Spanish for travelling

Hotel, station, bar and restaurant: Spanish that helps at once on the road — and when to use tú.

39 sentences · 3 dialogues · 18 words

Why this field

Spanish is the national language of Spain and of almost all of Latin America. A traveller with a few sentences of Spanish often gets further than with English — and gets a warmer welcome.

The situations repeat themselves: arriving, ordering, asking, paying. Ten sentences you can say with confidence will carry you through a whole day.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

A1I can ask the way and understand simple directions.
A1I can order something in a bar and ask for the bill.
A2I can buy a ticket and ask about departure time, platform and delays.
A2I can check in at a hotel and ask about breakfast and luggage.
B1I can report a problem with my room and ask for a different one.
B1I can ask for another connection after a delay or a missed train.

Core vocabulary

18 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

la estaciónthe stationA1
la paradathe stopA1
todo rectostraight onA1
la izquierdathe leftA1
cercanearA1
lejosfarA1
el billetethe ticketA2
la ida y vueltareturn, there and backA2
el andénthe platformA2
el retrasothe delayA2
la maletathe suitcaseA2
el equipajethe luggageA2
la reservathe bookingA2
el pasaportethe passportA2
el asientothe seatA2
el menú del díathe set lunch of the dayA2
la habitación doblethe doubleB1
la consigna de equipajethe store for suitcasesB1

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

Breakfast at the bar

You order a small breakfast in a bar in the morning.

Waiter
Buenos días. ¿Qué te pongo?Good morning. What can I get you?
Customer
Buenos días. Un café con leche y una tostada, por favor.Good morning. A white coffee and a piece of toast, please.
Waiter
¿Con tomate o con mantequilla?With tomato or with butter?
Customer
Con tomate, gracias.With tomato, thanks.
Waiter
Ahora mismo te lo traigo.I’ll bring it right away.
Customer
Perfecto. ¿Pago aquí o en la caja?Perfect. Do I pay here or at the till?

At the ticket office

You are buying a train ticket to Granada at the station.

Traveller
Buenos días. Un billete para Granada, por favor.Hello. A ticket to Granada, please.
Ticket office
¿Solo ida o ida y vuelta?Single or return?
Traveller
Ida y vuelta. Vuelvo el domingo por la tarde.Return. I’m coming back on Sunday afternoon.
Ticket office
¿Tiene usted algún descuento?Do you have any kind of discount?
Traveller
No. ¿Y a qué hora sale el tren?No. And what time does the train leave?
Ticket office
A las catorce y diez, del andén cinco. ¡Buen viaje!At ten past two, from platform five. Have a good trip!

A missed connection

Your train was late and your connection has gone.

Traveller
Perdone, mi tren venía con retraso y he perdido el enlace.Excuse me, my train was late and I’ve missed my connection.
Station staff
¿Adónde iba usted?Where were you going?
Traveller
A Bilbao. ¿Qué puedo hacer?To Bilbao. What can I do?
Station staff
Su billete sirve para el próximo tren, que sale dentro de cuarenta minutos.Your ticket is valid for the next train, which leaves in forty minutes.
Traveller
¿Tengo que reservar otro asiento?Do I have to book another seat?
Station staff
No hace falta. Le anoto el retraso en el billete.There’s no need. I’ll note the delay on your ticket.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

¿Me puede decir cómo llegar a la estación?Could you tell me how to get to the station?
A1polite puede is the usted form. With people your own age you say ¿Me puedes decir…?
Una mesa para dos, por favor.A table for two, please.
A1neutral
¿Me pone un café con leche?Could I have a white coffee?
A1neutral This is how you order at a bar in Spain: as a question with poner.
La cuenta, por favor.The bill, please.
A1neutral
No hablo mucho español, pero lo intento.I don’t speak much Spanish, but I’m trying.
A1neutral
Perdone, ¿dónde está la parada del autobús?Excuse me, where is the bus stop?
A1polite
¿Está lejos de aquí?Is it far from here?
A1neutral
Siga todo recto y luego gire a la izquierda.Go straight on and then turn left.
A1neutral This is what directions sound like: the imperative with usted. With tú it would be sigue and gira.
La estación está cerca, a cinco minutos.The station is close, five minutes away.
A1neutral
¿Cuánto cuesta?How much is it?
A1neutral
¿Hay un supermercado cerca?Is there a supermarket nearby?
A1neutral
¿Habla usted inglés?Do you speak English?
A1polite
Hola, tengo una reserva a nombre de Becker.Hello, I have a reservation under the name Becker.
A2neutral
¿Qué me recomienda?What would you recommend?
A2polite
Para mí, el menú del día.The set lunch for me, please.
A2neutral The menú del día is the inexpensive lunchtime menu with a starter, a main course and a dessert.
¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren para Sevilla?What time does the next train to Seville leave?
A2neutral
Perdona, ¿está libre este asiento?Excuse me, is this seat free?
A2casual
Un billete de ida y vuelta a Valencia, por favor.A return ticket to Valencia, please.
A2neutral
¿De qué andén sale el tren?Which platform does the train leave from?
A2neutral
El tren tiene veinte minutos de retraso.The train is twenty minutes late.
A2neutral
¿Tengo que cambiar de tren en Madrid?Do I have to change trains in Madrid?
A2neutral
Hemos perdido el tren de las diez.We’ve missed the ten o’clock train.
A2neutral perder also means “to miss”: perder el tren, perder el avión.
Me he perdido. ¿Me puede ayudar?I’m lost. Could you help me?
A2neutral
¿Dónde puedo dejar la maleta?Where can I leave my suitcase?
A2neutral
¿El desayuno está incluido?Is breakfast included?
A2neutral
Mañana vamos a hacer una excursión a la costa.Tomorrow we’re going on a trip to the coast.
A2neutral
He dejado el pasaporte en el hotel.I’ve left my passport at the hotel.
A2neutral
¿Podría despertarme mañana a las seis?Could you wake me at six tomorrow?
B1polite The conditional podría turns a request into a polite one.
El aire acondicionado de la habitación no funciona.The air conditioning in the room isn’t working.
B1neutral
¿Sería posible cambiar de habitación? Hay mucho ruido.Would it be possible to change rooms? It’s very noisy.
B1polite
Preferiría un asiento de ventanilla.I’d prefer a window seat.
B1polite
¿Hay consigna de equipaje en la estación?Is there a left-luggage office at the station?
B1neutral
He perdido el enlace porque el tren venía con retraso.I missed my connection because the train was late.
B1neutral
Mi maleta no ha llegado. ¿A quién tengo que dirigirme?My suitcase hasn’t arrived. Who should I speak to?
B1neutral
Hoy no circulan trenes por la huelga.There are no trains today because of the strike.
B1neutral
Si el tren hubiera llegado a su hora, no habríamos perdido el último autobús.If the train had been on time, we wouldn’t have missed the last bus.
B2neutral Unreal past: si + pluperfect subjunctive, then the conditional perfect.
Quisiera denunciar la pérdida de mi pasaporte.I would like to report the loss of my passport.
B2formal
Este billete no admite cambios ni devoluciones.This ticket cannot be changed or refunded.
B2neutral A typical line from the terms and conditions: after a negative, ni means “nor”.
¿Tendría la amabilidad de llamarme un taxi?Would you be so kind as to call me a taxi?
B2formal

What matters here

In Spain people move to tú much sooner than you might expect, waiters and shop assistants included.
usted stays right with older people and in formal situations.
túusted
A question makes a request softer:
¿Me pone un café? rather than an imperative.
¿Me pone un café?
Meals are later than in most of Europe:
lunch often after 2 p.m., dinner after 9 p.m.
Three words help with announcements:
vía (platform), retraso (delay) and cancelado (cancelled).
víaretrasocancelado

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Spanish, then open it to compare.

Could you tell me how to get to the station?
¿Me puede decir cómo llegar a la estación?
How much is it?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
Which platform does the train leave from?
¿De qué andén sale el tren?
Could you wake me at six tomorrow?
¿Podría despertarme mañana a las seis?

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Reading texts

Reading texts on this topic (12)

Practise

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Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.