Learn Hardcore Russian: Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике. - Wherever we go on vacation, I still take a grammar book with me.

Literally, куда бы мы ни поехали is something like “where would we not go,” but as a set construction it means “wherever we go / no matter where we go.”

куда – “where (to)”
бы – particle used with a past-tense verb to form a hypothetical / irrealis meaning (“would” idea)
ни – a particle used with question/relative words (кто, что, где, когда, куда, как) to express “no matter who/what/where/etc.”

Together, patterns like:

куда бы ни…
кто бы ни…
что бы ни…
где бы ни…

all mean “wherever / whoever / whatever / wherever” in a concessive sense (“no matter where/who/what…”).

So куда бы мы ни поехали = “wherever we might go / no matter where we go.”

Why is the verb поехали in the past tense if we’re talking about any (including future) vacations?

In Russian, hypothetical or “would” meanings are usually formed with:

бы + past tense form

This is sometimes called the subjunctive or conditional form, even though Russian grammars usually still call it “past tense” formally.

So:

мы поехали by itself = “we went” (simple past, perfective)
мы бы поехали = “we would go / we would go (if…)”

In the construction куда бы мы ни поехали, we keep this бы + past tense form (поехали) to show a non-real, general, hypothetical situation: “wherever we might go.”
So the “past” form is not about past time here; it’s about mood (hypothetical).

Could we say куда мы поедем instead of куда бы мы ни поехали? How would the meaning change?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

куда бы мы ни поехали = “wherever we (may) go, no matter where we go” (general, any place; concessive)
куда мы поедем = “where we will go” (a specific future destination, still unknown or being discussed)

Your original sentence:

Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике. → “No matter where we go on vacation, I still take a grammar book with me.”

If you said:

Куда мы поедем в отпуск, (я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике). → “Where we will go on vacation (I still take a grammar book with me).”

The second one loses the “no matter where” / “wherever” nuance and sounds more like you’re talking about this particular upcoming vacation, not about vacations in general.

Why is it поехали, not ехали or поедем?

All three are related but not interchangeable here:

ехать (imperfective) – to go (by transport), process
ехать past: ехали – “were going / went (process)”
поехать (perfective) – to set off / to go (single trip, result)
поехать past: поехали – “set off / went (once, whole trip)”
поедем – “we will go / we will set off”

In concessive patterns like куда бы ни…, Russian very often uses perfective past with бы:

что бы ни случилось – “whatever happens”
куда бы ни пошли – “wherever (we/they) go”
куда бы мы ни поехали – “wherever we go”

You could hear куда бы мы ни ехали in speech, but куда бы мы ни поехали is more idiomatic and suggests a single, complete trip to some vacation place—exactly what “go on vacation” is.

What is the exact nuance of в отпуск? Why not на отпуск?

Отпуск is “paid vacation from work” (time off that an employee gets). The normal preposition for “to go on vacation” in this sense is:

ехать / поехать / ездить / ходить в отпуск

So:

в отпуск – “on (paid) vacation from work”
Using на отпуск is not standard in this meaning. You might see на каникулы (“for school/university holidays”), but for work vacation it’s в отпуск.

Examples:

Я скоро иду в отпуск. – I’m going on vacation (from work) soon.
Мы каждый год ездили в отпуск к морю. – Every year we went on vacation to the sea.

What does всё равно add to the sentence? Could we omit it?

Всё равно means “anyway / still / regardless / in any case.”
It emphasizes that the result (taking the grammar book) does not change even if other conditions change.

Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я беру с собой книгу по грамматике.
Grammatically fine, means “Wherever we go on vacation, I take a grammar book with me.”
Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике.
Stronger: “No matter where we go on vacation, I still take a grammar book with me (it doesn’t change).”

So you can omit всё равно without making the sentence wrong, but you lose the “regardless / anyway” emphasis.

Why is it беру (imperfective present) and not возьму (perfective future)?

брать / взять = “to take”
- я беру – “I take / I am taking” (imperfective, present; also used for regular/habitual actions)
- я возьму – “I will take (once)” (perfective, single future action)

In your sentence, we’re talking about a habitual, repeated action: whenever we go on vacation (in general), I always take a grammar book. For such general habits, Russian uses imperfective present:

По выходным я читаю. – On weekends I read.
Летом мы ездим к бабушке. – In summer we go to grandma’s.
Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я беру с собой книгу по грамматике. – Wherever we go on vacation, I (always) take a grammar book with me.

Я возьму would sound like one specific future occasion, not a general rule.

Why is it книгу по грамматике and not something like книгу о грамматике?

Both по and о can mean “about,” but they’re used differently:

книга по грамматике – literally “a book in the field of grammar / a grammar textbook.”
по + dative often means “in the area of, related to (a subject)”:
- учебник по истории – history textbook
- курс по программированию – programming course
- лекция по биологии – a lecture in biology / on biology
книга о грамматике – “a book about grammar,” more descriptive; could be anything discussing grammar (even in a popular-science or philosophical way).

In everyday speech, for a grammar book you take to study a language, книга по грамматике is the natural collocation.

Why is it с собой and not со мной?

Both are possible, but they feel different:

с собой – literally “with oneself,” used very widely in set expressions:
- взять с собой – to take with you
- носить с собой – to carry with you
со мной – “with me (specifically)” as opposed to someone else.

Я беру с собой книгу focuses on the action of taking something along, almost like a fixed phrase: “I take the book with me/with me along.”

Я беру книгу со мной is understandable but much less idiomatic in this context; it sounds like unnecessary emphasis on “with me (and not with someone else).”

So in neutral Russian, you almost always say:

брать / взять что-то с собой – to take something with you.

Can we change the word order, for example: Я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике, куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск? Is that correct?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct:

Куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск, я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике.
Я всё равно беру с собой книгу по грамматике, куда бы мы ни поехали в отпуск.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is in emphasis and style:

Starting with куда бы мы ни поехали… is more typical and sounds slightly more formal/literary. It sets up the condition first.
Putting the clause at the end is also possible, but the “wherever we go on vacation” part feels more like an afterthought or additional comment.

Both are natural; the first version is more common in written, well-structured sentences.