SPEAK FLUENT TRAVELER

Can You Say "Lunch" In Spanish? Learn 10 Useful Words For Your Next Trip!

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Is there anything more exciting than packing your bags and catching that plane to your next destination? Make sure you pack the right clothes for the weather and your essential documents, but don't forget one more thing for your next trip: vocabulary. Spanish is the official language in more than 20 countries around the world. If you want to visit a Latin American destination or the beautiful country of Spain, it's important to know these 10 Spanish travel words and how to use them. Vamos!

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Whenever you travel, you need to pack your clothes and other items for your time away. Whether you prefer just a carry-on or a full set of suitcases, one Spanish word you'll find useful is maleta, which simply means "suitcase."

In the plural, you can use maletas to refer to many suitcases, or equipaje as a collective noun to refer to all of your luggage. For instance, you can say Perdí mi maleta ("I lost my suitcase") or Perdí mi equipaje ("I lost my luggage"). But we hope that doesn't happen to you!

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And if you pack your bags, you'll probably take a plane. While most airports offer information in several languages, including English, it is always useful to know some local words and phrases to make yourself better understood.

El avión is the Spanish term for "the plane." For example, you might hear an airport worker or a fellow passenger say, El avión hacia México parte a las 6 am ("The plane to Mexico leaves at 6 am"). On the other hand, the word vuelo refers to a specific flight. For example, you might say, No puedo comer contigo el viernes. ¡Tengo un vuelo a Buenos Aires! ("I can't have lunch with you on Friday. I have a flight to Buenos Aires!").

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A big part of any trip is exploring new places, visiting historical sites, or enjoying a walk through beautiful landscapes. But to get to those sites, you need to know where they are. While we have the technology to guide us everywhere today, locals often have helpful tips, shortcuts, or route recommendations that can be of great help.

If you want to ask "Where is...?" in Spanish, start with ¿Dónde se encuentra...? Or ¿Dónde está...? For example, you could refer to a specific landmark asking, ¿Dónde se encuentra el Cristo Redentor? ("Where is Christ the Redeemer?"). Bonus tip: When writing in Spanish, remember to use question marks at both the beginning and end of the question.

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Just like in any situation, accidents and emergencies can happen, though we hope they don't during your trip. If you need to buy band-aids or any medication, you could ask, ¿Dónde se encuentra la farmacia?

As you might have guessed, farmacia is Spanish for "pharmacy" or "drugstore," the place you'll need if you get sick or hurt.

In addition, at la farmacia, you can get other products like soap, shampoo, or hand sanitizer if you're about to go on an excursion.

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Now, let's focus on one of the best parts of traveling: buying things! When shopping in a Spanish-speaking country, it's important to know how to ask for prices.

While many people around the world understand English, it's always nice to make a little effort to communicate with the locals in their language. If you walk into a store and fall in love with an item or find the perfect gift for a friend, you'll need to ask, ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? ("How much is this?"). In case you know the name of the product, you can be more specific by saying ¿Cuánto cuesta esa escultura? ("How much is that sculpture?"). Alternatively, you can ask, ¿Cuál es el precio? ("What's the price?").

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If shopping is your thing, there is something you can't forget: your wallet. Since it's one of the most important things to have when you're away from home, knowing how to refer to it in other languages is especially useful.

Billetera and cartera -depending on the country- are the two Spanish words for "wallet." For example, you can say, Dame un minuto mientras busco mi billetera/cartera ("Give me a minute while I find my wallet"). You can also use one of the phrases from this list and ask, ¿Dónde está mi billetera/cartera? ("Where is my wallet?"). And if you're referring to a digital wallet, the Spanish term would be billetera virtual or billetera digital.

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If there's anything more important than your wallet, it's what's inside it. You know, money and credit cards are necessary for any trip.

So, in Spanish, the word for "money" is dinero. If you're specifically referring to cash, you can use the term efectivo. For example, Necesito efectivo ("I need some cash").

On the other hand, the Spanish term for "credit card" is quite similar to the English one: Tarjeta de crédito. To sound more natural, you can simply say tarjeta ("card"), just like the locals do. Quisiera pagar con tarjeta de crédito is the Spanish phrase to say, "I'd like to pay with my credit card."

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Besides meeting friendly people, visiting historical sites, and buying pretty souvenirs, there is another joy that you'll find on every trip: food. Each destination you visit offers unique local recipes and delicacies. That's why it's important to know how to refer to those dishes.

The generic word for "food" in Spanish is comida. You can say, for example, Necesito algo de comida ("I need some food") or Preparemos la comida ("Let's get the food ready"). On the other hand, if you want to talk about specific meals of the day, Spanish, like English, has different terms for each. Desayuno is "breakfast," almuerzo is "lunch," and cena is "dinner." So, what is your favorite meal of the day?

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No matter where your travel takes you, there's one thing you can't overlook: a good place to stay.

If you need to say "room" in Spanish, the term you are looking for is habitación. To express, for example, "My room number is 360," you can say, Mi habitación es la número 360.

If you need to ask, "Do you have any rooms available?" you would say, Disculpe, ¿tiene alguna habitación disponible? And if you'd like to request room service politely, you can say, Quisiera servicio a la habitación, por favor.

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One of the main activities for tourists is visiting museums and art galleries. If you are one of those who don't want to miss any work of art, there are two terms that will be very helpful.

Although the Spanish word museo might look similar to the English "museum," it can sound different when pronounced. If you need to ask how to get to a particular museum, you can say, ¿Dónde se encuentra el museo? You can also express, Me encantaría visitar ese museo ("I'd love to visit that museum").

Another similar term is Galería de arte, which basically translates to "Art gallery."

Exploring unusual toponyms

Enjoy a ha-ha moment with the 10 funniest town names around the world

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Do you see yourself visiting Accident or spending a few days skiing in Drama? How about a long weekend in Boring, or a nice vacation in Hell? Check out these 10 towns and cities with the most curious names in the world, including one impossible to pronounce and another, well, let's just say non-existent.

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Accident is a small town located in the plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains in Maryland. Two different accounts explain the curious name of this Garrett County town of less than 350 inhabitants. Both versions involve a man named Deakins and date back to the mid-18th century when the lands of the United States were open for settlement.

The more widespread story indicates that, after King George II of England granted Deakins 600 acres of his choice, he commissioned two groups of engineers to determine the best site. To his surprise, and "by accident", both selected the same plot of land. Accident was officially incorporated in 1916 and if you ever visit, you should know that any person from this town is called an "Accidental."

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It may sound funny, but it's no joke. Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, a parish municipality of the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada, sits on a hill in the Appalachian Plateau, 400 meters above sea level. It was named in 1874 and in 2017 was granted the Guinness World Record for being the only city in the world with more than two exclamation points in its name.

The origin of the Ha! Ha! has been the subject of various interpretations. However, the Quebec Toponymy Commission solved the mystery. In reality, ha-ha is a French archaism that designates a dead end or an unexpected obstacle. In this case, the obstacle in question was Lake Témiscouata, which had to be crossed to reach the village. Time took care of distorting the word and granting us this peculiar toponym.

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Contrary to what you might think, this town in northwestern Osage County, Missouri was not named after the famous monster created by Mary Shelley. It is believed that the origin of the name of this unincorporated community located just 12 miles from Jefferson City is a tribute to a pioneer citizen named Gottfried Franken who donated land in 1890 for the construction of a church.

At the time, the donated area was popularly known as Franken Hill, although a post office called Frankenstein was established in 1893. So, how did it end up being called that? One possible explanation may be related to the fact that many of the early settlers of Frankenstein came from the Westphalen area of Germany. The full toponym probably derives from the German stein, which in English means "rock."

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No, it's not a computer error and you're not having a vision problem. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the full name of a village located on the island of Anglesey in Wales and is probably the weirdest name on this list. With 58 characters, this charming destination has the longest name in Europe and the second-longest one-word place name in the world.

It was given this name in 1869 for the sole purpose of attracting tourists. However, unless you are fluent in Welsh, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to pronounce it correctly; it is a real tongue twister! Translated to English, it means: "St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel Near to the Rapid Whirlpool of Llantysilio of the Red Cave." But don't worry, you don't have to memorize it all, to make things easier the locals call it Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG for short.

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There is no consensus regarding the origin of the unusual name of this unincorporated community in Jackson County, Tennessee. As is always the case in these situations, there are a few rumors going around. One theory suggests that when residents applied for a post office they forgot to fill in the name field. The U.S. Post Office Department didn't give it a second thought and in 1866 just returned the application with "Nameless" stamped on the form.

In his book Blue Highways: A Journey Into America, travel writer William Least Heat-Moon offers another version. He recounts that the locals finally decided to call their town Nameless because they couldn't agree on a name: some suggested patriotic themes, others preferred something related to nature. Apparently, a fellow who was fed up with the discussion said: "This here's a nameless place if I ever seen one, so leave it be." And that's just what they did.

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"Welcome to hell," writes someone in the caption of their Instagram post of a selfie next to a blue sign. Although the name of this Norwegian village probably finds its origin in the word hellir, which means "cave" in Old Norse, travelers from all over the world love to take pictures of themselves at the Hell train station and make jokes like "See you in Hell," or "I have been to Hell and back."

The town of Hell is located in the province of Trøndelag, in the central part of the country, very close to the Trondheim Fjord and the Norwegian Sea coast. However, instead of fire and sulfur, this quiet town is home to cold temperatures and ice-covered streets. Yes, there's a place on Earth where hell freezes over!

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Unlike the ancient Greek tragedies, in which Prometheus rebels against the gods and Oedipus kills his own father, the peaceful city of Drama surprisingly does not live up to its name. In fact, it was named after Hydrama —meaning "rich in water"—, a city with excellent water resources believed to have been in the same place in classical times.

Located in the Macedonian region of northeastern Greece, Drama is surrounded by green hills, breathtaking waterfalls, and miles of pristine nature to explore. The area is known for having the lowest temperatures in the country, which offers the unusual opportunity to ski on Mount Falakro, just an hour's drive away.

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With a name like Kissing, you might expect this town to be full of loving couples walking hand in hand in the sunset. Located just outside of Augsburg, one of Germany's oldest cities, Kissing is home to beautiful small churches and large green spaces, perfect for romance and courtship. However, while it is true that it has a lot of charm, you don't have to be a romantic to enjoy this bucolic Bavarian village.

In fact, the first certain mention of this municipality goes back to the year 935 when it was called Chissingun. This toponym probably derives from the Old High German male name Kiso/Cisso. Fun fact: the surname Kissinger —as in Henry Kissinger— means inhabitant of Kissing. Did you know?

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Boring is anything but boring. This town in the state of Oregon does its best to get rid of that negative connotation and invites visitors to take funny pictures at the entrance sign. Not only that, in 2012 it was paired with the village of Dull, Scotland. Along with Bland, Australia, the three towns are informally —and humorously— called the "Trinity of Tedium."

The town of Boring, located in the foothills of the Cascade mountain range, is named after a former Civil War soldier named William Boring who donated land for the first school. But, as you might imagine, few pay attention to this little detail. As with the Norwegian town of Hell, all sorts of witty phrases come up. "I had fun in Boring, OR" is one of our favorites.

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Nameless places, accidents, monsters, the longest name: this list has it all. That's why we couldn't say goodbye without adding a superhero to the mix. In southeastern Turkey, there is a large city called Batman, home to almost 500,000 people. Although there is no link between the fictional character and this urbanization, the history of its name is full of curiosities.

Turkey's third-largest city actually got its current name a few years after artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger created the Dark Knight. This place, formerly called Iluh, changed its name in 1957, in homage to an eponymous river called Batman since the 19th century. And why is the river called that? There is a simple explanation: In Turkey and Persia, a batman is an ancient unit of measure.