Meaning & use
going on a tour
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
Traveling around a place with a guide or as part of an organized trip.
Grammar: Used as a continuous verb phrase: it describes an activity happening now or around now.
Patterns
- be going on a tour of something
- go on a tour with someone
- go on a guided tour
We're going on a tour of the old castle tomorrow morning.
She's going on a tour of Italy with her sister next month.
The students are going on a tour of the science museum this Friday.
Common combinations
- go on a guided tour
- It's easier to go on a guided tour if you don't know the city.
- go on a tour of the city
- We went on a tour of the city and saw all the main sights.
- go on a walking tour
- They went on a walking tour through the historic district.
- go on a bus tour
- My parents went on a bus tour of the national park.
- go on a tour abroad
- He's going on a tour abroad with his choir next spring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- take a tour
- Use 'take a tour' when you focus on the act of doing the tour rather than the trip itself.
- sightseeing
- Sightseeing means visiting interesting places in general, often without a guide or fixed schedule.
- excursion
- An excursion is a short organized trip, usually lasting less than a day; it sounds more formal than 'tour'.
Word family
Commonly confused: going on a tour or going on tour?
going on a tour vs going on tour
Without 'a', 'going on tour' means a performer or team traveling to many places to perform or play, not a sightseeing trip.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Going on a tour of' is the fixed pattern for an organized sightseeing trip. 'On tour' without 'a' means a performer's travel schedule, 'in a tour' is not used, and 'going to a tour' changes the meaning to attending an event.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “going on a tour”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.