GCSE Spanish Revision

Travel & Tourism

Holidays, travel, transport, booking accommodation and describing trips.

Travel & Tourism is a core part of GCSE Spanish. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.

Key concepts

Las vacacionesHolidays: a la playa (beach), a la montaña (mountains), al extranjero (abroad), de camping.
TransporteTransport: en coche, en tren, en avión, en barco, a pie, en autobús. 'en' for vehicles.
AlojamientoAccommodation: el hotel, el albergue (hostel), el camping, el apartamento, la pensión.
Ir a + infinitiveNear future: 'Voy a viajar a España' (I am going to travel to Spain). Voy/vas/va/vamos/vais/van + a + infinitive.
Pretérito imperfectoImperfect for descriptions in past: 'Hacía buen tiempo' (the weather was nice), 'Era genial' (it was great).
El tiempoWeather: hace sol (sunny), hace calor, hace frío, llueve (rains), nieva (snows).
Mis vacacionesHoliday vocabulary: pasé una semana en la costa (I spent a week on the coast), tomar el sol (to sunbathe), hacer turismo (to sightsee).
El alojamientoPlaces to stay: el hotel, el camping, una pensión (guesthouse), el albergue juvenil (youth hostel), reservar una habitación.
El tiempo en el pasadoDescribe past holiday weather with the imperfect: hacía sol, hacía buen tiempo; single events use the preterite: ayer llovió.
Mi regiónDescribe your area: 'Vivo en el norte de Irlanda', 'Mi ciudad está situada en la costa', las afueras, el paisaje (landscape).
Pretérito e imperfectoIn holiday accounts, the preterite reports completed events (visité, fui) while the imperfect sets the scene (era, había, hacía).
En la oficina de turismoTourist office phrases: un plano de la ciudad (a city map), un folleto (a leaflet), '¿A qué hora abre el museo?'
La familiaFamily vocab: los padres (parents), los hermanos (siblings), los abuelos (grandparents), los primos (cousins).
Las relacionesRelationships: 'Me llevo bien con...' (I get on well with...), 'Discuto con...' (I argue with...).

Common mistakes to avoid

Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:

Do 'ser' and 'estar' mean the same and swap freely?✗ Yes, they are interchangeable.   ✓ No — ser is for permanent/identity, estar for states and location.
Can you translate English into Spanish word-for-word?✗ Yes, it always works word-for-word.   ✓ No — word order and structures differ (adjectives usually follow the noun).

Practise Travel & Tourism — free games

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