Why learn Spanish for travel?
Picking up some Spanish (or refreshing your existing knowledge) before your travels can help you navigate the countries you visit better, find great places to eat that only locals know, and personally connect with the people in the area. It’s a must in order to have a richer cultural experience in the place that you’re visiting!
Here is a quick guide to your travel Spanish. Learning a few words and sayings will help you on your travels in Mexico.
It’s fun to try and speak a little Spanish with the people, and you will have a few laughs with it along the way. The locals will also appreciate it too. If you wander away from the main tourist areas, you will need to bring out all the Spanish you know.
If you want a compact book to travel with, Mexican Spanish phrasebook and dictionary by Lonely Planet has it all.
And check out other pages on MexicoTrippa – Mexican slang and How to learn Spanish.
- Greetings
- Language troubles
- Directions
- Eating out
- Transport
- Shopping
- Time and dates
Greetings
Hello – Hola
Goodbye – Adiós
Good morning – Buenos días
Good afternoon – Buenas tardes
Good evening/night – Buenas noches
See you soon – Hasta luego
Please – Por favor
Thank you – Gracias
You’re welcome – De nada
What is your name? – Formal – Como se llama? Informal – Como te llamas?
My name is.. – Me llamo..
Nice to meet you – Mucho gusto
Where are you from? – De dónde eres?
I’m from.. – Soy de..
Language troubles
Do you speak English? – Habla inglés?
Does anyone here speak English? – Hay alguien aquí que hable inglés?
I don’t speak Spanish – No hablo español
I don’t understand – No entiendo
Can you please repeat that please? – Puede repetirlo por favor?
Directions
Where is… – Dónde esta…
Is it far? – Está lejos?
Left – Izquierda
Right – Derecha
Turn left – De vuelta a la izquierda
Turn right – De vuelta a la derecha
One block – Una cuadra
Here – Aquí
There – allá
Eating out
Are you open? – Está abierto?
Do you have a table for four? – Tienen una mesa para cuatro?
I’d like to see the menu – Quisiera ver el menú
Do you have chicken/beef? – Tienen pollo/res?
Do you have beer/soda/water? Tienen cerveza/refresco/agua?
I’d like…. please – Quiero …. por favor
What is in this dish? – Que lleva este plato?
Can you bring me Ketchup/salt/serviette please. – Me trae ketchup/sal/servilleta por favor
The bill please – La cuenta por favor
Transport
Where is the bus station? – Donde está la terminal de autobuses?
Where is the bus stop to…? – Donde está la parada de camiones a ….
A fare to…. please – Un boleto a …. por favor
Whats the fare to…? – Cuánto cuesta hasta…?
What time does the bus leave? A qué hora sale el autobus?
How do i get to the airport? – Cómo llego al aeropuerto?
Shopping
How much is it? – Cuánto cuesta?
I’m just looking – Soló estoy mirando
May i look at it? – Puedo verlo?
Thats too expensive for me. – Es demasiado caro para mi.
What is your best price? Cuál es tu mejor precio?
I’ll take it – Me lo llevo.
Do you accept American dollars/credit cards? – Aceptan dólares americanos/tarjetas de crédito.
Time and dates
What time is it? – Qué hora es?
It’s one o’clock – Es la una.
It’s five o’clock – Son las cinco.
Half past five – cinco y media
Noon – Mediodía
Midnight – Medianoche
Now – Ahora
Tonight – Esta noche
Today – Hoy
Yesterday – Ayer
I hope you enjoyed the Quick guide to Travel Spanish.
JOIN US! WSE Travel Packages
This sounds like quite the adventure, right? We thought so too! Though we realize it can be pretty intimidating to get out there into the world on your own, especially when travelling to some of these off the beaten path locations. We love it when our readers give it a shot and try it for themselves! In fact, please leave us feedback if you do!! If trying something ‘this’ adventurous on your own is just a bit outside of your comfort zone, WSE Travel is here to help!
Follow this link for our ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Tours – packages that are highly personalized and tailored at your request.
Spain Travel Resources
These are my favorite companies to use when I travel. They consistently have the best deals, offer world-class customer service and great value, and overall, are better than their competitors. They are the companies I use the most and are always the starting point in my search for travel deals.
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- Best Hotel Deals: Booking.com – Booking is the best all-around hotel booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates because it compares all the other major hotel booking sites. They have the widest selection of comfortable accommodations. In all my tests, they’ve always had the cheapest rates out of all the booking websites.
- Best Tour Deals: Where Sidewalks End (of course) – WSE Travel is a boutique tour operator with specially curated tours, events, and workshops. We have many tour options available in cities in Mexico and worldwide, including cooking classes, walking tours, art workshops, and more!
- Best Car Rental Deals: Discover Cars – If you want to have mobility freedom, renting a car is an incredible option, but finding the best deal can be a nightmare! Discover Cars scans all the major car rental sites and includes all mandatory fees, taxes, and extras in the quoted price so there won’t be any unpleasant surprises when you arrive at the rental desk.
- Best Travel Insurance Deals: SafetyWing – SafetyWing offers convenient and affordable plans tailored to all your travel needs. They have cheap plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road. They even have subscriptions if you are planning long-term, without having to re-apply for each segment of your trip.
- Best E-Sim Provider: Airalo – Airalo is one of the most versatile e-sim providers I’ve ever found, offering e-sim in almost every country on earth! No need to take your home phone provider’s sim card out and risk losing it on your trip! As long as your phone has e-sim capabilities, Airalo has you covered at really good rates too, meaning you can be connected at all times on your trip!
- Best 100% Pick-pocket Proof Clothing Deals: Clever Companion – They make clothing specifically for travel, with hidden pockets to hide your valuables. From hoodies to briefs, they cover all your clothing needs – each with hidden pockets to hide your money, wallet, and anything else you want to keep safe!
- Best Eco-Safe Travel Products: TreeTribe – This company is just awesome! From water bottles to yoga pants, wallets to bikinis, and everything in between – all their products are great quality, and eco-friendly AND they plant a tree for every purchase!
- Best Outdoor Travel Product: LifeStraw – My go-to company for reusable water bottles with built-in filters so you can ensure your drinking water is always clean and safe.
Check out the Mexican slang page too.
Happy Travels!!
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