Nが好き vs Vのが好き what form should be used?

Question

Some nouns can be converted to verbs with する

I'm wondering which form should be used in cases like that? Or is it same as in English and can be easily swapped?

旅行するのが好きです

旅行が好きです

Also is there any difference about form choice when I convert these sentences to questions?

ありがとう〜

Answer 1

They are both natural and interchangeable in this simple case. But you have to modify 旅行する with adverbial expressions in the former sentence, and you have to modify 旅行 with adjectival expressions in the latter sentence.

• 一人で旅行するのが好きです。
• 一人の旅行が好きです。

Answer 2

The meaning conveyed is the same do I think it is a personal choice. I think most people would use the shorter phrase as there is not need to use a verb. Still you could use either word choice, just as you would in English. Of course, word choice also varies between social groups and formality of the situation. You will still be understood using any of these in a conversation. For a literal translation:

旅行するのが好きです

I like to travel

旅行が好きです

I like travel

There also more ways to handle verbs as nouns. These are rarely used when there’s a simpler option (as shown above) but it might help to understand by Japanese grammar handles nouns and verbs.

旅行しているのが好きです

I like travelling

旅行していることが好きです。

I like having the experience of travelling