01 · At the check-in counter
Aquí tiene mi pasaporte y el boleto.
Here's my passport and ticket. (boleto in Latin America — el billete in Spain.)
Say it as you hand both over — one line covers the whole handoff.
andbefluent.com/spanish/travel-ready
Travel Ready
Check in, find your gate, book a room, and sort out a lost bag — politely, in Spanish, out loud.
With airport and hotel staff, use usted — it's the register they expect, and staying polite gets you further when something goes wrong. A handful of phrases carry most trips: ¿me puede ayudar?, tengo una reservación a nombre de…, and no encuentro mi maleta. Watch the regional word for your ticket — el boleto in Mexico, el billete in Spain — and use estar for locations: ¿dónde está el metro?, never ¿dónde es?.
Below: the phrases for each leg of the trip, what locals really say, the slips that trip travellers up — and a way to rehearse a hotel check-in out loud before you land.
The warm-up pack
The lines that carry a trip end to end — check-in, the hotel desk, and the moment something goes wrong.
01 · At the check-in counter
Aquí tiene mi pasaporte y el boleto.
Here's my passport and ticket. (boleto in Latin America — el billete in Spain.)
Say it as you hand both over — one line covers the whole handoff.
02 · Claim your seat
Quisiera un asiento de ventanilla, por favor.
I'd like a window seat, please.
Quisiera softens the ask — it reads as a polite request, not a demand.
03 · Find your gate
¿Cuál es la puerta de embarque?
What's the boarding gate?
Simple and direct — exactly what to ask at the counter or an information desk.
04 · Customs, kept simple
Vengo de turista, por una semana.
I'm here as a tourist, for a week.
Short and factual is what customs officers actually want — no need to over-explain your trip.
05 · The honest answer
No tengo nada que declarar.
I have nothing to declare.
Say it plainly — it's the expected, low-drama answer when it's true.
06 · Walking up to reception
Tengo una reservación a nombre de Playford.
I have a reservation under my name.
Swap in your own name — a nombre de is the pattern, and it's how every hotel check-in starts.
07 · Ask for what you actually want
¿Me puede dar una habitación tranquila?
Can you give me a quiet room?
Reception won't know to offer this unless you ask — it's a completely normal request.
08 · Before you unpack
¿El desayuno está incluido?
Is breakfast included?
Worth confirming at check-in rather than finding out the hard way at breakfast.
09 · Getting to the metro
¿Dónde está la estación de metro más cercana?
Where's the nearest subway station? (el metro in Spain and Mexico — el subte in Argentina.)
Use estar for location — ¿dónde es? is a common slip, but location always takes estar.
10 · When your bag doesn't show
No encuentro mi maleta, creo que se perdió.
I can't find my bag, I think it got lost.
Say this plainly at the baggage desk — it's exactly what gets a lost-luggage report started.
11 · Say it plainly
¿Me puede ayudar, por favor? No hablo mucho español.
Can you help me, please? I don't speak much Spanish.
Not a failure — the badge's own advice. Saying this plainly gets people to slow down and help, every time.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/travel-readyRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| window seat | la ventanilla | el asiento de ventana |
| room | el cuarto | la pieza |
| subway | el metro | el subte |
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Travel Ready pack, the last lesson drops you at a hotel reception desk late at night — and Isabella is the receptionist on the evening shift: calm, formal, strictly usted, and she writes your room number on a little card before she hands over the key. You're tired from the flight, you need to confirm your reservation and ask about breakfast — and your suitcase never came off the belt. You have to sort it all out. Out loud. And she talks back:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Travel Ready is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Usted. With airport, customs, and hotel staff the formal register is standard, and it keeps you calm and polite when something goes wrong. Soften requests with ¿me puede…? rather than a blunt quiero.
No encuentro mi maleta, creo que se perdió — I can't find my bag, I think it got lost. At the baggage desk, add your flight details and ask ¿cuándo me la pueden entregar? (when can you deliver it?).
Both mean ticket — it's regional. Mexico and most of Latin America say el boleto; Spain says el billete. Either is understood, so pick your destination's word and stay consistent.
Use estar for location: ¿dónde está la estación de metro más cercana? (where's the nearest subway station?). For a bus, ¿este autobús va al museo? — does this bus go to the museum? A common slip is ¿dónde es el metro?; location takes estar, not ser.
Keep it short: vengo de turista, por una semana (I'm here as a tourist, for a week) and no tengo nada que declarar (nothing to declare). And beware a classic trap — estoy embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed; say qué pena instead.