In Bulgarian: "Отнема ми..." → In English: "It takes me..."
English uses a fixed impersonal structure with IT as the subject — the subject never changes. This is the most natural way a native speaker describes travel time. Never say "How long takes the flight?"
The transport uses Present Simple — even for the future
For your own personal plans, you use the Present Continuous ("I am flying tomorrow"). But for public transport schedules — trains, flights, buses — we always use the Present Simple, even when talking about the future.
"The flight to Spain leaves at 8:00 AM tomorrow."
"What time does the train arrive in Paris?"
"The bus doesn't wait for late passengers."
"The next train departs at 14:30."
"I am catching the 8:00 AM flight."
"When are you arriving?"
"We are taking the bus at midday."
"She is travelling to Paris this weekend."
Quick test: Is there a noun? YES → SUCH. NO → SO.
Both SO and SUCH express strong feelings about a place or thing. The rule for choosing between them depends entirely on what comes after.
| Structure | What follows | Example |
|---|---|---|
| SO + adjective | Adjective only — no noun. | "The village is so peaceful." |
| SUCH A/AN + adj + singular noun | Article + adjective + one noun. | "It was such a long journey." |
| SUCH + adj + plural noun | No article + adjective + plural noun. | "They were such friendly passengers." |
set off · check in · get on/off · drop off · pick up · stop over · head for · take off · touch down · turn back
Phrasal verbs are two- or three-word verbs where the particle (off, in, on…) changes the meaning. These ten are the most common in everyday travel English — you will hear all of them at airports, stations, and on the road.
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| set off | Start a journey | "We set off at six in the morning to avoid traffic." |
| check in | Register at an airport desk or hotel reception | "You need to check in at least 90 minutes before departure." |
| get on / get off | Board or leave a bus, train, plane | "Get off at King's Cross." / "When do we get on the plane?" |
| drop off | Take someone to a place and leave them there | "He dropped us off at the terminal." |
| pick up | Collect someone in a vehicle | "Can you pick me up from the station at nine?" |
| stop over | Break a long journey with a stay somewhere | "We stopped over in Dubai for one night on the way to Sydney." |
| head for | Start moving towards a place | "We headed for the coast after the conference." |
| take off | When a plane leaves the ground | "The flight took off two hours late." |
| touch down | When a plane lands | "We touched down in Edinburgh at 11:30." |
| turn back | Return the way you came; abandon the journey | "The weather was terrible, so we turned back." |
The set expressions every traveller needs to know
These are fixed phrases — chunks of language that native speakers use as single units. You do not change the words inside them. Learning them as whole phrases is much more useful than building them word by word.
| Phrase | When you use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| on the way (to) | During the journey, at some point between A and B | "We stopped for lunch on the way to Edinburgh." |
| ahead of schedule | Earlier than planned | "The train arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule." |
| behind schedule | Later than planned | "We were an hour behind schedule because of roadworks." |
| in advance | Before the event, earlier than needed | "Book your tickets in advance to get a cheaper fare." |
| at short notice | With very little time to prepare | "She had to fly to Berlin at short notice for a meeting." |
| miss a connection | Fail to catch a connecting train/flight | "We missed our connection in Paris and had to wait four hours." |
| make good time | Travel faster than expected | "We made good time — the motorway was completely clear." |
| get stuck (in traffic) | Be unable to move because of traffic | "We got stuck in traffic for two hours on the M25." |
| go through customs | Pass through the customs checkpoint | "It took ages to go through customs at JFK." |
| all-inclusive | A holiday where everything is included in the price | "We booked an all-inclusive holiday so we didn't need to worry about meals." |
In Bulgarian "пътуване" covers all three — in English each has a different use
Using the wrong word sounds unnatural to a native speaker. Each word has its own grammar and collocations.
| Word | Grammar | Common collocations | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | Usually a verb, or uncountable noun. ❌ Never "a good travel". | travel abroad, travel by train, love travel | "I travel to Spain for work." / "She loves travel." |
| Trip | Countable noun. Going somewhere and coming back. | go on a trip, a business trip, a day trip | "How was your business trip?" / "We went on a trip." |
| Journey | Countable noun. The act of travelling from A to B. | a long journey, a train journey, a tiring journey | "The train journey took four hours." |
Tom works in Birmingham, but his sister lives in Edinburgh. Last summer, he decided to travel north to visit her. He usually drives, but the car journey takes over five hours. This time, he chose to take the train instead. He booked his ticket online the week before. The train journey took about four hours and fifteen minutes. Tom sat next to a friendly man from France, and they spoke English together because Tom does not speak French. When Tom arrived at Edinburgh station, his sister was waiting on the platform. She took him to her flat in the city centre. Tom was surprised by how different Edinburgh felt. It was hillier and much less polluted than Birmingham. The streets were quieter too. He spent five days exploring the city and visiting the famous castle. On the last day, he bought some local food at a market near the footpath by the river. He did not want to leave.
1. Why did Tom choose to take the train this time?
2. What language did Tom and the man from France speak together?
3. How did Edinburgh compare to Birmingham?
4. What did Tom do on his last day?
Claire used to live in a busy flat in Manchester. Her street was always noisy, and the air in the city centre was very polluted. Every morning, she spent forty-five minutes sitting in traffic jams on her way to work. She was tired and stressed. Two years ago, she decided to make a big change. She found a small stone cottage in a village in Yorkshire. At first, the move was difficult. There was no underground, no big supermarket, and the nearest town was twelve kilometres away. However, Claire quickly fell in love with country life. She woke up every morning to the sound of birds in the meadows. The air was clean and fresh. She bought a bicycle and used it to travel along the footpaths. "I used to think I could never live without the city," she says. "Now I can't imagine going back. It is more peaceful, the wildlife is wonderful, and my neighbours are such friendly people."
1. Why did Claire leave Manchester?
2. What was difficult about the move at first?
3. How does Claire feel about country life now?
4. "I used to think I could never live without the city." — What does this tell us?
Sarah works for a technology company in Sofia. Last month, she went on a business trip to Berlin. She had never been to Germany before, so she was very excited. She booked her accommodation online — a nice modern German hotel near the city centre. The flight from Sofia departs at 06:30, and the journey takes about two and a half hours. When she arrived at the airport, she caught a direct train to her hotel. It was such a fast and easy journey. Sarah used to hate travelling for work, but this trip changed her mind. Berlin was so vibrant and exciting. The food was such a pleasant surprise — she had expected it to be boring, but it was delicious. She visited a beautiful old Turkish market near the river, and she bought some lovely Spanish leather shoes from a small shop. On the last day, a German colleague took her on a day trip to Potsdam. "I didn't use to enjoy business trips at all," she told her manager. "But I would come back here tomorrow."
1. How long is the flight from Sofia to Berlin?
2. "The food was such a pleasant surprise." — What does this tell us about the food?
3. "I didn't use to enjoy business trips at all." — What does this mean?
4. "She visited a beautiful old Turkish market." — What is the correct adjective order here?
My name is Ana, and I grew up in both a city and a village. Until I was twelve, I used to live in a noisy, crowded suburb of Plovdiv. My father used to drive us to school every morning, and it took almost an hour because of the terrible traffic jams. I didn't use to notice how polluted the air was — I simply thought that was normal. Then my parents moved to a small Spanish-style village in the mountains. At first, I hated it. There was no underground, no pavement, and it took me forty minutes to walk to the nearest bus stop. But then I discovered the footpaths, the streams, and the fields full of wildlife. "This is such a peaceful place," I told my mother after my first week. "Why didn't we move here earlier?" I used to catch the underground to school every day. Now I walk along a footpath through the meadows. The journey is longer, but it is such a beautiful start to the day. Both places shaped who I am, and I wouldn't change either of them.
1. Why did the morning drive to school take almost an hour?
2. What changed Ana's mind about village life?
3. "This is such a peaceful place." — Why does she use SUCH and not SO?
4. How does Ana feel about having grown up in both places?
Last Friday, Mark decided to go on a (1) to a (2) village near Lyon. He checked the train times online. The train (3) from London at 08:45 every morning, and (4) about six hours to get there by train and ferry.
Mark (5) not enjoy long journeys, but now he finds them exciting. He (6) travel abroad at all before last year. The (7) by ferry across the Channel was (8) beautiful. He stood on the deck and watched the waves.
When he arrived (9) the station in Lyon, he caught a local bus (10) the village. The bus only cost two euros. It was (11) cheap (12)! "Next time, I am bringing my whole family," he said. "How long does (13) to (14) here from Plovdiv?" he asked his new (15) French neighbours.