chris bartlett
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The top 50 Spanish travel phrases (I)

spanish phrases for travel

Travelling to Spain or Latin America and don’t speak much Spanish? Worry not. Here’s part one of Hablarama’s rundown of the top 50 Spanish phrases for travellers. We’ve even divided this article up into nice, tapas-sized sections to make things that little bit easier for you. Really, we’re spoiling you!

Restaurants

You gotta eat, right? Now, your restaurant might have a tacky picture menu which you can just point at and grunt, but wouldn’t it be nice to try out a bit of the local lingo? (Yes, it would Chris!)

  1. Una mesa para cuatro, por favor.
    A table for four, please.
  2. La carta, por favor.
    The menu, please.
  3. La cuenta, por favor.
    The bill, please.
  4. ¿Nos puede traer otro vaso, por favor?
    Could you bring us another glass, please?

And, of course, the all-time star question:

  1. ¿Dónde están los servicios?
    Where are the toilets?

In this Travel Spanish section we have two classes dedicated exclusively to the Spanish you’ll need in restaurants and bars.

Asking for directions

You’ll need the form ‘¿Dónde está…?‘ or the plural ‘¿Dónde están…?‘ For example:

  1. ¿Dónde está la estación de tren?
    Where is the train station?
  2. ¿Dónde está la estación de metro más cercana?
    Where’s the nearest metro station?

Want to be a bit more sophisticated?  These indirect-style questions are for real show-offs.

  1. ¿Me puedes decir dónde está el Hotel Playa Sol?
    Can you tell me where the Playa Sol Hotel is?
  2. ¿Cuanto tiempo se tarda en ir al aeropuerto en taxi?
    How long does it take to get to the airport by taxi?
  3. ¿Cuál es la manera más rápida para ir al centro de la ciudad?
    What’s the quickest way to get to the city centre?

We’ve got a special section on giving directions.  It could come in handy!



Shops and shopping

A trip to the shops on your mind? Here are the essential questions and phrases you’ll need:

  1. ¿Cuánto cuesta?
    How much does it cost?
  2. ¿Cuánto cuestan?
    How much do they cost?
  3. Es demasiado grande.
    It’s too big.
  4. Es demasiado pequeño.
    It’s too small.
  5. ¿A qué hora abren ustedes?
    What time do you open?
  6. ¿A qué hora cierran?
    What time do you open?
  7. Me lo llevo.
    I’ll take it.
  8. ¿Puede pagar con tarjeta de crédito?
    Can I pay by credit card?

Obviously, if you are going to ask for the price of something, you’ll only understand the answer if you know how to say  numbers in Spanish.

Documents and administrative stuff

Most Spanish-speaking countries are sticklers for official documents like passports, drivers licences and ID cards.  No, you can’t just scream at officials and tell them that you’re British!

  1. No tengo mi pasaporte.
    I haven’t got my passport.
  2. No encuentro mi carnet de conducir.
    I can’t find my driver’s licence/license.

Ok, go on then..

  • ¿No sabe usted que soy británico/a?
    ¿Don’t you know that I’m British?

Or for Americans…

  • ¿No sabe usted que soy estadounidense?
    ¿Don’t you know that I’m American?

Asking for recommendations

  1. ¿Nos puede recomendar* un buen restaurante cerca de aquí?
    Can you recommend* a restaurant close by?

Lot’s of Spanish words will look really familiar to you. Find out why in our article on the Spanish you already know.

Bars

If all those phrases for restaurants are too much for you, why not just skip eating and head straight for the bar?  It’s a lot simpler linguistically:

  1. Una cerveza por favor.
    A beer please.
  2. ¡Dame otra cerveza!
    Another beer please (informal)
  3. ¡Deme otra cerveza!
    Another beer please (formal)
  4. Un vaso de vino tinto por favor.
    A glass of red wine, please.
  5. ¿Puedo pagar?
    Can I pay?
  6. ¡No estoy borracho/a!
    I’m not drunk!

Coming up in part 2

In the second part of the article we take a look at the top phrases for hotels and airports. We also see the Spanish which we need to use to get help in an emergency and to talk about health problems. Part two will be published at the beginning of September



TRAVEL SPANISH infographic

Here’s a cool (?) infographic with Hablarama’s top travel questions. It’s free, don’t diss the design!

simple spanish for travel

Travel English

If you have Spanish or Latin American friends who are travelling to an English-speaking country, they might be interested in the Travel English course on our sister site Cursos de Inglés 23

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