Quick Summary
- Phrasal verbs such as check in, get off, pick up and check out are common in everyday travel English.
- Learn them by situation, for example airports, hotels and travel problems, rather than as one long vocabulary list.
- Pay attention to small differences such as get on a train but get in a taxi.
- Practise complete sentences so you learn both the meaning and the correct word order.
- Knowing 20 to 30 common travel phrasal verbs well is more useful than vaguely recognising a much longer list.
- Phrasal verbs also matter in Cambridge English exams, from common everyday expressions at A2 and B1 to a much wider and more flexible range at B2, C1 and C2.
You arrive at an airport and hear, “You can check in over there.” Later, someone tells you where to get off the bus, asks who is picking you up, or explains that your flight has been held up.
None of the individual words is particularly difficult. The problem is that the meaning of a phrasal verb is not always obvious from the verb and particle on their own.
For travellers and those preparing Cambridge exams alike, learning a relatively small group of common phrasal verbs can make spoken English considerably easier to understand. They appear constantly at airports, on public transport, in hotels and whenever something goes wrong.
Why phrasal verbs are useful when travelling
Native speakers use phrasal verbs without thinking about them.
A taxi driver might ask:
“Where should I drop you off?”
A hotel receptionist might say:
“What time are you checking out tomorrow?”
A colleague on a business trip may tell you:
“I’ll pick you up from the hotel at eight.”
You could express some of these ideas using verbs such as collect, depart or leave, but the phrasal verbs are often what you will actually hear.
This can cause problems even for learners with quite a good level of English. Someone may know both pick and up, for example, but still hesitate when they hear:
“Who’s picking you up?”
In this situation, pick up means to collect somebody, usually in a vehicle. It is better to learn the two words as one expression rather than trying to translate each word separately.
Some phrasal verbs can also be separated:
- I’ll pick up Sarah at the airport.
- I’ll pick Sarah up at the airport.
- I’ll pick her up at the airport.
With a pronoun such as her, it normally goes between the verb and the particle.
This is one reason why learning complete sentences is usually more useful than memorising lists of verbs and definitions.
Phrasal verbs for airports and transport
Transport is a good place to start because the same expressions occur repeatedly.
Check in
Check in means to register before a flight.
“We need to check in two hours before departure.”
You will also see check-in used as a noun:
“Where is the check-in desk?”
Take off
When an aircraft takes off, it leaves the ground.
“Our flight is due to take off at 14:20.”
The opposite is normally simply land.
“We should land in Madrid at about six.”
Get on and get off
Use get on and get off for buses, trains and planes.
“We get on the train at King’s Cross.”
“Get off at the third stop.”
Cars and taxis normally work differently. We get in and get out of them.
Compare:
- get on a bus
- get off a plane
- get in a taxi
- get out of a car
These small differences are easy to forget if you only learn vocabulary lists. They become much easier when you practise them in realistic situations.
Pick up
To pick somebody up means to collect them, usually in a vehicle.
“The company is sending a driver to pick me up from the airport.”
This is particularly common on business trips, when a colleague, client or hotel transfer may be meeting you.
You can also pick up an object:
“I need to pick up my hire car.”
Drop off
Drop off is often the opposite of pick up.
“Could you drop me off outside the conference centre?”
A taxi driver may also ask:
“Where would you like me to drop you off?”
Set off
To set off means to begin a journey.
“We’re setting off early to avoid the traffic.”
You could simply say leave, but set off is very common when talking about journeys.
See someone off
To see somebody off means to go with them to an airport, station or similar place when they are leaving.
“Her family came to the station to see her off.”
Get around
To get around means to travel from place to place within an area.
“What’s the easiest way to get around London?”
This is a useful question when you arrive somewhere unfamiliar and need information about buses, trains, taxis or walking.
Phrasal verbs for hotels and accommodation
Hotels use several of the same expressions repeatedly.
Check in
At a hotel, check in means to register when you arrive.
“Can we check in early?”
The same phrasal verb is used at an airport, although the process itself is obviously different.
Check out
To check out means to complete the formalities when leaving a hotel.
“We have to check out by 11.”
You may also hear:
“What time is check-out?”
Settle in
To settle in means to begin feeling comfortable in a new place.
A colleague might say:
“Go and settle in. We can meet downstairs in half an hour.”
It is useful after arriving at a hotel, apartment or holiday accommodation.
Wake up
Wake up is a basic phrasal verb, but an important one when you have an early departure or meeting.
“I need to wake up at six for my flight.”
At a hotel, you might ask:
“Can I arrange a wake-up call for 6:30?”
Clean up
To clean up means to make something clean or tidy.
If you spill something in your hotel room, for example:
“Could someone come and clean this up?”
Book up
If a hotel, flight or restaurant is booked up, all the available places have been reserved.
“Most of the hotels are booked up during the festival.”
Learners sometimes understand book immediately but are less familiar with booked up. In practical terms, it means there is no availability.
Phrasal verbs for problems and complaints
Travel does not always go according to plan. This is when several other phrasal verbs become particularly useful.
Break down
If a vehicle or machine breaks down, it stops working.
“Our hire car broke down on the motorway.”
The expression can also be used for equipment:
“The lift has broken down.”
Hold up
To hold somebody or something up means to delay them.
“Our flight was held up for two hours.”
You might also phone somebody who is waiting for you and say:
“Sorry I’m late. I got held up at the airport.”
Run out of
To run out of something means to use all of it so that none remains.
“We’ve run out of petrol.”
You could also hear:
“They’ve run out of hire cars.”
The structure is run out of + noun.
Leave behind
To leave something behind means to accidentally leave it somewhere.
“I think I left my phone behind in the taxi.”
This is a common situation where a learner may understand every individual word but not immediately recognise the expression.
Turn up
To turn up means to arrive or appear.
“The airport transfer never turned up.”
It can also be used when somebody eventually arrives:
“He turned up about twenty minutes later.”
Mix up
To mix things up means to confuse them.
“The hotel mixed up our reservation.”
You can also say:
“They mixed the dates up.”
This is another separable phrasal verb.
Sort out
To sort something out means to solve or organise a problem.
“Could you help me sort this out?”
It is particularly useful when travelling because the exact problem does not need to be specified in the expression. You can sort out a booking, a payment problem, missing luggage or an incorrect room.
Get through
To get through means to successfully make telephone contact.
“I’ve been trying to call the airline, but I can’t get through.”
This is useful when dealing with airlines, hotels, car hire companies and customer service departments.
How to practise them before a trip or an exam
Trying to memorise a list of fifty phrasal verbs a few days before travelling is unlikely to work particularly well.
Group them around situations instead.
Imagine the beginning of a trip:
- You set off for the airport.
- Someone drops you off outside the terminal.
- You check in.
- You get on the plane.
- The plane takes off.
- At your destination, someone picks you up.
- You check in at your hotel.
- You settle in.
The verbs are easier to remember because they form part of a sequence rather than an unrelated vocabulary list.
You can use the same method for problems:
“My flight was held up, the airport transfer didn’t turn up, and I couldn’t get through to the hotel.”
That one short situation practises three expressions you might genuinely hear or need to use.
Role plays are also useful. Practise situations such as:
- checking into a hotel
- asking where to get off a bus
- arranging for someone to pick you up
- explaining that your hire car has broken down
- dealing with a reservation that has been mixed up
- phoning a colleague because your flight has been held up
There is little benefit in trying to learn every travel-related phrasal verb.
For most holidays or short business trips, confidently recognising and using 20 to 30 common expressions is much more useful than memorising 100 definitions that disappear as soon as the exercise is finished.
Phrasal Verbs for Cambridge English Exams
Phrasal verbs are also worth learning if you are preparing for a Cambridge English exam. At A2 Key, students may meet common expressions such as get up, go out or look for in reading and listening tasks. At B1 Preliminary, verbs such as find out, give up or look after become more common and may also appear in speaking and writing. By B2 First, candidates are expected to handle a much wider range, including expressions such as put off, carry on, turn down and work out, particularly in Reading and Use of English. At C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, phrasal verbs are part of the wider lexical range expected of strong candidates, including less predictable combinations and differences in register. The higher the level, the less useful it is to learn them as isolated lists. You need to understand how they behave in context and be able to use the most common ones naturally.
Key Takeaways
Travel phrasal verbs are worth learning because they appear constantly in the English people actually use at airports, hotels, stations and during everyday journeys. Start with practical expressions such as check in, get on, get off, pick up, drop off, take off, check out, hold up and sort out.
Learn them in situations rather than as isolated vocabulary. A short story about travelling to an airport or dealing with a hotel problem is easier to remember than a page of definitions. Saying the examples aloud also matters, because recognising a phrasal verb on paper does not mean you will immediately understand it in conversation.
If you have a holiday or business trip coming up, private classes can focus on the specific conversations and situations you are most likely to face. If you are preparing for a Cambridge English exam, practise phrasal verbs in context because they become increasingly important for reading, listening, writing and speaking as you move up the levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to use phrasal verbs myself, or is understanding them enough?
Understanding them should come first. If you immediately recognise expressions such as get off, check in, pick up and hold up, everyday travel conversations become much easier. It is also worth learning to use the most common ones yourself because they are often the natural way to express an idea in spoken English. Start with the expressions you are most likely to need rather than trying to use phrasal verbs everywhere.
Can I use phrasal verbs on a business trip?
Yes. Common phrasal verbs are completely normal in professional spoken English. Saying that your flight was held up, asking where a colleague will pick you up, or explaining that you need to check out before a meeting does not sound informal or unprofessional. In formal written communication you may sometimes choose a more precise single-word verb, but everyday business conversation contains plenty of phrasal verbs.
What is the difference between “get on” and “get in”?
Normally, use get on for buses, trains and planes, and get in for cars and taxis. The corresponding expressions are get off a bus or plane and get out of a car or taxi.
For example:
“I got on the train at Oxford.”
“I got in a taxi outside the station.”
Learning these as complete combinations is easier than trying to remember an abstract grammar rule.
Why can some phrasal verbs be separated?
Some phrasal verbs allow the object to appear between the verb and the particle. Both pick up John and pick John up are possible. With a pronoun, however, you normally need to separate the verb: pick him up, not pick up him. The easiest way to become comfortable with this is to learn common verbs through complete sentences rather than memorising the rule in isolation.
How many travel phrasal verbs should I learn before a trip?
There is no useful fixed number, but around 20 to 30 carefully chosen expressions will cover many common situations. Choose them according to the trip you are taking. Someone travelling around by train will probably need get on, get off, set off and get around. Someone travelling for work may use pick up, drop off, check in, check out and hold up more frequently.
Should I translate phrasal verbs into my own language?
Translation can help you understand the initial meaning, but try not to depend on it. Many phrasal verbs have several meanings, and there is not always an exact equivalent in another language. It is usually more effective to connect the expression directly with a situation. Think of pick someone up, for example, as the action of collecting someone from an airport rather than as two separate words that need translating.
