A2 vocabulary guide
Spanish travel vocabulary: get from here to there
Travel Spanish is most useful when it helps you solve a small problem: find the right platform, confirm a booking or understand where to get off. Learn each word alongside the question it helps you ask, and you will be ready for more than a memorised phrase.
Start with the pattern
Words are easier to keep when they make sense.
Transport terms can vary by service. A billete is a ticket; an abono is a pass. To ask where something is, ¿Dónde está…? works for a station or hotel, while ¿Cómo se llega a…? asks how to get somewhere. Use coger for taking transport in Spain; the verb has different colloquial associations in some other regions, where tomar is a safe alternative.
For accommodation, reserva is a booking and alojamiento is a broad word for accommodation. Confirm the name, dates and number of nights. For directions, cerca de means near, al lado de means next to, and hasta is useful for a destination or endpoint.
Hear it in a sentence
Examples in everyday Spanish
¿De qué andén sale el tren para Córdoba?
Which platform does the train to Córdoba leave from?
Tenemos una reserva a nombre de Morgan.
We have a booking under the name Morgan.
Bájate en la tercera parada y cruza la plaza.
Get off at the third stop and cross the square.
Familiar singular instruction.
El autobús lleva veinte minutos de retraso.
The bus is twenty minutes late.
Listen for the local detail
A note on Spanish in Spain
- In Spain, coger el tren or coger el autobús is ordinary usage. In some countries the verb coger can sound vulgar; tomar is broadly understood as “take” transport.
- A estación can be a train or bus station; parada usually refers to a stop. Look for context and signs.
Look out for
Common mistakes, made clearer
Avoid
¿Dónde es la estación?
Use / understand
¿Dónde está la estación?
Use estar to ask for the location of a station or other place.
Avoid
Billete and abono as interchangeable in every situation.
Use / understand
Use billete for a journey ticket and abono for a pass or travel subscription.
The fare product matters, especially when buying travel.
Avoid
Translate “get off” word for word as bajar fuera.
Use / understand
Bájate aquí / bájese aquí.
Bajarse is the usual verb for getting off a vehicle.
Five quick checks
Try it before you peek.
- 01
Ask “Which platform does the train leave from?”
Reveal answer and explanation
¿De qué andén sale el tren?
Andén means platform and salir means depart.
- 02
What is a travel pass commonly called in Spain?
Reveal answer and explanation
Un abono.
Billete usually refers to a ticket for a journey.
- 03
Complete: Tenemos una ___ en el hotel.
Reveal answer and explanation
reserva.
Reserva means booking or reservation.
- 04
How do you ask how to get to the museum?
Reveal answer and explanation
¿Cómo se llega al museo?
A + el contracts to al.
- 05
Translate “The bus is delayed.”
Reveal answer and explanation
El autobús lleva retraso. / El autobús está retrasado.
Both convey that the bus is late; retraso is a useful travel noun.
Still wondering
Questions about spanish travel vocabulary: get from here to there
Should I use coger or tomar for transport?
Coger is normal in Spain for taking a bus or train. Tomar is a broadly understood alternative and is more usual in some regions where coger has a different colloquial meaning.
What is the difference between estación and parada?
Estación is a station, often a larger transport hub. Parada is commonly a bus or tram stop.
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