CELPIP Vocabulary for Travel and Transportation

The Celpip Plus team

Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria

Updated October 4, 202613 min read

Travel & Transportation collocations for CELPIP

Getting around is a natural CELPIP topic, because commuting and trips fill so much of daily life in Canada. Writing Task 1 may ask you to email an airline about lost baggage, or a friend about picking you up at the airport. Writing Task 2 surveys often ask how a city should improve transit, for example with more buses or new bike lanes. In Speaking, Task 2, Talking about a Personal Experience, may ask about a trip that went wrong; Task 4, Making Predictions, often uses a scene at an airport or a busy street; and Task 5, Comparing and Persuading, may ask you to choose between two ways to travel. These collocations help you describe journeys, delays and commutes precisely.

Verb + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
book a flight	reserve a plane ticket in advance	I booked a flight to Vancouver two months before the trip.
catch a connection	get to a connecting flight on time	We had only forty minutes to catch our connection in Toronto.
board a plane	get on a plane before it leaves	Passengers began to board the plane at gate 12.
miss a flight (or bus or train)	arrive too late to get on	He missed his flight because the security line was so long.
check a bag	give a suitcase to the airline to carry in the hold	We checked one bag and carried the rest on board.
clear customs	pass through a customs inspection	It took nearly an hour to clear customs at the border.
hail a taxi	wave to a taxi so it stops for you	I hailed a taxi outside the train station.
take a detour	travel a longer route to avoid a problem	Road construction forced us to take a detour through downtown.
beat the traffic	avoid heavy traffic by leaving early	We left at dawn to beat the traffic on the 401.
renew a passport	replace a passport that is about to expire	I had to renew my passport before the trip to Korea.
reach a destination	arrive at the place you were travelling to	After a long drive, we finally reached our destination.
pack a suitcase	put clothes and belongings into a suitcase	She packed her suitcase the night before the flight.

Adjective + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
a scenic route	a road with attractive views	We took a scenic route along the coast instead of the highway.
heavy traffic	a lot of slow-moving vehicles	Heavy traffic on the bridge added forty minutes to our commute.
a bumpy flight	a flight with a lot of turbulence	It was a bumpy flight, so the crew kept the seatbelt sign on.
a direct flight	a flight with no stops	We paid extra for a direct flight to save time.
a crowded terminal	an airport building full of people	The crowded terminal made it hard to find our gate.
a tight connection	very little time between connecting flights	With only thirty minutes in Montreal, it was a tight connection.
a remote destination	a place far from cities and hard to reach	Haida Gwaii is a remote destination, reached by ferry or a small plane.
a reliable airline	an airline known for being on time	We booked with a reliable airline to avoid delays.
an overnight journey	a trip that lasts through the night	An overnight journey on the train meant we arrived by breakfast.
a budget hotel	an inexpensive place to stay	We stayed in a budget hotel near the station to save money.
an on-time departure	a departure that leaves as scheduled	The airline advertises on-time departures, but ours left an hour late.
a gridlocked intersection	an intersection where traffic cannot move	We sat at a gridlocked intersection for fifteen minutes.

Phrasal verbs

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
check in	register at an airport or hotel	We checked in two hours before the flight.
set off	begin a journey	We set off for the airport at 5 a.m.
pull over	stop a vehicle at the side of the road	The driver pulled over to check the map.
take off	(of a plane) leave the ground	The plane took off twenty minutes late.
touch down	(of a plane) land	We touched down in Calgary right on schedule.
hold up	delay someone or something	Heavy fog held up our flight for two hours.
drop someone off	take someone somewhere and leave them there	My brother dropped me off at the terminal.
pick someone up	collect someone from a place	She picked me up from the station at noon.
get around	travel from place to place in an area	It's easy to get around Montreal without a car.
head out	leave for somewhere	Let's head out early to avoid the crowds.
break down	(of a vehicle) stop working	Our rental car broke down halfway through the trip.
set out	begin a long trip, often with a goal	The hikers set out at sunrise for the summit.

Formal and spoken phrases for travel and transportation

These phrases belong to travel situations. Use the formal ones in Writing Task 1 emails to an airline, a hotel or a transit authority, or in a Writing Task 2 survey response about transit, and the spoken ones when you describe a trip or a commute in Speaking.

Formal phrases for Writing

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
my booking reference	the code that identifies a reservation	My booking reference is QX7R2L, and I was travelling on October 3.
rebook (someone) on the next available flight	move a passenger to a later flight	I asked the agent to rebook me on the next available flight.
request compensation	formally ask to be paid for a loss or a problem	I am writing to request compensation for the twelve-hour delay.
file a claim for lost baggage	formally report a missing bag	I filed a claim for lost baggage at the airport counter that evening.
service disruptions	interruptions to normal transit service	Frequent service disruptions on subway Line 1 have made me late for work.
a monthly transit pass	a ticket for unlimited rides for one month	A monthly transit pass costs less than parking downtown for a week.
commute times	how long it takes people to travel to work or school	A new express route would shorten commute times for thousands of residents.
more frequent service	buses or trains that come more often	More frequent service in the evening would help shift workers get home safely.

Spoken phrases for Speaking

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
I got stuck in traffic	traffic delayed me	Sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic on the bridge.
rush hour	the busy times when most people travel to or from work	I try never to drive downtown at rush hour.
a road trip	a long trip by car, usually for fun	We went on a road trip through the Rockies last summer.
catch the red-eye	take an overnight flight	I caught the red-eye from Vancouver and went straight to work.
the bus was packed	the bus was very full	The bus was packed, so I had to stand the whole way.
I missed my stop	I didn't get off the bus or train at the right place	I was reading and missed my stop, so I had to walk back.
carpool	share a car ride with others going the same way	Three of us carpool to work to save on gas.
jet-lagged	tired and confused after flying across time zones	I was so jet-lagged that I fell asleep at dinner.

Chunks such as "long story short" and "next thing I knew" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.

Worked examples

Writing Task 2: Improving bus service

Prompt: Your city has money to improve its bus system and is asking residents for their opinion. Choose the option you prefer and explain why.

Option A: Run buses more often on existing routes.
Option B: Create a new express bus route to the airport.

I would choose Option A, because it would help people who ride the bus every day, not just a few times a year.

Most residents use transit to get to work or school. On my route, buses come only every thirty minutes after 7 p.m., so if I miss one, I wait half an hour in the cold. More frequent service would cut commute times for thousands of people every single day, while an airport route would mainly help travellers.

Option A would also reduce heavy traffic. Many of my coworkers drive downtown because the bus is unreliable, and they sit at gridlocked intersections every morning. If a bus came every ten minutes, some of them would buy a monthly transit pass and leave the car at home.

I understand that an express bus would be convenient for people catching an early flight. However, travellers can still take a taxi or ask a friend to drop them off and pick them up later. Daily commuters have no such options.

For these reasons, I believe Option A would make the bigger difference.

The answer states its choice at once, supports it with two reasons from daily life, and then answers the main argument for Option B.

Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions

Prompt: The same picture you described in Task 3: a crowded departure gate at an airport, where the screen above the gate shows that the flight is delayed. Predict what will happen next.

I think the next half hour is going to be stressful for a lot of these passengers. The screen says the flight is delayed, so I predict the agent will announce that fog has held up the plane for at least an hour.

The businessman running toward the gate will probably arrive just in time to hear the news. He looks like he has a tight connection, so he'll likely go straight to the desk and ask to be rebooked on the next available flight.

The family near the window will probably head out to the food court to keep the kids busy. Meanwhile, the young woman asleep across three seats is going to sleep right through the announcement. When they finally start to board the plane, someone will have to wake her up so she doesn't miss her flight. In the end, I expect they'll all touch down late but safely.

The answer makes a prediction about each group of people in the scene and gives a reason based on what can be seen.

CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways

CLB 7 version: Our plane was late because of the weather, and we arrived in Calgary at midnight.

CLB 9 version: Fog held up our flight for two hours, so we didn't touch down in Calgary until midnight.

What changed: "was late because of the weather" became the phrasal verb "held up" with a specific cause, and "arrived" became "touch down", the usual verb for a plane landing.

Common mistakes

"I did a booking" → I made a booking, or simply I booked a flight.
"I lost my flight" or "I lost the bus" → I missed my flight or I missed the bus. "Lose" means you can't find something; you miss a flight, bus or train.
"We passed customs" → we cleared customs or we went through customs.
"There was big traffic" → there was heavy traffic or the traffic was bad.
"A shaky flight" → a bumpy flight. Turbulence makes a flight bumpy.
"The plane took place at 9 a.m." → the plane took off at 9 a.m. "Take place" means happen, and is used for events.
"We arrived down in Halifax" → we touched down in Halifax or we landed in Halifax.
"The fog held on our flight" → the fog held up our flight. "Hold on" means wait or grip something.
"Can you drop off me at the station?" → Can you drop me off at the station? When the object is a pronoun, it goes between the verb and the particle.
"We set up for the airport at 5 a.m." → we set off for the airport. "Set up" means arrange or install something.
"I travelled by my car" → I travelled by car or I drove my car. Use "by" with no article or possessive: by car, by bus, by train.
"I went there by foot" → I went there on foot, or I walked there.
"I got in the bus" → I got on the bus. You get on a bus, train or plane, but get in a car or taxi.
"My flight was delayed of two hours" → my flight was delayed by two hours, or my flight was two hours late.
"How was your travel?" → How was your trip? "Travel" is usually uncountable and general; a single journey is a trip.

Practise

Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
Writing Task 2 practice: answer a survey about transit or travel and use at least five collocations from this page.
Speaking Task 4 practice: predict what happens next at an airport or a bus stop using "held up", "a tight connection" and "touch down".

vocabulary

CELPIP Vocabulary for Travel and Transportation

The Celpip Plus team

Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria

Updated October 4, 202613 min read

Travel & Transportation collocations for CELPIP

Verb + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
book a flight	reserve a plane ticket in advance	I booked a flight to Vancouver two months before the trip.
catch a connection	get to a connecting flight on time	We had only forty minutes to catch our connection in Toronto.
board a plane	get on a plane before it leaves	Passengers began to board the plane at gate 12.
miss a flight (or bus or train)	arrive too late to get on	He missed his flight because the security line was so long.
check a bag	give a suitcase to the airline to carry in the hold	We checked one bag and carried the rest on board.
clear customs	pass through a customs inspection	It took nearly an hour to clear customs at the border.
hail a taxi	wave to a taxi so it stops for you	I hailed a taxi outside the train station.
take a detour	travel a longer route to avoid a problem	Road construction forced us to take a detour through downtown.
beat the traffic	avoid heavy traffic by leaving early	We left at dawn to beat the traffic on the 401.
renew a passport	replace a passport that is about to expire	I had to renew my passport before the trip to Korea.
reach a destination	arrive at the place you were travelling to	After a long drive, we finally reached our destination.
pack a suitcase	put clothes and belongings into a suitcase	She packed her suitcase the night before the flight.

Adjective + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
a scenic route	a road with attractive views	We took a scenic route along the coast instead of the highway.
heavy traffic	a lot of slow-moving vehicles	Heavy traffic on the bridge added forty minutes to our commute.
a bumpy flight	a flight with a lot of turbulence	It was a bumpy flight, so the crew kept the seatbelt sign on.
a direct flight	a flight with no stops	We paid extra for a direct flight to save time.
a crowded terminal	an airport building full of people	The crowded terminal made it hard to find our gate.
a tight connection	very little time between connecting flights	With only thirty minutes in Montreal, it was a tight connection.
a remote destination	a place far from cities and hard to reach	Haida Gwaii is a remote destination, reached by ferry or a small plane.
a reliable airline	an airline known for being on time	We booked with a reliable airline to avoid delays.
an overnight journey	a trip that lasts through the night	An overnight journey on the train meant we arrived by breakfast.
a budget hotel	an inexpensive place to stay	We stayed in a budget hotel near the station to save money.
an on-time departure	a departure that leaves as scheduled	The airline advertises on-time departures, but ours left an hour late.
a gridlocked intersection	an intersection where traffic cannot move	We sat at a gridlocked intersection for fifteen minutes.

Phrasal verbs

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
check in	register at an airport or hotel	We checked in two hours before the flight.
set off	begin a journey	We set off for the airport at 5 a.m.
pull over	stop a vehicle at the side of the road	The driver pulled over to check the map.
take off	(of a plane) leave the ground	The plane took off twenty minutes late.
touch down	(of a plane) land	We touched down in Calgary right on schedule.
hold up	delay someone or something	Heavy fog held up our flight for two hours.
drop someone off	take someone somewhere and leave them there	My brother dropped me off at the terminal.
pick someone up	collect someone from a place	She picked me up from the station at noon.
get around	travel from place to place in an area	It's easy to get around Montreal without a car.
head out	leave for somewhere	Let's head out early to avoid the crowds.
break down	(of a vehicle) stop working	Our rental car broke down halfway through the trip.
set out	begin a long trip, often with a goal	The hikers set out at sunrise for the summit.

Formal and spoken phrases for travel and transportation

Formal phrases for Writing

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
my booking reference	the code that identifies a reservation	My booking reference is QX7R2L, and I was travelling on October 3.
rebook (someone) on the next available flight	move a passenger to a later flight	I asked the agent to rebook me on the next available flight.
request compensation	formally ask to be paid for a loss or a problem	I am writing to request compensation for the twelve-hour delay.
file a claim for lost baggage	formally report a missing bag	I filed a claim for lost baggage at the airport counter that evening.
service disruptions	interruptions to normal transit service	Frequent service disruptions on subway Line 1 have made me late for work.
a monthly transit pass	a ticket for unlimited rides for one month	A monthly transit pass costs less than parking downtown for a week.
commute times	how long it takes people to travel to work or school	A new express route would shorten commute times for thousands of residents.
more frequent service	buses or trains that come more often	More frequent service in the evening would help shift workers get home safely.

Spoken phrases for Speaking

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
I got stuck in traffic	traffic delayed me	Sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic on the bridge.
rush hour	the busy times when most people travel to or from work	I try never to drive downtown at rush hour.
a road trip	a long trip by car, usually for fun	We went on a road trip through the Rockies last summer.
catch the red-eye	take an overnight flight	I caught the red-eye from Vancouver and went straight to work.
the bus was packed	the bus was very full	The bus was packed, so I had to stand the whole way.
I missed my stop	I didn't get off the bus or train at the right place	I was reading and missed my stop, so I had to walk back.
carpool	share a car ride with others going the same way	Three of us carpool to work to save on gas.
jet-lagged	tired and confused after flying across time zones	I was so jet-lagged that I fell asleep at dinner.

Chunks such as "long story short" and "next thing I knew" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.

Worked examples

Writing Task 2: Improving bus service

Prompt: Your city has money to improve its bus system and is asking residents for their opinion. Choose the option you prefer and explain why.

Option A: Run buses more often on existing routes.
Option B: Create a new express bus route to the airport.

I would choose Option A, because it would help people who ride the bus every day, not just a few times a year.

Most residents use transit to get to work or school. On my route, buses come only every thirty minutes after 7 p.m., so if I miss one, I wait half an hour in the cold. More frequent service would cut commute times for thousands of people every single day, while an airport route would mainly help travellers.

Option A would also reduce heavy traffic. Many of my coworkers drive downtown because the bus is unreliable, and they sit at gridlocked intersections every morning. If a bus came every ten minutes, some of them would buy a monthly transit pass and leave the car at home.

I understand that an express bus would be convenient for people catching an early flight. However, travellers can still take a taxi or ask a friend to drop them off and pick them up later. Daily commuters have no such options.

For these reasons, I believe Option A would make the bigger difference.

The answer states its choice at once, supports it with two reasons from daily life, and then answers the main argument for Option B.

Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions

Prompt: The same picture you described in Task 3: a crowded departure gate at an airport, where the screen above the gate shows that the flight is delayed. Predict what will happen next.

I think the next half hour is going to be stressful for a lot of these passengers. The screen says the flight is delayed, so I predict the agent will announce that fog has held up the plane for at least an hour.

The businessman running toward the gate will probably arrive just in time to hear the news. He looks like he has a tight connection, so he'll likely go straight to the desk and ask to be rebooked on the next available flight.

The family near the window will probably head out to the food court to keep the kids busy. Meanwhile, the young woman asleep across three seats is going to sleep right through the announcement. When they finally start to board the plane, someone will have to wake her up so she doesn't miss her flight. In the end, I expect they'll all touch down late but safely.

The answer makes a prediction about each group of people in the scene and gives a reason based on what can be seen.

CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways

CLB 7 version: Our plane was late because of the weather, and we arrived in Calgary at midnight.

CLB 9 version: Fog held up our flight for two hours, so we didn't touch down in Calgary until midnight.

What changed: "was late because of the weather" became the phrasal verb "held up" with a specific cause, and "arrived" became "touch down", the usual verb for a plane landing.

Common mistakes

"I did a booking" → I made a booking, or simply I booked a flight.
"I lost my flight" or "I lost the bus" → I missed my flight or I missed the bus. "Lose" means you can't find something; you miss a flight, bus or train.
"We passed customs" → we cleared customs or we went through customs.
"There was big traffic" → there was heavy traffic or the traffic was bad.
"A shaky flight" → a bumpy flight. Turbulence makes a flight bumpy.
"The plane took place at 9 a.m." → the plane took off at 9 a.m. "Take place" means happen, and is used for events.
"We arrived down in Halifax" → we touched down in Halifax or we landed in Halifax.
"The fog held on our flight" → the fog held up our flight. "Hold on" means wait or grip something.
"Can you drop off me at the station?" → Can you drop me off at the station? When the object is a pronoun, it goes between the verb and the particle.
"We set up for the airport at 5 a.m." → we set off for the airport. "Set up" means arrange or install something.
"I travelled by my car" → I travelled by car or I drove my car. Use "by" with no article or possessive: by car, by bus, by train.
"I went there by foot" → I went there on foot, or I walked there.
"I got in the bus" → I got on the bus. You get on a bus, train or plane, but get in a car or taxi.
"My flight was delayed of two hours" → my flight was delayed by two hours, or my flight was two hours late.
"How was your travel?" → How was your trip? "Travel" is usually uncountable and general; a single journey is a trip.

Practise

Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
Writing Task 2 practice: answer a survey about transit or travel and use at least five collocations from this page.
Speaking Task 4 practice: predict what happens next at an airport or a bus stop using "held up", "a tight connection" and "touch down".