Describe a Memorable Trip You Took
A Band 8 model answer for the IELTS Part 2 cue card 'Describe a memorable trip or journey', showing how to make a travel story vivid rather than a flat itinerary, with Part 3 questions.
Cue Card
Describe a memorable trip or journey you took.
You should say:
- where you went
- who you went with
- what you did there
And explain why this trip was so memorable.
Travel cue cards are deceptively hard because they tempt you into reciting an itinerary: 'first we went here, then we went there, then we ate this.' That's the fastest way to sound flat. The memorable trips, in real life and in IELTS, are remembered for a moment or a feeling, not a schedule. The best answers zoom in on one thing.
Below is a model answer around Band 8. Notice that it spends most of its time on a single unexpected moment rather than trying to cover the whole trip — that focus is what makes it feel real.
Model Answer
Band 8The most memorable trip I've ever taken was a fairly last-minute trip to the mountains with two close friends, maybe three years ago. We hadn't planned it carefully at all — we just decided one Friday that we needed to get out of the city, booked a tiny guesthouse, and left the next morning.
It was the three of us, all of us in our mid-twenties and all pretty burnt out from work, which is partly why it meant so much. We did the usual things you'd expect — hiking during the day, cooking terrible meals in the evening, that sort of thing — but the moment I actually remember most clearly had nothing to do with any of that.
On the second night there was a power cut across the whole valley. At first we were a bit annoyed, but then we went outside, and because there was suddenly no light pollution at all, the sky was absolutely covered in stars — more than I'd ever seen in my life. We just lay on the grass for what must have been an hour, completely silent, occasionally pointing things out. None of us said anything profound; we just looked.
I think the reason it stuck with me so strongly is that it was a complete accident. We'd planned this whole trip and the best part of it was the one thing nobody could have arranged. It taught me that the most meaningful experiences often can't be scheduled — they just happen when you put yourself in the right place and stay open to them. Whenever life feels too planned now, I think back to that power cut and remind myself to leave room for accidents.
Why This Answer Works
- It zooms in on one moment. Instead of narrating the whole trip, the answer gives a single vivid scene — the power cut and the stars — and lets it carry the emotional weight. One strong image beats a complete itinerary.
- It earns its ending. The reflection about meaningful experiences being unplannable grows directly out of the story, so it feels genuine rather than bolted on. The story and the lesson fit together.
- The understatement is sophisticated. 'None of us said anything profound; we just looked' is more powerful than overselling the moment, and that restraint reads as natural, confident English.
- It uses the bullet points but isn't ruled by them. Where, who, and what are all covered quickly, freeing up time for the part that actually matters — which is exactly how a fluent speaker handles a cue card.
Key Phrases to Steal
“we needed to get out of the city”
Natural, idiomatic phrasing instead of 'we wanted to travel'.
“burnt out from work”
A common collocation that adds emotional context efficiently.
“the sky was absolutely covered in stars”
Simple but vivid — sometimes plain language, well chosen, scores best.
“the best part of it was the one thing nobody could have arranged”
A neatly balanced sentence that frames the whole reflection.
“leave room for accidents”
A memorable closing phrase that turns the story into a small philosophy.
Part 3 Follow-Up Questions
Why do people enjoy travelling?
I think it comes down to a few things, but the deepest one is probably escape — not just from a place, but from your routine and your usual version of yourself. When you travel, the ordinary rules of your life are suspended, and a lot of people find they're more curious, more open, even braver than they are at home. There's also the simple pleasure of novelty; our brains are wired to pay closer attention to unfamiliar things, which is why a single week abroad can feel longer and richer than a month of ordinary life.
Has the way people travel changed in recent years?
Hugely, and not entirely for the better, in my view. On the positive side, travel is more accessible and easier to organise than it's ever been — you can plan an entire trip from your phone in minutes. But I think the rise of social media has changed the motivation behind it. A lot of people now travel to collect photographs rather than experiences, ticking off famous spots for the sake of posting them. So we travel more, but I'm not sure we always travel more meaningfully.
Is it better to travel alone or with other people?
Honestly, I think they offer completely different things, so it's not really a fair comparison. Travelling with people gives you shared memories — experiences are amplified when there's someone to turn to and say 'did you see that?'. Travelling alone, on the other hand, forces a kind of self-reliance and openness to strangers that's genuinely transformative; you tend to come back changed in a way you rarely do from a group trip. Ideally I think everyone should try both at some point, because they teach you different things.
Now Try It Out Loud
Reading a model answer is one thing — saying it under pressure is another. Practise this exact cue card with our AI examiner and get instant band-score feedback.