Travel is a favourite Part 2 card. A couple of idioms for the place ("off the beaten track", "in the middle of nowhere") and one for the feeling ("itchy feet") will lift a description without sounding rehearsed.
The labels tell you how each one lands with a listener. Natural idioms are safe in any Speaking part. Informal ones suit relaxed Part 1 and Part 2 answers. Overused ones are correct but examiners hear them constantly, so use them once at most. Avoid means dated, slang or a cliché that sounds memorised. None of these belong in Writing Task 2.
14 idioms
a strong wish to travel or move on
After a year in the same job, I started getting itchy feet.
Natural British English and uncommon in exam answers.
far from popular tourist areas
We stayed in a village off the beaten track.
Natural and descriptive.
start a journey
We hit the road at six to avoid the traffic.
Casual and lively.
travel with very little luggage
I always travel light, just a backpack.
Natural and simple.
a very special journey you may only make once
Seeing the Northern Lights was the trip of a lifetime.
Natural for Part 2.
a place where you feel as comfortable as at home (British)
The guesthouse was a home from home.
British and warm.
in a remote place far from towns
The campsite was in the middle of nowhere, with no signal.
Very natural.
go somewhere to escape daily life
We go to the mountains to get away from it all.
Natural for holiday questions.
travel so much you never fully unpack
During the conference season I live out of a suitcase.
Natural for work travel.
develop a strong interest in travelling
I caught the travel bug on a school trip to Malaysia.
Natural and positive.
a place that is crowded and overpriced for tourists
The main square is a bit of a tourist trap.
Useful for Part 3 tourism questions.
very close to
Our hotel was a stone's throw from the beach.
Natural and common.
an overnight flight that arrives early in the morning
I took a red-eye flight and went straight to a meeting.
Casual and widely understood.
every part of a place
We explored every nook and cranny of the old town.
Natural for describing exploring.
Part 2
Here is a sample answer we wrote to show how a few of these idioms fit into natural speech. Notice that it uses only a handful, spread out, with plain English around them.
A few years ago my cousins and I drove up to a small hill station that's quite off the beaten track. We hit the road before sunrise, and by lunchtime we were properly in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but tea gardens around us. The guesthouse we stayed in was a home from home; the owner cooked for us every evening. It wasn't a luxury trip, but it's the one I remember most.
"Off the beaten track", "in the middle of nowhere", "a stone's throw from" and "get away from it all" are natural and not over-taught. "Itchy feet" is a nice British extra.
Some fit well: "a tourist trap" and "off the beaten track" can describe tourism in general. Keep personal ones like "I caught the travel bug" for Parts 1 and 2.
No. Idioms belong in Speaking. Writing Task 2 is a formal essay, so idioms and contractions make it sound too casual. Use precise, neutral vocabulary there instead.
One or two, only where they fit what you want to say. Forced idioms sound memorised and can lower your score.
Keep going
More idiom themes:
Practise them on real questions:
Written by Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. Lexical Resource is one of the four Speaking criteria in the public IELTS scoring guide on ielts.org. BandLadder is not affiliated with IELTS, the British Council or IDP, and no list of idioms guarantees a band score.
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