Beginner A2How To Talk About Transportation In Spanish
Whether you’re traveling by plane, train or automobile, we’ve got you covered with the words and phrases you need to navigate transportation in Spanish.
By Dylan Lyons
Key Takeaways
The guide focuses on essential Spanish vocabulary for navigating transportation, covering common directions, questions, and phrases to help travelers get around unfamiliar cities.
It organizes terms by travel mode—plane, train/bus, and car/bike—listing key nouns (like aeropuerto, billete, casco) and useful verbs (facturar, transbordar, conducir).
Practical example sentences are included for real situations, such as asking prices and times, requesting directions, and explaining you’re lost.
The most stressful part of traveling is usually the traveling part. Learning to navigate an unfamiliar city’s roads or transportation systems can be challenging. And when you don’t speak the language, it’s even more difficult to get around (and even easier to get lost). Say you have an upcoming trip planned to Madrid or Mexico City. You can take some of the stress out of your travels by learning how to talk about transportation in Spanish.
We’ve compiled a guide of some of the key words and phrases you should know related to transportation in Spanish, whether you’re traveling by foot, car, bus, bike, train or plane. And when you’re ready to travel on to other topics, there’s more Spanish vocabulary for you to walk, bike or train to.
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Talking About Transportation In Spanish
General Navigation
Where are you going? (formal) — ¿A dónde va?
to the left — a la izquierda
to the right — a la derecha
straight — recto
on the corner — en la esquina
I am looking for a hotel. — Busco un hotel.
¿Where is there a supermarket? — ¿Dónde hay un supermercado?
Excuse me! I am a tourist and I am lost. — ¡Disculpe! Soy turista y estoy perdido (m.) / perdida (f.).
Traveling By Plane
the airplane — el avión [el ah-VYON]
the airport — el aeropuerto [el ah-eh-roh-PWEHR-toh]
the terminal — la terminal [la ter-mee-NAHL]
the luggage — el equipaje [el eh-kee-PAH-heh]
the hand baggage (carry-on) — el equipaje de mano [el eh-kee-PAH-heh deh MAH-noh]
the weight limit — el límite de peso [el LEE-mee-teh deh PEH-soh]
the departure — el despegue [el des-PEH-geh]
the flight — el vuelo [el VWEH-loh]
the security check — el control de seguridad [el kon-TROL deh seh-goo-ree-DAHD]
the gate — la puerta de embarque [la PWER-tah deh em-BAR-keh]
the flight attendant — el auxiliar de vuelo [el owk-SIH-lyar deh VWEH-loh]
the connection — la conexión [la koh-nehk-SYON]
to check in — facturar [fak-too-RAR]
to board — subir a bordo [soo-BEER ah BOR-doh]
to land — aterrizar [ah-teh-rree-ZAR]
Do you have any liquids in your bag? Water? Juice? — ¿Lleva líquidos en su bolsa? ¿Agua? ¿Zumo?
(Note: Zumo is common to say in Spain, but in Latin America it’s common to say jugo.)
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Traveling By Train Or Bus
the public transportation — el transporte público [el tran-SPOR-teh POOH-blee-koh]
the train — el tren [el TREN]
the bus — el autobús [el ow-toh-BOOS]
the train station — la estación [la es-tah-SYON]
the bus (or train) stop — la parada [la pah-RAH-dah]
the ticket — el billete [el bee-YEH-teh]
the passenger — el pasajero [el pah-sah-HEH-roh]
the subway — el metro [el MEH-troh]
the track — la vía [la VEE-ah]
the timetable — el horario [el oh-RAH-ree-oh]
crowded — lleno [YEH-noh]
to catch — coger [koh-HEHR]
(Note: When you take public transportation, coger is common to say in Spain, but in Latin America, it’s common to say tomar.)
to transfer — transbordar [trans-bor-DAR]
to validate — picar [pee-KAR]
(Note: Another way to validate is validar.)
How much is a ticket to the airport? — ¿Cuánto cuesta un billete al aeropuerto?
What time does the train leave? — ¿A qué hora sale el tren?
Traveling By Car Or Bike
the car — el coche [el KO-cheh]
the driver — el conductor (m.) / la conductora (f.) [el kon-duk-TOR / la kon-duk-TOH-rah]
the bicycle — la bicicleta [la bee-see-KLEH-tah]
the cyclist — el ciclista (m.) / la ciclista (f.) [el see-KLEES-tah / la see-KLEES-tah]
the headlight — el faro [el FAH-roh]
the windshield wipers — el limpiaparabrisas [el leem-pee-ah-pah-rah-BREE-sahs]
the key — la llave [la YAH-veh]
the seat belt — el cinturón de seguridad [el seen-too-RON deh seh-goo-ree-DAHD]
the helmet — el casco [el KAHs-koh]
to drive — conducir [koh-noo-SEER]
to park — aparcar [ah-par-KAR]
to break down — tener una avería [teh-NER OO-nah ah-beh-REE-ah]
the driver’s license — el carné de conducir [el kar-NEH deh koh-noo-SEER]
You’re going too fast; you’re speeding! — ¡Estás conduciendo muy rápido, vas a toda velocidad!
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Dylan Lyons
Dylan is a senior content producer, overseeing video and podcast projects for the U.S. team. He studied journalism at Ithaca College and has an MBA from NYU. Before joining Babbel, Dylan managed social media for CBS News. His interests include reading, writing, politics, and anything sweet. Dylan lives in New York City.
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