You confirmed the ticket. Finally!

Everything is ready for your adventure to one of the Spanish speaking countries. No wonder you are so excited. These countries are the most popular destinations for tourists. For example, Spain was the third most visited country in the world, and Mexico took the 10th place.

 

But have you prepared something more valuable than your bags, toothpaste, and brush?

If you aren’t sure what we’re talking about, then you didn’t prepare the essentials - your Spanish travel vocabulary.

 

Being able to communicate with the locals, to ask for directions will make your adventure more fun and complete.

 

You don’t have to bring your Spanish dictionary. It can be too heavy and can take too much space in your bag.

 

Instead, read this article and print our PDF in the end. We made a mini travel vocabulary where you can find all the necessary Spanish phrases that can help you during your trip.

 

To make it easier, we divided them into several different categories:

 

• Spanish Greetings
• Asking for direction
• At the Restaurant
• Basic Spanish Travel Vocabulary
• Spanish Question Words
• Emergency Spanish

 

Let’s dive in.

Spanish Greetings

Spanish, Latino Americans, and other Spanish natives are known as friendly and polite people. For them, it’s pretty important to greet a neighbor or someone familiar in the street.

That is why, first of all, we have to learn some useful Spanish greetings. 

The most common ones are in the following lines:

 

• Buenos días- Good morning
• Buenas tardes- Good afternoon
• Buenas noches- Good evening
• Hola- Hi
• ¿Cómo está?- How are you?

This one is a polite version, the one you use formally. To use this question informally with your friends or family members, use ‘¿Cómo estás?’

• Bien, gracias - Good, thank you.

This phrase is a polite reply to the previous question.

• Bienvenidos- Welcome

• Por favor-  Please

• Gracias - Thank you

‘Gracias’ and ‘Por favor’ are phrases you simply need to know because you will use them several times a day.

• Mucho gusto- Nice to meet you

• ¿Habla inglés?- Do you speak English?

Asking for Directions

In case you get lost, or you just need some help to get somewhere, at some point in your adventure, you will have to use some phrases that concern directions.

 

One of the easiest ways is to use the sentence ‘¿Dónde está?’ which means ‘Where is it?’ It can be followed by the place you’re looking for.

You can find some examples below.

 

• ¿ Dónde está el banco?- Where is the bank?

• ¿ Dónde está la calle [the name of the street]?- Where is [the name of the street] street?

• ¿Dónde está el baño?- Where is the bathroom?

• ¿Dónde está la estación de ferrocarril?- Where's the bus train station?

 

Of course, you don’t need to use only this phrase when asking for directions. 

There are a couple more that are easy to remember:

 

• ¿Dónde hay un restaurante?- Where is a restaurant?

• ¿Dónde hay una casa de cambio? - Where is the exchange?

• Busco un hotel - I’m looking for a hotel 

• Yo necesito…-  I need…

• Yo necesito un cuarto - I need a room.

 

We already mentioned that you should be polite when asking for help or for directions in Spanish people. With that said, here are some phrases you can include.

 

• Disculpe- Excuse me

• Con permiso/ Perdoname- Excuse me

• Estoy perdido- I’m lost

 

In cases when a local wants to help you with the directions, you have to be familiar with some of the phrases such as:

 

• A la derecha — To the right

• A la izquierda — To the left

• Derecho— Straight ahead

• En la esquina— At the corner

• Aqui- Here

• Alli- There

 

At The Restaurant 

Spanish food traditions take a central place in the lives of Spanish people and their culture. 

Therefore, it’s very likely that you will need to know some words and expressions that concern food.

 

When you want to ask for something, you should use the phrase ‘Quiero’ which means ‘I want,’ or even better ‘Quisiera,’ in the meaning ‘I would like.’ At the end of a sentence, remember to say ‘por favor.’

• Un menú- A menu

• Una entrada- An appetizer

 

As for the drink, when you decide what you want, you can order using the above-mentioned phrase with the drink from below:

• Una bebida- A drink

• Agua- Water

• Un café- Coffee

• Cerveza- Beer

• Vino tinto- Red wine

• Vino blanco- White wine

 

As for the food, here are the most common dishes:

• Ensalada- Salad

• Sopa- Soup

• Hamburguesa- Hamburger

• El pollo- Chicken

• La carne-The meat (beef)

•  Un plato principal- The main dish

• Un postre- A dessert

• Una mesa- A table

• Una mesa para dos, tres, cuatro- A table for two, three, four

• ¡Señor!- Calling a waiter

• ¡Señorita!- Calling waitress

Here, you can find some of the expressions that can help you with the bill and the price.

• La cuenta- The check

• ¿Cuánto cuesta?- How much does it cost?

Basic Phrases For Travelling

Besides the words you need to know if you want to ask for directions or you’re at a restaurant, there are many other phrases that can come in handy while you’re visiting some of the Spanish- speaking countries.

• Yo quiero, Yo no quiero- I want, I don’t want 

Perhaps this phrase sounds demanding, but this is a perfectly clear way to say if you want coffee, bread, a bus ticket, etc.

If you want to be more polite, you can use the next phrase:

• Me gustaría— I would like

In cases when there’s a misunderstanding, it could be useful to know those expressions.

• ¿Entiende?- Do you understand?

• Yo entiendo/ yo no entiendo- I understand/ I don’t understand

This question can be used in different situations. It’s easy to remember. You only need to add the noun that is your object of interest.

• ¿Tiene…?- Do you have…?

• Yo tengo/ yo no tengo- I have/ I don’t have.

In today’s world, telling the time perhaps isn’t necessary since every one of us has at least one mobile device. However, it would be nice to know how to ask for the time in Spanish.

• ¿Qué hora es?- What time is it?

Spanish Question Words 

Knowing basic Spanish question words is a huge advantage since you can get out of any situation. Here are some of the common question words.

• ¿Cómo?- How?

• ¿Cuánto?- How much?

• ¿Cuántos?- How many?

• ¿Cada cuánto?- How often?

• ¿Por cuánto tiempo?- How long?

• ¿Dónde?- Where?

• ¿Cuándo?- When?

• ¿Quién?- Who?

• ¿Qué?- What?

• ¿Por qué?- Why?

Emergency Spanish

Unfortunately, some accidents can happen while you are traveling. We sincerely hope you won’t need the following phrases, but it’s good to have them around, just in case.

• Estoy mal.- I don’t feel good

• Estoy muy mal.- I’m feeling really bad.

• Me siento un poco cansado.- I’m feeling a little tired.

• Yo tengo dolor.- I’m in pain.

• Por favor, llame a un doctor- Please, call a doctor.

• Botiquin de primeros auxilios.- First aid kit.

• Necesito un antibiótico- I need an antibiotic.

 

List of Spanish Travel Vocabulary

Yes, we know that you have already packed your suitcase and you might not have even an inch free space for one more paper. 

That is why we made the list of words and phrases in Spanish in a PDF file so that you can not only print it but download it and have it around on your iPod, iPad, Tablet, or any other mobile device.

Besides phrases in Spanish and translation from Spanish to English, you can find the English pronunciation too. It’s especially useful for those who don’t speak the language, as well as for beginners.

 

Download your Spanish Travel Vocabulary here:

Spanish-Travel-Vocabulary-PDF

 

Conclusion

Now, you are all set for a great adventure.

Take your time to memorize these words and phrases, and pay attention to the pronunciation.

Thanks to this travel vocabulary, we are sure that you will meet many different, fun and great people, make friends and learn about the Spanish culture.

 

We hope that thanks to this vocabulary list, introducing the beauty of Spanish-speaking countries, their culture, tradition, and way of life, you will decide to go on a fluency path. With that Spanish tutors from Justlearn will be more than glad to help you.