Describing holiday activities in Spanish

• Use the impersonal verbhay to talk about about things to do on holiday.

• Use prepositions of place to describe where something is in relation to somewhere else.

• Build up vocabulary on sightseeing, culture and food to talk about what to do on holiday.

• This guide contains reading and listening practice.

Useful vocabulary for describing places of interest includes:

For example:

La ciudad tiene un antiguo castillo y una sinagoga. – The town has an ancient castle and a synagogue.

En la plaza hay una iglesia enfrente del templo. – In the square there is a church opposite the temple.

Useful vocabulary for talking about landscape features includes:

For example:

Hay un pequeño bosque cerca del hotel – There’s a small wood near the hotel

Hay un gran lago donde se puede nadar – There’s a big lake where you can swim

Impersonal verbs in English include verbs such as ‘one does’ or ‘one goes’. Although these sound very formal in English, they are used a lot more commonly in Spanish.

The most common impersonal verb in Spanish is hay which means ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.

For example:

Hay un museo de música en la ciudad. - There’s a music museum in the city.

Hay que followed by the infinitive is an impersonal way of saying ‘One has to do something’.

For example:

Hay que visitar el Prado en Madrid. . One has to visit the Prado in Madrid.

To turn any Spanish verb into an impersonal verb, use the pronoun se and the he/she form of the verb.

For example:

Se necesitan euros en España. - One needs euros in Spain.

If there is a subject in the sentence, use the singular verb ending (the he/she ending) for a single subject, and the ‘they’ verb ending for plural subjects.

For example:

Se ve el mar desde el hotel. - You can see the sea from the hotel.

Las tiendas se abren a las nueve. - The shop opens at nine.

The following modal verbs often are used with the impersonal se:

• se puede – one can

• se debe – one must

• se necesita – one needs

For example:

Se puede ir al mercado. - One can go to the market.

Se debe ver el castillo. - One must see the castle.

Se necesita mucho dinero comprar recuerdos. - One needs lots of money to buy souvenirs.

Find out more about impersonal verbs in the Impersonal verbs in Spanish guide.

Read this leaflet advertising day trips from Benidorm.

Viajes González - Excursiones turísticas desde Benidorm

1. Excursión en autocar a Valencia - Valencia tiene muchos monumentos históricos como la catedral, además de los famosos edificios modernos de la Ciudad de los Artes y las Ciencias. La visita incluye también entrada gratis al museo de las Fallas.

2. Excursión en autocar a Guadalest - Visita uno de los pueblos más antiguos e históricos de España con su increíble castillo. El pueblo está situado en una región rica en cultura tradicional y tiene vistas preciosas a la montaña.

3. Excursión al parque temático (El Mundo de los Dinosaurios) - Pasa un día en este parque exótico con más de 30 modelos de tamaño real de estos animales prehistóricos. Hay también parque infantil, zona de picnic y un cine 3-D.

4. Paseo marítimo a la Isla de Benidorm - Un viaje tranquilo en barco hasta la isla, donde hay servicio de bar/restaurante. Desde la isla se pueden disfrutar de las magníficas vistas a toda la costa.

Now read what sort of trip these people are looking for and decide on the best excursion for each person.

Useful verbs to describe what you like to do on holiday:

For example:

Nos lo pasamos bien en España. – We had a good time in Spain.

Siempre compro muchos recuerdos cuando estoy de vacaciones. – I always buy a lot of souvenirs when I’m on holiday.

Prefiero tomar el sol y leer cerca de la piscina. – I prefer sunbathing and reading by the pool.

A mi madre le gusta probar comida típica. – My mother likes eating typical food.

Normalmente vamos a un parque temático. – Normally we go to a theme park.

Useful phrases to describe what you eat and drink on holiday include:

A mi padre le gusta beber vino por las noches. - My dad likes to drink wine at night.

Me encanta el pollo pero odio el pescado. - I love chicken but I hate fish.

Cuando estoy de vacaciones en España pruebo la paella, el pescado y el pollo. - When I’m on holiday in Spain I try paella, fish and chicken.

Para la comida como una sopa o una ensalada de tomate. – For lunch I eat soup or a tomato salad.

Para la cena tomo huevos o pescado pero nunca tomo carne. – For dinner I have eggs or fish but I never have meat.

Prefiero comer un bocadillo de queso o de jamón. – I prefer eating a cheese or ham sandwich.

Other useful vocabulary to describe typical food and drink that you might eat on holiday includes:

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Prepositions are words used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They act to connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence.

Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns.

Common prepositions of place in Spanish include:

For example:

El castillo está enfrente del puerto. - The castle is opposite the port.

El museo está al lado de la piscina. - The museum is next to the swimming pool.

El campo de fútbol está detrás del mercado. - The football pitch is behind the market.

How to say 'in' and 'inside'

En means ‘in’ and dentro de means 'inside'. For example:

• en Leeds - in Leeds

• dentro de la caja - inside the box

The verb entrar (to go in) is normally followed by en. For example:

Entro en la tienda. - I enter the shop.

Prepositions with 'de' followed by a masculine noun

Several prepositions are followed by de and then the definite article (el/la/los/las) and the noun.

However if the preposition followed by de is then followed by a masculine singular noun, de + el contract to become del:

The preposition 'a' followed by a masculine noun

The preposition of time and place a, also contracts when followed by a masculine singular noun to become al:

Find out more about using prepositions of place in the Prepositions of place and time in Spanish guide.

Listen to these students talk about their holidays on a podcast and complete the table. The first recording has been completed as an example.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about holiday activities.

Useful vocabulary includes:

For example:

Hay un gran lago donde se puede nadar. - There’s a big lake where you can swim.

Durante mis vacaciones me divierto mucho. - during my holidays I have a good time.

All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Parece que is an impersonal verb that means ‘it seems that’.

For example:

Parece que es interesante. - It seems to be interesting.

Vale la pena means ‘it’s worth it’.

For example:

Ir a Perú es caro pero vale la pena. – It’s expensive to go to Peru but it is worth it.

Vale la pena followed by the infinitive means ‘it’s worth doing something’.

For exmaple:

Vale la pena visitar Chichen Itza en México. – It’s worth visiting Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when talking about holiday activities.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about holiday activities, why not have a look at the Holiday destinations in Spanish guide?