Describe a memorable journey you have taken
A full Band 9 model answer for this IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card, with the key vocabulary it uses, three Part 3 follow-up answers, and an examiner note on why it scores so highly.
Describe a memorable journey you have taken.
You should say:
- where you went
- who you went with
- what happened on the journey
and explain why this journey was so memorable for you.
You get 1 minute to prepare and should speak for 1-2 minutes. Try it yourself first, then compare with the model answer below.
Band 9 sample answer
The journey that springs to mind is an overnight train trip I took through the hills of southern India with two close friends, the summer after we finished school.
We had decided, fairly impulsively, to travel before university scattered us in different directions, and we booked the cheapest sleeper tickets we could find. None of us had any real plan beyond the destination, which, in hindsight, was exactly what made it special.
What I remember most vividly is the journey itself rather than where we ended up. As the train wound its way up through the tea plantations, we spent hours just hanging by the open doorway, watching the landscape shift from dusty plains to lush green slopes. We got talking to an elderly couple in our compartment who shared their home-cooked food with us and told stories about how the region had changed over their lifetime. There was a power cut at one point, and the whole carriage ended up singing in the dark, which sounds far-fetched but genuinely happened.
The reason it has stayed with me is that it captured a moment that could not be repeated — the three of us on the cusp of adulthood, with no responsibilities and the whole future ahead of us. It taught me that the most memorable journeys are rarely about the destination; they are about who you are with and the small, unplanned moments along the way. I still think of it whenever life feels too rigidly scheduled.
Key vocabulary used
The collocations and idiomatic phrases above that lift the answer into Band 9 lexical resource.
- springs to mind
- comes to mind immediately
- fairly impulsively
- without much planning, on the spur of the moment
- in hindsight
- looking back now
- wound its way up
- moved slowly along a twisting route
- on the cusp of adulthood
- at the point of becoming adults
- rigidly scheduled
- controlled by a strict timetable
Part 3 follow-up questions
The examiner develops the topic with more abstract discussion questions. Here is how a Band 9 candidate might answer.
Why do people enjoy travelling with friends rather than alone?
Mostly because shared experiences feel richer — there is someone to laugh with when things go wrong and someone to remember the trip with afterwards. Travelling with friends also makes you braver; you will try things as a group that you might hesitate to do alone. That said, solo travel has its own appeal for people who want complete freedom.
Has the way people travel changed compared with the past?
Significantly. Technology has made travel far more convenient — we book everything on an app and navigate with GPS — but I would argue some of the romance has been lost. In the past, getting lost or relying on strangers for directions was part of the adventure, whereas now journeys are more predictable and, in a sense, more insulated.
Do you think long journeys are better than short ones?
It depends what you want from them. Short journeys are efficient and stress-free, but long journeys, especially by train or road, give you time to actually absorb a place and to bond with your fellow travellers. For making memories, I would say a slow, long journey almost always wins.
Why this is a Band 9 answer
Band 9 features: vivid, specific detail, accurate narrative tenses, discourse markers that signal structure ('What I remember most ...', 'The reason it has stayed with me ...'), and a thoughtful generalisation in the conclusion.
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