write a description of the place for visitors

Describe a tourist attraction that you have visited. You should say What the attraction was When you visited it Why you went there And say whether you enjoyed the visit or not

It may be different, so pay attention to the exact words used. You need to talk about all parts, so don’t forget anything. It is helpful to make notes about each section if you have time – maybe just a word of vocabulary you want to remember.

Choosing a Subject to Talk About

One of the hardest things for an IELTS student is quickly choosing a subject to talk about in the IELTS Speaking Part 2. Honestly, even a native speaker might find this difficult! If someone asked me a really obscure question, it might take me a long time to plan out a good response! However, the key to success in this part of the exam is making a quick choice and then planning a talk accordingly.

For topics like travel and places, you should have no difficulty choosing. Think of some famous locations around the world :

and so on…

Just pick one that you can think of and then plan your talk. Don’t waste time choosing a place.

Vocabulary for Tourist Attractions

If you have chosen a building to discuss, then you should take a look at my guide to vocabulary for buildings and structures as it should be very helpful. Make sure that you are able to describe the basic features of a building adequately. Think about its physical features as well as its location. What about colours? How about some adjectives to describe the impression it left on you or you think it would leave:

Of course, don’t just describe what the building was like (or is like). Remember that you need to devote your time to the exact instructions on the cue card. If it is asking you just for your experiences, then perhaps you may not need to do much description of the actual place. Also, remember that a tourist attraction may not be a building! It could describe a waterfall, a beach, or a river.

Examine the Question

In all parts of the IELTS Speaking Exam it is really important that you pay attention to the question and answer appropriately. Don’t think, “It’s about a tourist attraction!” and then freely talk about tourism. You need to answer the question exactly as it was intended.

Let’s look at the question again, and highlight key features:

Ok, so what are we being asked to do? We need to talk about a tourist attraction (ie a famous building, a museum or gallery, or a place of natural beauty). We need to firstly explain it – and this is where you can give some details. Then you should talk about the actual visit – when and why. Finally, explain whether you enjoyed it or not.

Sample Answer

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to visit Victoria Falls. This is a giant natural waterfall in Africa, considered one of the greatest sights in the world. It’s located on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, so you can view it from either side. I travelled through Zimbabwe by train in order to reach it. The journey took a long time but it was worthwhile. I had heard about Victoria Falls during my childhood and always wanted to visit because it seemed so magnificent to me. You often see it in books and movies, and it appears like this magical place that couldn’t possibly exist in the real world. When you are about fifty miles away you can already see and hear it because it is so loud and the water vapor goes so high into the atmosphere. Nearby, it is just stunning to be close to this phenomenal spectacle . I really enjoyed my time there, but actually it was very expensive. That didn’t ruin my experience, but it would have been nicer to enjoy it without worry about the cost so much.

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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How to Describe a Place in English

A green place with green field and a tree with leaves

Haven’t you ever been asked by someone to describe a place you loved visiting? Or didn’t you ever feel like talking with your friend about a lovely place you visited? Whether a place is exciting or dull, you can draw a picture of the place with a vivid description. An accurate description can help your audience to experience that place through your eyes.

In this post, I’ll help you with some useful adjectives and other expressions to describe a place in English.

Use descriptive adjectives and visual & auditory imageries to describe a place in English. You may also share your feelings (good or bad) and give recommendations on whether to visit the place or not. If you have been to a place more than once, you can talk about the changes you noticed now and then as well as the best time to visit it.

Use Descriptive Adjectives for a General Description

Using descriptive adjectives is the best way to describe anyone or anything. So is a place. From such adjectives, one can get an overall idea of a place. Here I present several descriptive adjectives with their use in sentences to help you to develop your skill in describing a place.

Use Vivid Visual Imagery to Describe a Place

Visual imagery can play a significant role in describing a place, no matter whether you talk or write about it. It helps you to share what you have experienced through your sense of sight. If you can use visual imagery well, you can make your audience visualize the place, even without visiting it in person.

Your vivid description of a place with visual imagery can even take someone to the place for a moment through their visualization.

Here, let me give you some examples of how you can create visual imagery through your words.

Example 1: I loved the green paddy fields beside the river. The boats of different designs, shapes, and colors made a mesmerizing picturesque. On a moonlit night, you can spend hours after hours sitting by the river’s shore, looking at the moon’s reflection on the water.

Example 2: The landscape with a snowy mountain and a sun setting behind it will let you forget all the odds of your life.

Describe Places with Auditory Imagery

Like visual imagery, auditory imagery can be crucial while describing a place. It appeals to your sense of hearing. Every place has its sound. For example, suppose you were at a big car factory a few days ago. While describing the place, you can talk about the sounds of the machines to help your audience to get a good idea about the place.

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Now, imagine you are sitting on a seashore in the evening. It’s usually a very calm and quiet place, except for the sounds of the wave. So if you tell someone that you were sitting at a place where there were sounds of waves, people will be able to guess where the place is.

Here comes the power of auditory imagery. If you can describe the sounds well with your words, your audience may be able to get the feeling of hearing that sound without being there.

Now, let’s see some examples of the description of sounds while describing a place in English.

Example 1: in the bungalow, in the morning, you will wake up with birds chirping, while at night, you will go to sleep listening to the rhythmic sound of crickets.

Example 2: The sound of the waves will outdo all the other noises around the beach.

Talk about Your Feelings about the Place

Wherever you go, you get a feeling, which can be good or bad. A place may seem fascinating, while another place may seem dull. It’s just a general feeling of you about the place. However, the different elements of the place can influence your sense and emotions.

Suppose you love to stay close to nature. In that case, it’s obvious that you would love to go to places full of greenery, hills, seas, etc. such sites will give you a good vibe. But, on the other hand, if you go to a very crowdy and clumsy city where everything seems deserted, you may not like it.

Below are some examples of how you can share your feelings about a place.

Example 1: I felt relaxed for the whole vacation staying here. The place helped me to rejuvenate myself.

Example 2: I didn’t enjoy the stay here at all. The rooms are very clumsy.

Describe the Changes You Noticed Now and Then

If you like a place, you may visit it again and again. Whenever you get some time, you go there to feel different and relaxed. However, the place you went to three years ago may not remain the same this year. So, if you describe a place you visit frequently, you can talk about the changes you notice now and then.

For example, suppose someone asks you about your hometown. In that case, you can talk about the changes since you have experienced the changes your town went through. For example, maybe your hometown was calm and quiet in your childhood, but now it has become a noisy place.

Now, let me share some examples that show how to talk about changes that occurred in a place.

Example 1: I visited my hometown last month after twelve years. In my childhood, there were so many playgrounds and open fields there. But now, most playgrounds are converted to parks, while mills and factories have occupied most open places.

Example 2: Though the city was historically primarily horizontal, you will see that most places have become horizontal in recent years. There are multi-storied buildings here and there.

Make Recommendations about the Place

Suppose someone new to your city has asked you about the places they would visit here. First, you should recommend places with short descriptions. Then, you can talk about their beauty, specialty, culture, and history.

You may also share with your friends the beauty and good things about any place you have visited. Then, you can recommend to them when to visit that place and what they would do and experience there.

The following examples show some words and phrases you can use to recommend a place while describing it in English.

Example 1: You must visit the longest natural seabeach in the world if you ever visit Bangladesh. This is a fantastic place to enjoy your vacation.

Example 2: Have you ever been to Sundarban? This is the most extensive mangrove forest in the world. I recommend you to visit this forest if you want to explore the true natural beauty.

In Conclusion

While describing a place, you are expected to talk about every minute detail of the place. You can talk about anything associated with that place, such as the history, scenery, people, facilities, and whatnot!

Happy learning!

Niaj A A Khan

Niaj A A Khan is an ESL Instructor with over 7 years of experience in teaching & developing resources at different universities and institutes. Mr. Khan is also a passionate writer working on his first book, "Learn English at Ease."

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Describe a place you would like to visit – IELTS Cue Card

Updated On Jul 27, 2022

In IELTS Speaking, to get Band 8.0+, you should focus on one idea only and then expand that idea into a long meaningful sentence using grammar patterns and vocabulary. So, with this cue card, practise for your IELTS Speaking Part 2.

Describe a place you would like to visit.

You should say:

Sample Answer 1

I am a travelling buff. I feel alive when on the road than spending my days and nights in the same city. Although I have plenty of to-visit places on my checklist, I would like to visit Rishikesh if I have to choose only one.

Situated in the state of Uttarakhand, Rishikesh is a city in the Himalayan foothills beside the Ganges river. The town is renowned as the yoga capital of the World. There are temples and ashrams on the eastern bank of the city.

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The town features plenty of mesmerising places capable of holding your attention. Right from indulging in adventurous activities, such as river rafting and bungee jumping, we can relish our breakfast at the riverside cafes that offer sights to behold. And then, we can roam around several shops lined along the Laxman Jhula. We can also visit the Ghat to submerge into the stunning tranquillity of Ganga Aarti in the evening.

Considering I live in a nearby state, I have always been familiar with Rishikesh. However, my interest in this city grew manifold when I found out that my favourite English rock band – Beatles- visited this place in the 60s. The band sought spirituality and spent their time at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram. Not just that, even Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have spent time in the ashrams of Rishikesh, seeking their purpose in life.

One of the primary reasons to visit Rishikesh is to take a getaway from the hustle-bustle of my daily life. I wish to spend some days connecting with my inner soul through spirituality and gain peace of mind.

Sample Answer 2

Travelling has always been my passion since I was a kid. I used to visit at least one place in my summer vacation for as long as I can remember. It was like a tradition. I kept a journal. Although I don’t write regularly, I keep a note of everything I feel good about or find attractive. There is a special section in my journal where I write down about the places I want to visit in the near future. A place I especially want to visit once in my lifetime is London.

The city has a very soothing weather. However, what drew my attention was the beautiful greenery of the city. The capital city of England has a lot of things to show us, from the Iconic Ferris wheel, popularly known as the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and many other places.

Most of the classics are filmed in London, and needless to say, it is pretty. The set of Little Women, The Pride and Prejudice, and even modern movies like Enola Holmes and Bridgerton have beautiful backgrounds and beauty. The lush green trees of Groton are gorgeous. The rocky valley of Derbyshire is so pretty and calm. So many poets like Wordsworth have beautifully described the city of London in their Sonnets. His poem “Upon Westminster Bridge” is one of my very favourite poems.

It is for all these reasons that I want to visit the place. I have heard and read about it. To some extent, I’ve virtually witnessed it, too, but there is a vast difference between feeling it by your own skin. I want to feel the London rain. I want to smell the sweet smell of the green grass in the countryside and feel the beautiful busy life of the city.

Sample Answer 3

Since childhood, I have loved exploring new places, especially near the ocean, sea, or river. So, some places from all over the world found their place on my travel bucket list. One such place that I would like to visit when I get the right opportunity and travel partner is the Santorini island in Greece.

Being a volcanic island surrounded by the southern Aegean Sea, Santorini or Thira is famous for dramatic views, stunning sunsets from Oia town, blue-green water around Fira, the Venetian Castle in Akrotiri and the incredible views from the tower La Ponta. Apart from that, there are naturally fantastic beaches such as the beach of Perissa and the black pebble beach of Kamari. Besides the above iconic tourist places, the active volcano on the island has its own share of sightseers.

In school, I used to spend most of my free periods in the library. So, one day, while I was going through a travel magazine, I found a breathtaking place with cubic white house-like structures and blue-green sea all around. At first glance, I was mesmerized by the heavenly images on the pages of the book. That was my first encounter with Santorini and since then, I have been in love with those images.

Other than being a travel buff, I also love the history of Greece. There are many myths about this island, which is one of the five Cycladic islands. For example, many believe that Santorini was the original home of the lost city of Atlantis, which disappeared into the depths of the ocean. I would also like to enjoy the boat excursions, popular cruises and vineyard touring. Moreover, the candy-coloured houses along the cliffs, the clear blue water, the peaceful beaches, and the kaleidoscopic sunsets urge me to visit this remarkable island.

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Teach homeschool teens to describe a place with vivid vocabulary

by Kim Kautzer | Dec 7, 2021 | Teaching Homeschool Writing

“Descriptive writing is an art form. It’s painting a word picture so that the reader ‘sees’ exactly what you are describing.” ~Brenda Covert

What’s the big deal about writing descriptively? For one thing, it’s much more than page-filling fluff. Descriptive writing imprints images into the reader’s mind , making you feel as though you’re “right there.” It ‘ s all about engaging the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to transport the reader and stir emotion.

By choosing vivid details and colorful words , good writers bring objects, people, places, and events to life. Instead of merely telling you what they see, they use their words to show you.

Writers use this powerful method to make their pieces memorable—even brilliant—rather than dry and boring. In many ways, description is the most important kind of writing you can teach your children. Why? Because it supports other reasons for writing such as storytelling , informative reports, or persuasion .

By choosing vivid details to describe a place, your teens will bring life and emotion to their writing.

Even if your child never aspires to write stories or poetry, description is a wonderful skill to develop. Without it, all other writing falls flat.

1. What It Means to Describe a Place

Vivid writing is especially important when your middle or high schooler needs to describe a place — whether describing a vista for a travel guide or fleshing out a scene in a short story.

Master storyteller Charles Dickens was gifted at using description to create a mood.

But students don’t have to be a Dickens to add color, depth, and interest to their writing. Here, a 14-year-old draws on all five senses to describe a place and create a mood.

With a few tips and tools, homeschool tweens and teens can effectively describe a place too.

A Desert Example

Suppose they’re planning to write about a desert. They’ll need to describe basic desert features, of course: sand, rock, hills, and dunes. But deserts aren’t all alike, so their word choices will need to reflect the kind of desert they want to write about .

Describe a Place | Teaching Teens to Write with Vivid Vocabulary

For example, if they choose a desert in the southwestern United States, they’ll probably describe plants such as sagebrush, Joshua trees, yuccas, or saguaro cacti .

But if they’re writing about an oasis in the Sahara Desert, where vegetation is much different, they’d instead describe date palms, oleanders, acacia trees, succulents, and desert grasses . Their description of either desert scene will spring to life when they tell about these places using rich and appropriate details.

2. Where to Find Vocabulary to Describe a Place

How can you help your homeschoolers study a subject and choose strong words that make their writing sparkle? Whether they decide to write about a desert, city, rain forest, or pond, these ideas will help students find words that form the foundation of their descriptive piece, narrative story, or report.

Search Engine: A Homeschooler’s Best Friend

Search engines such as Google make a great resources for inspiration. In addition to collecting general terms about the location’s flora and fauna (the desert, for example), teens can find concrete, specific nouns and adjectives that add color to their writing. Suggest they begin their search by looking up terms like these:

desert landscape
desert features
desert climate
desert plants
desert animals
desert description

What if your teen wants to describe a city instead of a desert? City words are trickier to find, and they may have to hunt more. Try some of these search terms:

describe city sights
describe Chicago, describe Pittsburgh , etc.
“describe downtown” (use quotes)

Other Sources for Descriptive Vocabulary

While search engines can lead students to a wealth of information, don’t discount the value of print media such as magazines and books. Also consider digital media such as TV documentaries or YouTube videos about the subject.

When describing a place, visit in person , if possible. But if not, can you explore a spot with similar features? Many children are visual and tactile learners. If they want to describe what a sidewalk looks like, send them outside to explore the sidewalk on your street. It will help them describe the texture, color, and appearance of a city sidewalk, even if you live in a suburb.

3. Expanding Descriptive Vocabulary

As your teens search the Internet, ask them to keep an eye out for adjectives that describe desert or city features (or whatever place they want to write about). Encourage them to come up with words on their own, but also to watch for words they meet in articles or photo captions.

When kids don’t understand some of the words, pull out the dictionary and make it a teaching moment! And show them how to use a thesaurus (we love The Synonym Finder ) to find other words that say the same thing. A focused thesaurus, such as the ones below, will also help their vocabularies grow.

write a description of the place for visitors

The Rural Setting Thesaurus gives teens the inspiration to effectively write about nature, home, and school settings. The Urban Setting Thesaurus helps them draw on all five senses and jogs their memory to help them create believable scenes in city spaces.

4. Descriptive Examples

Some desert adjectives.

Desert: harsh, dry, arid, sparse, severe, hot Rock: sharp, rough, jagged, angular Grasses: windblown, bent, dry, pale green, brown Sand: coarse, fine, glittering, shifting, rippling, sifting, white, golden Sky: pale, intense, cloudless, azure, purple, crimson Cactus: tall, short, squatty, spiny, prickly, thorny , bulbous Date palm: tall, bent, leathery (leaves), frayed (leaves)

Some City Adjectives

City: active, bustling, noisy, busy, clean, dirty, windy Traffic: loud, congested, snarled Buildings: old, shabby, rundown, crumbling, modern, futuristic, sleek, towering, squat Buildings (walls): brick, stone, marble, glass, steel, graffiti-covered Monuments, statues: stone, copper, carved, ancient, moss-covered, faded, green, bronze Sidewalk: concrete, cement, slick, cracked, tidy, littered, swept Paint: fresh, weathered, peeling Signs: neon, weathered, worn, bright, welcoming, flashing Buses, cars, taxis: belching, crawling, speeding, honking, waiting, screeching People: hurried, bundled, smiling, frowning, eager, rushed

Use these suggestions to encourage teens to come up with ideas to describe a place of their own. You’ll both discover that hunting for words can become a favorite prewriting game ! And as your kids dabble more and more in descriptive writing, I’m confident their words will soon begin to “ show” more and “tell” less .

Do you struggle with teaching and grading writing in your homeschool? Does your middle- or high schooler’s writing need a boost? Consider adding WriteShop to your curriculum choices for this school year! The first seven lessons of WriteShop I specifically teach descriptive writing . This important skill is then practiced in the remaining informative and narrative writing lessons. In addition, WriteShop teaches—and offers practice in using—a wide array of sentence variations that enhance a student’s paper with fresh style and vigor. When combined with strong, dynamic word choices, sentence variations give dull writing new life .

For younger children, WriteShop Primary introduces K-3rd graders to activities that widen their writing vocabulary. Book C contains three specific descriptive writing lessons. WriteShop Junior for grades 3-6 also provides many opportunities for students to incorporate description.

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IELTS Cue Card

A website dedicated to IELTS Cue Card Samples, Speaking Samples, and Speaking Preparation Guideline...

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Describe a place that you have visited and particularly liked, describe a place that you have visited and particularly liked..

When you visited there
Who you went with
What was most memorable

If you can comfortably talk about this topic, you should be able to talk about the following Cue card topics as well:

Describe a place you have been to recently.
Talk about a tour you remember well.
Describe a place worth visiting in your country.
Describe a famous tourist destination in your country.
Talk about a place you have never been to.
Describe a place you would like to visit.
Describe a place you have visited as a tourist.

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IELTS Sample

Descriptive essay focus on specific details about an object, a place or an event. It presents an object to the reader using vivid language for the reader to have a mental picture of what the writer is describing. When composing a detailed essay about a particular place, the paper needs to present clear descriptions about the location to the reader. Writing an essay about a familiar place gives the writer an opportunity to present his personal experience and feelings the place invokes in him.

How to start a descriptive essay

Before presenting the beautiful scenery, the author needs to be observant of the surroundings because the essay would require detailed explanations and the vibrant experiences about the place. The author needs to identify all the important items that make the place worth describing. A good essay should be based on personal experience whereby the author can easily reflect about his experience.

The first step of developing an essay is to start with a brief introduction, a descriptive introduction would determine whether the reader would want to continue reading the article or not. The author needs to use words that would attract the reader’s attention at the beginning of the essay. An introduction should start with a strong statement, and in the end, the writer needs to present the thesis statement by relating it to what is being described. The thesis statement reveals why the place is important to the author.

A good introduction can start with an anecdote, the author can narrate an interesting story to heighten the reader’s curiosity. A good anecdote sets a good tone for the essay and acts as a transition sentence from the introduction to the body of the essay. An introductory paragraph needs to mention the name, the exact address, and other exciting things that makes to reader wants to visit the location.

How to write main part

The essay body should express feelings, the taste, the smell, the sights and sounds of the place. The author describes the different aspects of the location for the reader to develop a mental picture of how the place looks like. For instance, when describing your grandmother’s home, the body essay describes how beautiful the place looks like, including the lovely trees, her tasty cookies, the most soil around the nearby river, the dishes clicking in the kitchen and how you feel the about the particles of the wood on the staircase. The author can also talk about the people living nearby and any unique features around the home .

Apart from detailed descriptions, the author needs to reflect about the place and make important connections to it. For instance, the essay needs to highlight why the place is a safe haven from everyday stress. The author can also present some of the feeling associated with the location, this will make the readers aware why the place is important to the author.

How to conclude a descriptive essay

The concluding paragraph should rephrase the inspiration of the essay providing detail and personal feelings and also make recommendations for the readers. A good conclusion should describe why the place is significant. Even though the descriptive language used can provoke the reader’s emotion, the audience wants to know why the author spent a lot of time describing the place. Apart from just highlighting the good experience about the place, a good conclusion explains the significance of the essay theme. The conclusion simply confirms to the audience what was already presented, but using selected sensory language for the readers to believe that the place is amazing. A good paper should end on a strong note, leaving the audience feeling satisfied in the concluding paragraph. A good descriptive essay should create excitement for its readers.

Outline example

Introduction

Body paragraph

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How To Write a Tour Description (Step-by-Step Example)

By Kyla Steeves

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Why is it that when someone asks about a tour over the phone, you can explain it in a way that makes them enthusiastic about booking, but as soon as you sit down to write a tour description, your mind goes blank?

You just can’t seem to translate that excitement into words.

Don’t be hard on yourself; writing a description for tours and travel is notoriously tricky, even for experienced copywriters. How do you possibly describe an abstract experience to someone who’s never visited your destination before? Try to fit all the information they need to know into a single paragraph? While still persuading them to book?

Here’s the good news. The more tour descriptions you write, the better you’ll get at it, and you’ll start to learn what works as you increase conversion rates . But until you get up to speed, you might find it helpful to have a tour description example to work off of.

If that’s the case, let’s workshop one together as I teach you a few insider copywriting tricks you can apply to both your tour descriptions on your website and online travel agent (OTA) listings today.

An okay tour description example

Our award-winning coffee tour offers guests an inside look into traditional sustainable farming in Panama and its impact on the coffee industry. We’ve carefully designed this tour to show visitors every stage of the production process, from growing to roasting. Our guides are knowledgeable locals who lead a walk-through of a scenic farm, explain how the slopes of Volcan Baru make some of the world’s best coffee and show how to brew a delicious cup. We also provide free hotel pick-up and drop-off, bottled water, and a custom bag of whole beans to take home.

How do you write a tour description that’s better?

Female tour operator sitting at a cafe, drinking coffee, learning how to write a tour description that sells

1. Speak to your audience

A tour description is not the place to boast — that’s for writing an About Us page . Your potential customers won’t care about how many awards your tour has won or what inspired you to create the tour. The only thing on their mind is what’s in it for them.

Before you even start writing a tour description, you need to figure out who you’re targeting; better put, who is your ideal guest? Once you have that answer, you can learn how to speak directly to them with a tone of voice they can relate to while highlighting exactly what they’re looking for.

Then, using the You Rule , you can write for that one person, which means instead of using the words “we” or “our,” you flip the script to support a “you” or “your” message. This makes the tour description more of a casual conversation, like chatting with them in-person or over the phone, helping to build a personal connection online.

Revision #1

Get an inside look into traditional sustainable farming and its impact on the coffee industry. You’ll learn about every stage of the production process, from growing to roasting, by our local experts who’ll take you on a walk-through of a scenic farm, explain how the slopes of Volcan Baru make the world’s best coffee, and show you how to brew a delicious cup. You’ll also get free hotel pick-up and drop-off, bottled water, and a custom bag of whole beans to take home.

Group of tourists going on a coffee tour in Panama

2. Start with a hook

Since a tour description is often your last chance to win someone over, your first sentence has got to be attention-grabbing. Like a headline, it needs to stand out, draw the visitor in, and encourage them to keep reading. And the best way to do that is to zero in on a particular feature of the experience and turn it into a hook.

How? By going beyond the obvious benefit and tapping into the emotional value. For instance, it’s one thing to say that a tour has small group sizes and another to point out why that matters on a personal level. If you can solve what that is for your target guest, you’ll know how to talk to their heart and not their wallet, making the tour irresistible.

To come up with a hook, read your recent reviews to see what previous guests liked most about the tour and why. When you notice a trend, that’s what you should focus on as your leading benefit, keeping in mind the exact phrasing they use to make your hook more specific and relatable.

If you are just starting out and don’t have any reviews yet, you can always break down the unique selling points of your tour using a similar table below, making sure to ask the million-dollar question, “so what?” to dig deeper into why guests will care.

Then, pick the best one.

spreadsheet columns showing breakdown of selling point features benefits and value

Revision #2

Love your morning cup of joe even more by discovering what goes into a satisfying brew on a coffee tour. You’ll learn about every stage of the production process, from growing to roasting, by our local experts who’ll take you on a walk-through of a real farm, explain how the slopes of Volcan Baru make the world’s best coffee, and show you how to brew a delicious cup. You’ll also get free hotel pick-up and drop-off, bottled water, and a custom bag of whole beans to take home.

3. Show, don’t tell

As fun as this new challenge is, there’s actually something you can learn from it when writing your tour and travel description or any marketing content for your business, and that is: show, don’t tell .

People are tired of overused travel words from tour operators, such as unforgettable, picturesque, hidden gem, must-see, etc. They’ve completely lost their meaning and impact and often get filtered out by the reader as fluff. On top of that, anyone can say their tour is terrifying or relaxing or exciting without justification.

Instead, it’s much better to describe the tour in a way that elicits an emotional response rather than outright telling someone how to feel. You can do that by using more verbs than vague adjectives because verbs pull the reader into the action, especially if you use present tense to trick the brain into thinking the event is currently happening.

Revision #3

Love your morning cup of joe even more by discovering what goes into a satisfying brew on a coffee tour. Stroll through the fields of a coffee farm in the Boquete highlands, plucking ripe berries with your own hands. Meet professional roasters and learn how to create a flavourful blend in a homemade roaster before tasting the difference between premium Geisha coffee and store-bought grinds. Get free hotel pick-up and drop-off, bottled water, and a custom bag of whole beans to take home.

An elderly woman's hands picking coffee beans

4. Tell a story

Tour descriptions are different from product descriptions in that people aren’t only looking for certain features to compare across the board. Yes, they want to know what the main highlights are, but more so, they’re hoping to get an idea of what the tour will be like from start to finish.

That’s because before they get to this point, it’s likely they’ve already visualized the type of experience they want to have based on stories from their favourite travel bloggers, recommendations from friends, and real-life advice in Tripadvisor forums.

By setting a scene, you can bring the tour to life, helping to paint a picture in their head that’s similar to what they currently have in mind — or better. While also doing the impossible, making an intangible experience tangible by incorporating the magic of sensory words and vivid imagery.

That said, if you aren’t the greatest storyteller, try consulting your guides, who are the experts and conveniently have the itinerary memorized. Simply ask them to describe the tour as a story, and depending on the length, summarize the key parts into 3-4 sentences.

Revision #4

Love your morning cup of joe even more by discovering what goes into a satisfying brew on a coffee tour. Stroll through the fields of a coffee farm on the slopes of Volcan Baru, hearing stories of farmers who’ve worked the land, growing premium Geisha coffee enriched by volcanic ash and lunar cycles. After plucking ripe, red berries with your own hands, you meet with professional roasters to create your own custom blend to take home before sipping an aromatic espresso with notes of mango on the open patio, admiring a panoramic view of the cloud-forest and the reddish-brown crema lining your cup. Can your coffee taste any better? Get free hotel pick-up and drop-off and bottled water.

A male tour guide looking through the plants on a lust coffee plantation

5. Break up the details

At this point, you’re probably wondering when we’re going to get to the essential details. The description is already long enough; are we going to make it longer with more info?

Well, if you take a quick look at listings on OTA sites like Viator or GetYourGuide, you’ll see that they break up additional details using bullet points and clear section headings. Seeing as these global travel companies have an enormous booking volume, it’s safe to say that they’ve got the conversion data to back up this copywriting technique.

Of course, it’s not hard to see why it works. Lists are easy to read compared to big, dense paragraphs. And since most website visitors are scanners, not readers, using bullet form in your booking page design can help them find what they need to know — faster.

So, what details do you cover?

Revision #5

Love your morning cup of joe even more by discovering what goes into a satisfying brew on a coffee tour. Stroll through the fields of a coffee farm on the slopes of Volcan Baru, hearing stories of farmers who’ve worked the land, growing premium Geisha coffee enriched by volcanic ash and lunar cycles. After plucking ripe, red berries with your own hands, you meet with professional roasters to create your own custom blend to take home before sipping an aromatic espresso with notes of mango on the open patio, admiring a panoramic view of the cloud-forest and reddish-brown crema lining your cup. Can your coffee taste any better?

What’s Included:

Coffee farms showing how to process coffee beans as part of the tour description

6. Remember keywords

Whenever you write copy for your website, you have to remember that you’re not just writing for your visitors; you’re writing for Google. That means you should try to use every keyword opportunity possible for better on-page SEO (search engine optimization), especially when coming up with tour name ideas .

When it comes to your tour descriptions, your travel and tourism keywords will change per tour depending on the specific queries people use to find them in the first place. If you haven’t done keyword research before, you can start by simply entering one of your tours into Google and see what related searches come up at the bottom of the results page.

Then, all you have to do is find instances where you say “tour” in the description and replace it with the popular search term instead. Doing this step last ensures your keywords fit naturally within the tour description, rather than being stuffed.

The best description for tours and travel

Love your morning cup of joe even more by discovering what goes into a satisfying brew on a Boquete coffee tour. Stroll through the fields of a coffee farm on the slopes of Volcan Baru, hearing stories of farmers who’ve worked the land, growing premium Geisha coffee enriched by volcanic ash and lunar cycles. After plucking ripe, red berries with your own hands, you meet with professional roasters to create your own custom blend to take home before sipping an aromatic espresso with notes of mango on the open patio, admiring a panoramic view of the cloud-forest and reddish-brown crema lining your cup. Can your coffee taste any better?

A female guest enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking a cloud-forest

Isn’t that much better? Doesn’t it make you want to book this tour right now?

Now, it’s your turn!

Business Tips

Writing a perfect tour description is a lot of work. Looking just at your tour description (without even reading it), a visitor decides whether to stay on your website or bounce back to explore other options. So, while describing your tour, you must find a way to be engaging and persuasive.

But that is still not enough. Your tour description must be loved by Google too!

So, how do we do that?

Don’t you worry! This article is specially crafted to solve your tour description nightmare. We have come up with the best techniques and a step-by-step guide along with examples to help you with a tour description that sells like never before.

With the help of this guide, you will be able to attract unique visitors to your site and effortlessly turn them into customers.

Let’s dive right into it.

Table of Contents

What is a Tour Description?

A tour description is a piece of copy that summarizes the entire tour, highlighting the benefits and encouraging the visitors to book the trip.

As the name suggests, a tour description provides all the necessary details of your tour. But it’s not just “details.” It is also a marketing tool to help you convert visitors into customers.

How Important is it to Write a Persuasive Tour Description for Your Tour Packages?

When someone goes to the internet in search of a tour package, Google shows them a list of tours that matches the search intent. Certainly, you’re not the only one organizing the exact same trip. But your tour provides a unique experience that sets you apart from the rest.

But how does the searcher know that? Through your tour description.

Considering the short attention span of internet users, they scan through the lists and settle down the most compelling ones. They will only book your trip if they find your tour description promising enough to spend their holiday. That is why a compelling tour description is a must in order to ensure maximum sales.

Techniques to Follow While Writing Tour Description

Before getting down to writing, you must consider a few techniques that help you create a copy that is loved by the visitors and by Google.

1. Write for the Audience

Remember, you’re writing for the potential customer and not for yourself. They are here with the sole purpose of finding a great tour for themselves. Address that! Find out your target audience. Think out what they are looking for in a tour package and meld your offerings according to their requirements.

For example, if you are writing a tour description for a bungee jumping trip, it should be directed towards an adrenaline junkie who speaks a language of adventure.

Use of audience-centric pronouns like “you” and “your” instead of “we” and “our” makes the audience feel valued. It also makes your tour description more conversational and helps to build a personal connection with your potential customers.

2. Set a Tone and Stick to it

Choose a particular tone of voice and maintain it throughout your tour description. The voice tone may vary according to your brand personality and the kind of tour package you’re trying to sell.

For example, relatively larger tour companies tend to adopt a professional tone. Whereas, a smaller company that operates locally may use a casual tone in the attempt of building a personal connection with their customers.

As mentioned in the previous example, the tone of your writing might as well depend upon the audience you’re targeting.

3. Treat it as a Sales Copy

Make your tour description persuasive. We know you want to be as descriptive as possible to let the visitors know what your amazing tour package offers. But while piling up your tour description with unique features, don’t forget you are convincing someone to buy the tickets to the tour you’re organizing.

Instead of focusing on the unique features, focus on the benefits they serve to the customers. Sell while describing.

For example , if you allow pets on the trip, don’t write, “ This is a pet-friendly trip. ” Instead, write, “ Bring along your pets because they deserve a vacation too. ” While doing so, you’re offering them an emotional value and not just an attractive selling point. After reading that, it’s less likely they won’t book your trip.

4. Write Tour Descriptions That Google Loves

Making your tour description SEO-friendly (Search Engine Optimization) is extremely important. Suppose you wrote an exceptional tour description that everybody would love, but it never reached your target audience. It is of no use.

Incorporating relatable keywords helps Google scan your description and show it to those searching for those specific keywords.

You honestly don’t have to be an SEO expert in using keywords effectively. Use a seed keyword that defines your tour on your title and repeat those keywords a few times in the description. Make sure not to over-concentrate your description with keywords. It impacts your reach negatively.

Here are a few free SEO tools that might come in handy while writing a tour description:

5. Make it Skimmable

Research conducted by Microsoft says that the average human attention span has drastically reduced from 12 seconds to just 8 seconds between 2000 and 2013. While your visitors are surfing through your website, they might be doing a bunch of other tasks or scrolling through other similar websites.

So, it’s important for you to make your tour description skimmable.

You can take inspiration from the below pattern to design the flow for your tour description.

Introduction > Additional Details > Photos/Videos > Showcase Your Expertise > Testimonials > FAQs > CTA Button

Now that you’ve figured everything about writing a conversion-focused tour description, let’s move on to the actual part, the writing.

How To Write an Impactful Tour Description? Step-to-Step Guide with Examples

1. great title.

Oftentimes while concentrating too much on creating an exceptional tour description, we tend to neglect the importance of a great title. It is your title that a visitor sees before even clicking on your tour package. So make sure that your title explains your tour precisely within a few words.

Come up with a title that is short, specific and keyword-heavy. There’s no place for abstract and generic titles anymore.

For example , instead of writing “ Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek ,” write “ 7 Days Moderate Trek To Ghorepani Poon Hill ”. It includes the keywords “Ghorepani Poon Hill” and “Trek” and is specific about the trek’s time duration and difficulty level.

2. Start with a Hook

This is your time to show off your copywriting skills. Layout your first sentence in a way that grabs visitors’ attention and makes them wanna read more.

While reading the first few sentences, the visitor already starts making their decision if they seriously consider taking this trip or bounce back. So, shoot your best shot.

Emotions trigger humans. So, put an emotional value into it while giving them the gist of what they can expect during the trip.

Another effective way to do that is by turning recent reviews into a hook . But, while doing so, don’t take the most common ones like “very good trip” or “enjoyed so much.”

Look at the ones that are a little more descriptive and also reflect your overall trip experience. In this way, you’re not just telling the prospective customer what value you serve, but you’re sharing the experience of a customer, which seems more relatable and trustworthy.

For example , the recent trend of reviews on your wine-tasting trip is somewhere around the lines, “ still remember the taste of that Italian wine on my tongue after a month ” or “ tastiest wine I have ever tasted .” You can use those reviews in your opening line as “ Just like our visitors before you; you are going home with the taste of the tastiest Italian wine that is gonna stick on your taste buds for months .”

3. Tell a Story

Don’t just explain what your trip is about. You’re not only trying to sell a product. Rather it’s your customers who are buying an experience from you.

Create a scene. They might have already had an imagination about the destination. Bring that imagination into life with your words. But keep it short. Use sensory words and vivid imagery. While reading your description, make them feel they are already traveling with you.

For example , for a city tour of Mumbai, don’t write, “ Our Mumbai city tour takes you to Gateway of India, Taj Hotel, Marine Drive, Antillia, Worli Sealink, Bandra Fort, Mannat, and Juhu Beach. Eat Local Cuisine at best spots .”

Instead, you can write, “ Explore the beautiful coastal city of Mumbai, hopping around all the tourist attractions with experienced and friendly guides. We will pick you up from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal and drive to the historical monument, Gateway of India. Alongside, witness the grand five-star hotel “Taj Hotel” that has survived a terrorist attack in 2008. Then you pass through Marine Lanes viewing Antilia, the most expensive house in the world. The next stop is Bandra, where you Bollywood fans get to see where Shahrukh khan lives, but reaching there is even more exciting as we drive you through the iconic Worli Sea Link, a 5.6 km long bridge suspended in the sea. Finally, it’s time to enjoy some vada pav while enjoying the lavish sunset at Juhu beach .”

Note : Use present tense to trick the readers into thinking it is actually happening.

It’s Showtime! After you have provided the overview, unique features, selling points, and all the necessary details, it is the right time to bring their imagination into reality. Create a gallery of the best of the best photos of the tour and display them in the most appealing way.

Remember, it’s not a photography competition. It is alright to exhibit a few high-quality DSLR photos of just the destination. But prioritize capturing the moments. Take pictures and videos of travelers indulging in the activities, capture the beautiful smiles, the laughter, the joy.

It would be a cherry on top if you could collect pictures or videos from the travelers themselves and display them. It would add that raw and fresh feel to your tour description.

Your potential customers would find it more relatable and trustworthy if they saw the previous visitors actually enjoying the tour instead of listening to you describing your tour and telling them how to feel.

7. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

No matter how deliberate and self-explanatory your tour description might be, there are always some questions running in the visitors’ minds. Make their job easier by answering them even before they question you.

Make a list of previously asked questions about the tour and write down a short and sweet answer to those questions.

This way, you can save a lot of time for your potential customers and yourself.

8. Huge Visible CTA for Booking Reservation

Your job is still not done yet. The purpose of creating an epic tour description is to convert the visitors into customers. After going through the whole description, there is still a chance that the visitor would bounce back if they do not find a clear CTA (Call-To-Action) button for booking the tour.

So make sure to add an appealing, clearly visible CTA button asking them to book the trip. You can also use schemes like ‘an early bird discount’ for booking the trip a month/week prior.

Note : In addition to tour description, it is also beneficial to provide an itinerary to your visitors so that they can be prepared for everything before booking the trip. Itineraries are helpful, mostly for longer tours. You do not necessarily have to explain every single detail of the events. Just give them the outline of day-to-day activities.

DON’Ts While Writing a Tour Description

1. don’t boast.

The visitors are not here to know how many awards you own or what inspired you to conduct this tour. This might sound brutal, but they don’t care about you. They are here to see what is in it for them. So, shift the focus from yourself to the visitors and show them what you can do for them.

2. Avoid Using “Cliche” Adjectives

The overly-used adjectives like hidden-gem, mouth-watering food, crystal-clear river, snow-capped mountain, etc., are too generic and can be seen in every other tour description.

With excessive and irrelevant use, these adjectives have lost their meaning. It might be inevitable sometimes, but try to stay away from them as much as possible. You can, instead, use sensory words and verbs as they have a stronger impact.

3. Don’t Expose Trade Secrets

We know you want to give as many details as possible to impress your potential customers. But while doing so, don’t overshare. Some of the visitors go online to find the local spots or cafes to go by themselves. So, don’t give away your trade secrets for free. A few things are best kept as secret. Instead of being specific, use words like “the most popular winery in town,” “a century-old food joint,” etc.

4. Don’t Provide Unrealistic Expectations

It is normal to get carried away sometimes. We tend to write things that are too good to be true when we are trying to sell. It actually has more negative impact than positive.

First, the readers might find it hard to believe and bounce back. Second, even if they fall into the trap and come on board, they would be really disappointed and leave bad reviews on your booking site.

It is found that nearly 9 out of 10 consumers read reviews before making a purchase. So, those bad reviews affect your future sales.

5. Grammatical Errors

This might sound obvious, but oftentimes we come across minor grammatical errors or misspelled words. Seeing such basic mistakes, the visitor might question your authenticity. So, proofread before publishing any changes. There are a few tools available in the market, like Grammarly, that can help you with it.

Sample Tour Description

Now let’s bind all the above steps together and create a tour description that sells.

Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek (Moderate) – 7 days

Give your wanderlust soul a little break from routined cubicle life, and come with us to experience a firsthand Himalayan life. With a maximum elevation of 3210m, Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek is a perfect blend to give you that adrenaline rush without being too harsh on your knees.

Our former travelers say that the orange rays of light reflecting back from the Annapurna Range right onto their face during the sunrise at Poon Hill is the sight they rejoice for a lifetime.

Beginning the trip from the cultural hub of Kathmandu, we move forward on a scenic road trip to the tourism heaven of Nepal, Pokhara. The next morning, we drive you to Nayapul, from where the actual adventure begins. The steady burble of running water as you hike takes all your worries away. Passing by vibrant villages, hanging bridges, and pristine waterfalls, staying overnight at the warmest homes, crossing forests full of Rhododendron, you will finally reach Ghorepani.

The next morning is the highlight of the trip as you wake up early in the morning, hike up to Poon Hill to view the panoramic sunrise casting its magic all over the Annapurna Range. Wait, it’s not over yet. The way back is even more exciting as you would descend on a different route through a luscious forest with a view of the mountains all along. A beautiful Gurung village, Ghandruk marks the endpoint of the trek, and you will get to soak in the rich culture of locals as you bid bye to the Himalayas.

Additional Details

What to Carry

What’s Included

What’s Not Included

Day 1 – Departure from Kathmandu. Road trip to Pokhara (6-7 hours). Overnight stay.

Day 2 – Drive to Nayapul (2 hours). Hike to Ulleri (4-5 hours).

Day 3 – Hike to Ghorepani (5-6 hours).

Day 4 – Sunrise trek to Poon Hill – 3210m (1-1.5 hours). Hike to Tadapani (5-6 hours).

Day 5 – Downhill hike to Ghandruk (3-4 hours). Overnight stay at Gurung Homestay.

Day 6 – Drive back to Pokhara (4-5 hours). Enjoy the evening on the lakeside.

Day 7 – Drive/Fly back to Kathmandu.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Next time you write a tour description for your trip, keep these things in mind and implement them in your writing to send your message across. The changes might look small on the website, but they are gonna bring a drastic positive change to your business.

We have said it before, and we are gonna say it again. Your tour description is not just a description of your tour; it is a sales copy. Failing to write an imposing copy loses a prospective customer.

So, take your time, follow the above steps, Dos and Don’ts, and win your visitor’s heart.

If you have any confusion, question, or inquiry regarding this specific topic or if you want to add a few more tips to write an even better tour description, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.

Travel Safe.

Also, check out this article, How to Write a Travel Itinerary For Your Website .

How to build a content marketing strategy for travel industry, how to make money from travel blogs, how to create a multilingual travel blog, leave a reply cancel reply.

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Describe a place you visited on vacation Cue Card

When you went there, where it is, what you did there, and explain why you went there, i love traveling and i have visited number of places in my life. today i am going to speak about a place where i went on holidays. the name of the place is golden temple. i went there with my friends after my exams. it is about 500 kms from my hometown, the name of the place is golden temple. it is in amritsar, punjab and basically, it is a temple, a worship place of sikh community but it is visited by millions of people of all the religions every year owing to its popularity., we mainly went there for worshipping of god. firstly, we took bath in the holy pond because it is believed that the water in the pond has healing powers. after that, we paid obeisance and sat in the darbar sahib. besides, we went to museum and saw old weapons. then, we went to community hall where we ate community food. i saw many foreigners as which shows the popularity of this place around the globe and we clicked photographs with them. on the 2nd day, we did shopping from the traditional shops of amritsar. next day, we visited bagah border and saw parade., it is a unique place because sitting inside the temple and listening to sacred hymns relieves all the stresses and worries in life, while the food served at the community hall inside the temple brings satisfaction., i like a lot to visit this place of historical importance as it provides me immense inner happiness spiritually and psychologically that strengthens me from inside to face the hardships of life. i must say that it is worth visit destination for everyone who wants to have a spiritual and peaceful experience., 1. what are some popular attractions that people like to visit in your country, well, india is a land of beauty and numerous tourist attractions have made the country lucrative to all, especially the rich people. the country has a vibrant history of different periods and most of the tourist spots are friendly for the family. the most notable tourist attractions of india are shrines, forts, parks, restaurants, and museums., 2. do old people and young people like to go to different places for vacation, yes, i think so old people are more inclined towards history, god, and devotion. so, their first preference mostly is some sacred temple or a museum. whereas, young people love to party hard. beaches and loud places such as clubs are their favourite holiday destinations., 3. what do old people and young people think about when making travel plans, old people, according to me, mostly care about cost and comfort. they are pennywise, so they try to get the most travel comfort at the least possible cost. while youngsters only focus on activities. they want thrill & adventure, rest everything is secondary., 4. how do people get to know about new places, i think the internet is a goldmine of information. anytime you feel the need of knowing about any new place, you just have to say ” ok google” and the magic is done, leave a comment cancel reply.

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