IELTS Speaking Part 3: Holidays
4 Part 3 discussion questions on holidays, with developed sample answers of the kind Part 3 expects.
What do you need to do before you travel?
The first priority is the paperwork, because that's the part capable of derailing the trip entirely. You need to check your passport still has enough validity left, apply for a visa well ahead of time rather than a week before, buy insurance, and make sure your bank knows you'll be spending abroad so the card doesn't get frozen at the airport. I'd also keep photographs of every document on my phone, since replacing them abroad is an absolute nightmare. After that, it's about preparing for the destination itself rather than the journey. Reading up on the weather, the local transport, the prices and what's considered rude saves an enormous amount of confusion in the first couple of days, and it shapes what you pack. There's usually something to sort out at home too, like asking a neighbour to water the plants. Get the documents right first, and everything after that is really just organisation, which is far less likely to go badly wrong at the last minute.
What preparations should people make before going on holiday?
Booking ahead is where most of the value lies, because prices and availability both drift against you the longer you dither. Securing flights and accommodation early usually saves a substantial sum, and it lets you settle near the things you actually want to see rather than accepting whatever's left. It's worth setting a realistic budget at that stage too, since holidays tend to run around a third over what people expect once meals and taxis are tallied up. The preparation people neglect is getting themselves ready rather than the trip. Wrapping up work properly so nobody calls you, sorting out any vaccinations or medication you'll need, and drafting an itinerary loose enough to allow a lazy day all make the difference between a genuine break and an exhausting rush. I've seen friends come home drained because they'd scheduled something for every single morning. Rest has to be planned just as deliberately as the sightseeing, or you come home needing another holiday to recover from the first.
Where do people usually travel on holidays?
Most holidays here don't stray very far at all, and the mountains are the standard destination. Families head for Gabala, Guba or Sheki in summer, partly to escape the heat and humidity of Baku and partly because plenty of people still have relatives or a family house in the regions, so the trip costs almost nothing beyond petrol. Weekends by the Caspian are the other domestic default. When people do venture abroad, they tend to favour neighbours over long-haul destinations. Turkey and Georgia are the obvious favourites because the flights are short, no visa is required and the money goes a long way, while Dubai has become popular for shopping and a guaranteed beach. Europe is more of a special occasion, given the cost and the visa process involved. So for most families it's the mountains or the Caspian coast for the bulk of the year, and a short hop to Turkey or Georgia whenever they want somewhere genuinely different.
Do you think it's important to do some preparation before you travel to new places?
I think it's essential, mainly because a modest amount of research heads off the kind of problems capable of ruining an entire trip. Knowing you need a visa, that the museum shuts on Mondays, or that taxis from the airport fleece tourists costs you an hour online and saves days of frustration and a fair chunk of money. A friend of mine flew to a city during a national holiday and found everything he'd travelled for firmly shut. Preparation also transforms how much you get out of a place once you're there. If you know something about the history behind a building or a handful of phrases in the language, a site stops being mere scenery and starts meaning something, and locals respond very differently to a visitor who's clearly made the effort. The one caution is not to over-plan, since the best moments are rarely ever on the itinerary.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 3 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 is Part 3 different from Part 1?
Part 1 is about you; Part 3 is about people in general. The questions move to society, causes and consequences, and the answers are expected to be longer and more developed — an opinion plus a reason plus an example, rather than two sentences.
What if I have no opinion on the question?
You are not marked on the opinion, so pick one and support it. Saying you have never thought about it and stopping there leaves the examiner nothing to assess.
How long does Part 3 last?
Four to five minutes. The topics develop out of your Part 2 card, so the discussion is usually connected to what you just described.
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.