiday snaps) (informal) – photographs that you take when you are on holiday 

Phrases with GO 

• go abroad 
• go on holiday 
• go sightseeing 
• go camping 
• go skiing / walking / cycling 
• go for a walk / go for a swim 
• go out at night 
• go away for the weekend 
• go by bus / car / plane / train 
• go swimming / sailing / surfing / skiing 
• go on a trip / tour / cruise 

Other lessons:
Story Time: Travelling in Spain 
Story Time: Travelling in France 

English conversation lessons:
English Conversation: Travel opinions 
English Conversation: Travelling in Europe and Asia 

English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Leisure 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 


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