· 7 min read
Spanish Phrases for Travel: 40 Essentials
By Language Lab editorial team
40 Spanish phrases for travel, grouped by hotel, directions and tickets, shops, and food and drink, with meanings. Checked against the BBC's Spanish Quick Fix.
A handful of Spanish phrases covers most of a trip. ¿Dónde está? asks where something is, and the answers you will hear are todo recto, straight ahead, a la izquierda, on the left, and a la derecha, on the right. ¿Tiene...? asks whether a hotel or shop has something, as in ¿Tiene una habitación? ¿Cuánto cuesta? asks the price. At the station, un billete para followed by the place gets you a ticket, de ida for one way or de ida y vuelta for a return. At the table, la cuenta is the bill. Add por favor and gracias to everything. The 40 phrases below are grouped by situation and come from the BBC's Spanish Quick Fix phrase lists.
First words
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hola | Hi |
| Gracias | Thank you |
| por favor | please |
| Sí | Yes |
| No | No |
| Perdón | Excuse me |
| Hablo un poco | I speak a little |
| Adiós | Goodbye |
At the hotel
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| el hotel | the hotel |
| ¿Tiene...? | Have you got...? |
| una habitación | a room |
| doble | double |
| individual | single |
| el baño | the bathroom |
| Tengo una reserva | I have a reservation |
| ¿Para cuántos días? | For how many days? |
| ¿Su nombre? | Your name? |
| ¿Su pasaporte? | Your passport? |
The last three are questions the receptionist asks you. Recognising them is as useful as being able to say your own lines. Put the pieces together and you have a full request: ¿Tiene una habitación doble?
Directions and tickets
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ¿Dónde está? | Where is? |
| todo recto | straight ahead |
| a la izquierda | on the left |
| a la derecha | on the right |
| enfrente | opposite |
| Está cerca | It's nearby |
| Está lejos | It's far away |
| un billete para... | a ticket to... |
| de ida | one way |
| de ida y vuelta | return |
In the shops
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ¿Hay... por aquí? | Is there... around here? |
| un supermercado | a supermarket |
| una farmacia | a chemist's |
| abierto | open |
| cerrado | closed |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? | How much does it cost? |
| ¿Qué talla? | What size? |
| ¿Algo más? | Anything else? |
Food and drink
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| el menú | the menu |
| una cerveza | a beer |
| un vaso de agua | a glass of water |
| la cuenta | the bill |
One more that saves embarrassment anywhere: ¿Dónde está el baño, por favor? Where's the toilet, please?
Three short exchanges
These use only the phrases above, so you can see how they fit together.
- At reception. You: ¿Tiene una habitación individual? Have you got a single room? Receptionist: ¿Para cuántos días? For how many days? Then: ¿Su nombre? ¿Su pasaporte? Your name? Your passport?
- In the street. You: Perdón, ¿dónde está el hotel? Excuse me, where is the hotel? Passer-by: Todo recto, a la derecha. Está cerca. Straight ahead, on the right. It's nearby.
- At the ticket office. You: Un billete para Sevilla, de ida y vuelta, por favor. A return ticket to Seville, please.
- In a bar. Waiter: ¿Qué va a tomar? What would you like? You: Una cerveza, por favor. A beer, please. Waiter: ¿Algo más? Anything else? Later: La cuenta, por favor. The bill, please.
How to make them stick
- Learn frames, not lists. ¿Dónde está...? and ¿Tiene...? each work with dozens of words.
- Say each phrase aloud. The BBC lists come with audio to copy.
- Cover the Spanish and produce it from the English.
- Spread it over a week. A 2013 review of learning research rated practice testing and distributed practice as high utility, and rereading as low.
- Learn the answers as well as the questions: left, right, straight ahead, near, far.
Language Lab's Spanish course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, so you can rehearse the hotel desk and the ticket office before you get there.
Frequently asked
What are the most useful Spanish phrases for travel?
¿Dónde está? for where is, ¿Tiene...? for have you got, ¿Cuánto cuesta? for how much does it cost, un billete para for a ticket to, la cuenta for the bill, plus por favor and gracias.
How do I ask for directions in Spanish?
Say Perdón, excuse me, then ¿Dónde está? and the place. Listen for todo recto, straight ahead, a la izquierda, on the left, and a la derecha, on the right.
How do I book a room in Spanish?
¿Tiene una habitación? means have you got a room. Add doble for double or individual for single. If you have booked, say Tengo una reserva.
How do I buy a train ticket in Spanish?
Un billete para and your destination. Say de ida for one way or de ida y vuelta for a return.
How do I ask for the bill in Spanish?
La cuenta, por favor: the bill, please.
How do I ask where the toilet is in Spanish?
¿Dónde está el baño, por favor?
Sources: BBC Languages, Spanish Quick Fix: basic, accommodation, food and drink, shopping, getting around and social phrases (archived pages); Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Flags at the Plaza de España, Seville, Kmtextor / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
