MockoHolidays and travel plans are one of the most common topics in B1 French exams. TEF tasks ask you to understand a conversation about trip preferences, follow a dialogue at a tourist office, or write a short message to a friend explaining your holiday plans. The challenge is not finding words for "beach" or "mountain" but having the precise language to describe the type of trip, the accommodation, the activities, and the decisions involved. This lesson gives you that language in context.
What you’ll learn
- Describe different types of holidays and travel preferences in French
- Use vocabulary for accommodation, transport, and activities on a trip
- Discuss holiday decisions: budget, duration, destination, companions
- Write or say a short account of holiday plans using accurate, varied vocabulary
Types of holidays
TEF texts often ask you to identify the type of holiday a person prefers or is describing. These are the main categories.
- les vacances à la mer: beach holiday
- les vacances à la montagne: mountain holiday
- les vacances à la campagne: countryside holiday
- un séjour à l'étranger: a trip abroad
- un voyage organisé: a package tour / organised trip
- un circuit: a tour (visiting several places)
- un city break: a short urban getaway
- le camping: camping
- le tourisme vert / l'écotourisme: eco-tourism, green tourism
- les vacances en famille / entre amis: family / friends holiday
- un voyage en solitaire: a solo trip
- une croisière: a cruise
Cette année, ils ont opté pour un circuit de deux semaines au Portugal plutôt qu'un voyage organisé tout compris à la mer.
This year they chose a two-week touring trip around Portugal rather than an all-inclusive package at the seaside.
Accommodation
Where you stay is a central part of any holiday discussion. Exam texts range from a hotel booking dialogue to a reading passage comparing accommodation types.
- l'hôtel (m): hotel (une chambre d'hôtel: a hotel room)
- un hôtel tout compris / all inclusive: all-inclusive hotel
- la chambre d'hôtes: bed and breakfast (in a private home)
- le gîte: self-catering holiday cottage
- l'auberge de jeunesse (f): youth hostel
- le camping / le terrain de camping: campsite
- la location de vacances: holiday rental
- Airbnb / la location entre particuliers: private rental (peer-to-peer)
- réserver: to book
- la réservation: booking
- annuler une réservation: to cancel a booking
- la nuitée: one night's accommodation
- la pension complète: full board
- la demi-pension: half board
Nous avons loué un gîte en Provence pour dix jours. C'est moins cher que l'hôtel et on a plus de liberté pour les repas.
We rented a self-catering cottage in Provence for ten days. It is cheaper than a hotel and we have more freedom for meals.
Gîte vs. chambre d'hôtes
- A gîte is a self-catering property you rent alone (you bring your own food). A chambre d'hôtes is more like a B&B: you stay in someone's home and they provide breakfast. TEF reading tasks occasionally ask you to identify which type of accommodation is being described.
Activities and what to do on holiday
Describing holiday activities is essential for speaking tasks and often tested in listening dialogues.
- se reposer / se détendre: to rest / to relax
- se baigner: to swim (in the sea or a pool)
- faire de la randonnée: to go hiking
- visiter des monuments: to visit monuments
- faire du tourisme: to sightsee, to be a tourist
- faire une excursion: to go on a day trip, an excursion
- bronzer: to sunbathe
- se promener: to go for a walk
- goûter la cuisine locale: to try local food
- découvrir la culture: to discover the culture
- faire des achats / du shopping: to go shopping
- profiter du beau temps: to enjoy the good weather
Pendant les vacances, j'aime alterner entre la randonnée en montagne le matin et me détendre au bord d'une rivière l'après-midi.
On holiday, I like to alternate between hiking in the mountains in the morning and relaxing by a river in the afternoon.
Making decisions about holidays
TEF oral tasks frequently involve a discussion about choosing or planning a holiday. This vocabulary lets you talk about decisions, budgets, and priorities.
- le budget: budget
- les dépenses: expenses, spending
- les frais de voyage: travel costs
- économiser: to save money
- voyager à petit budget: to travel on a tight budget
- le bon rapport qualité-prix: good value for money
- choisir une destination: to choose a destination
- tenir compte de: to take into account
- avoir envie de: to feel like (doing something), to want to
- préférer: to prefer
- dépendre de: to depend on
Cette décision dépend surtout de notre budget. Si on peut économiser un peu d'ici là, on aura envie de partir à l'étranger. Sinon, on restera en France.
This decision depends mainly on our budget. If we can save a little by then, we will want to go abroad. Otherwise, we will stay in France.
Useful sentence frames for holiday tasks
These frames work directly in a speaking prompt about holiday plans or preferences.
- Cette année, j'ai l'intention de... (This year, I plan to...)
- En général, je préfère les vacances à la... plutôt qu'à la... (I generally prefer... holidays over...)
- Ce qui me plaît dans ce type de vacances, c'est... (What I like about this type of holiday is...)
- Pour organiser le voyage, il faut d'abord... (To organise the trip, you first need to...)
- Le plus important pour moi, c'est le rapport qualité-prix / la tranquillité / la découverte. (The most important thing for me is value for money / peace and quiet / discovery.)
En général, je préfère les vacances à la montagne plutôt qu'à la mer. Ce qui me plaît, c'est la randonnée et la tranquillité. Cette année, j'ai l'intention de louer un gîte dans les Alpes.
I generally prefer mountain holidays over beach holidays. What I like is hiking and peace and quiet. This year I plan to rent a cottage in the Alps.
How to practise this
Practice ideas for holiday vocabulary
- Speak for two minutes about your ideal holiday. Use the sentence frames above as a structure. Record yourself and check that you used at least one word from each vocabulary group in this lesson.
- Browse a French booking platform (comme Gîtes de France or Booking.com in French). Read three property descriptions. Identify the accommodation type, the activities mentioned, and the price. All the vocabulary in sections two and three will appear in real descriptions.
- Write a short message to a French-speaking friend (50 to 70 words) explaining your holiday plans: where you are going, how long, what type of accommodation, and two main activities. This is exactly the format of a TEF writing task.
Key takeaways
- Knowing the difference between un gîte (self-catering), une chambre d'hôtes (B&B), and un voyage organisé (package tour) matters for comprehension questions.
- Activity vocabulary (se reposer, faire de la randonnée, visiter, goûter) is essential for describing or understanding someone's holiday.
- Budget and decision language (tenir compte de, dépendre de, avoir envie de) lets you follow or produce a natural holiday planning conversation.
- The sentence frames in section five work immediately in an oral or written task without needing any preparation.
- Alternating between two activity types is a natural way to extend a speaking answer and show range of vocabulary.
