Describe a place you'd like to visit in your free time
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Describe a place you'd like to visit in your free time
You should say:
- where it is
- what you will do there
- how long you will stay there
- why you'd like to visit it
Sample answer
A place I've long dreamed of visiting in my free time is Cappadocia, a truly magical region located in central Turkey. I first came across it while scrolling through travel photos online, and its surreal, otherworldly landscape immediately captured my imagination, so it has been near the top of my travel wish list ever since.
Cappadocia is famous for its unique rock formations, often called 'fairy chimneys', as well as its ancient cave dwellings carved into the soft volcanic rock. If I ever get the chance to go, there are several things I'd love to do. The highlight would undoubtedly be taking a hot-air balloon ride at sunrise, drifting silently above the valleys while hundreds of other colourful balloons fill the sky. Besides that, I'd like to explore the ancient cave churches, wander through the historic villages, and perhaps even spend a night in one of the region's charming cave hotels, which would be a novelty in itself.
I imagine I'd stay there for about four or five days, which would give me enough time to see the main attractions without feeling rushed and to soak up the peaceful atmosphere at a leisurely pace.
The main reason I'm so keen to visit is that Cappadocia offers a combination of natural beauty, rich history and adventure that I find irresistible. As someone who lives in a busy city, I'm drawn to its tranquillity and its almost fairy-tale scenery, which feels like something from another planet. On top of that, I'm fascinated by its history and would love to learn how people lived in those extraordinary underground settlements centuries ago. For all these reasons, Cappadocia is a place I genuinely hope to visit one day, and I'm sure it would be an unforgettable trip.
292 words — roughly 2–3 minutes at a natural speaking pace.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 2 answer sounds like. What it cannot tell you is how yours sounds — whether you hesitate, repeat the question back, or run out of things to say at forty seconds.
You can record an answer to this exact question and get it marked on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and pronunciation — the same four criteria the examiner uses.
Common questions
How long should I speak for in Part 2?
Between one and two minutes. The examiner stops you at two, so aim to still be talking at the ninety-second mark rather than finishing early — running out at forty seconds is the most common problem in this part.
What do I do with the one minute of preparation time?
You get one minute and a pencil and paper. Most candidates waste it writing full sentences they then read aloud, which sounds flat. Note a few keywords against each bullet instead, so you have four things to say and can speak naturally from them.
Do I have to cover all four bullet points?
They are prompts, not a checklist, and you are not penalised for skipping one. In practice they are the easiest way to fill two minutes, so covering them is usually the simplest way to keep going.
Does it matter if the story is not true?
No. You are assessed on your English, not on whether the events happened. Inventing detail is fine and often easier than recalling a real memory under pressure.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.