Welcome to Travel and Tourism in Spanish!
Ever dreamed of packing your bags, jumping on a plane, and exploring a sun-drenched Spanish beach or a historic castle? In this chapter, you will learn how to talk all about holidays, transport, places of interest, accommodation, and fun activities in Spanish. Whether you are describing a holiday you went on last summer, your everyday holiday preferences, or your ultimate dream trip, these notes will give you the tools you need.
Don't worry if learning new words and tenses feels tricky at first. We will break everything down step-by-step with clear patterns, easy memory tricks, and helpful examples!
1. Getting Around: Means of Transport (El transporte)
To talk about how you travel, Spanish uses a very simple and neat rule for almost every type of vehicle: use the little word en (meaning by or in) followed by the transport.
en avión – by plane
en tren – by train
en coche – by car
en autobús / en autocar – by bus / by coach
en barco – by boat
Watch Out: The One Special Exception!
When you walk on foot, Spanish does not use en. Instead, you say: a pie (on foot / walking).
Top Trap to Avoid:
In English, we say "by car" or "by train". Many students try to translate "by" as por and write por coche. Remember: always use en for vehicles (en coche, en tren) and a for walking (a pie)!
Key Takeaway: Use en + transport for vehicles, and a pie for walking on foot.
2. Destinations, Sights, and Places to Stay (Lugares de interés y Alojamiento)
Where are you heading, what will you see, and where will you sleep? Here is the essential vocabulary you need to describe your destination.
Holiday Destinations (Destinos)
la playa – the beach
la montaña – the mountain
el campo – the countryside
la ciudad – the city
el extranjero – abroad
Places of Interest (Lugares de interés)
el castillo – the castle
el museo – the museum
el monumento – the monument
la catedral – the cathedral
el parque temático / el parque de atracciones – the theme park / amusement park
el centro comercial – the shopping centre
Where to Stay (El alojamiento)
un hotel (de cuatro estrellas) – a (4-star) hotel
un albergue juvenil – a youth hostel
un camping – a campsite
un apartamento – an apartment
una casa rural – a countryside house / cottage
Key Takeaway: Pay attention to the little words in front of nouns: el and un are masculine, while la and una are feminine!
3. Holiday Activities (¿Qué haces de vacaciones?)
What do you like to do once you arrive? Here are high-frequency activity verbs. Notice that they are in the infinitive form (the raw verb ending in -ar, -er, or -ir, meaning "to do" something):
nadar en el mar / en la piscina – to swim in the sea / in the pool
tomar el sol – to sunbathe
sacar fotos / hacer fotos – to take photos
visitar monumentos – to visit monuments
comprar recuerdos – to buy souvenirs
hacer senderismo – to go hiking
hacer deportes acuáticos – to do water sports
probar la comida típica – to try typical / local food
Key Takeaway: You can put opinion phrases directly in front of these infinitives to make full sentences, for example: Me gusta tomar el sol (I like to sunbathe).
4. Grammar Power-Up: Talking in 3 Time Frames
Being able to switch between the present, the past, and the future is the secret to getting top marks in Spanish!
A. Present Tense: Habits and Opinions
Use the present tense to say where you usually go and what you like doing.
Question: ¿Adónde vas de vacaciones? (Where do you go on holiday?)
Answer: Normalmente voy a España porque hace sol. (Normally I go to Spain because it is sunny.)
Combine your opinion verbs with infinitives:
Me gusta (I like) / Me gustan (I like plural things)
Prefiero (I prefer)
Me encanta (I love) / Me encantan (I love plural things)
Example: Prefiero nadar en el mar porque es divertido. (I prefer to swim in the sea because it is fun.)
B. Preterite (Past) Tense: Describing Past Trips
When talking about a holiday that happened in the past (like last year), we use the Preterite tense.
1. The Irregular Superstars
Some of the most common holiday verbs are irregular in the past. You will use these all the time:
ir (to go) and ser (to be) share the exact same forms in the preterite:
fui – I went / I was
fue – It was / he/she went
hacer (to do / to make):
hice – I did / I made (e.g., Hice senderismo – I went hiking)
hizo – It did / it was (e.g., Hizo buen tiempo – The weather was good)
2. Regular Preterite Endings
To put regular verbs into the past, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending and add these personal endings:
Regular -ar verbs (e.g., visitar, viajar, quedarse):
yo: -é (visité – I visited)
tú: -aste (visitaste – you visited)
él/ella: -ó (visitó – he/she visited)
nosotros: -amos (visitamos – we visited)
vosotros: -asteis (visitasteis – you all visited)
ellos/ellas: -aron (visitaron – they visited)
Regular -er and -ir verbs (e.g., comer, salir):
yo: -í (comí – I ate / salí – I went out)
tú: -iste (comiste / saliste)
él/ella: -ió (comió / salió)
nosotros: -imos (comimos / salimos)
vosotros: -isteis (comisteis / salisteis)
ellos/ellas: -ieron (comieron / salieron)
3. Evaluating Your Past Holiday
To give an opinion on a past trip, use these fixed phrases:
Lo pasé genial – I had a great time
Lo pasé fatal – I had a terrible time
Fue increíble – It was incredible
Fue aburrido – It was boring
C. Near Future Tense: Upcoming Visits
Talking about future trips is very easy! Use the Near Future formula:
Present tense of ir + a + infinitive verb
Example: El próximo año voy a visitar México. (Next year I am going to visit Mexico.)
Example: Vamos a nadar en la piscina. (We are going to swim in the pool.)
D. Conditional: Dream Holidays
Want to impress with a touch of higher-level Spanish? Use the conditional to talk about your dream holiday:
Me gustaría ir a... – I would like to go to...
Sería genial – It would be great / amazing
Example: Me gustaría ir a España porque sería genial. (I would like to go to Spain because it would be great.)
Key Takeaway: Match your time phrases with your verbs! Use Normalmente voy for present habits, El año pasado fui for past trips, and El año que viene voy a ir for future plans.
5. Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Examiner Traps
Pitfall 1: Mixing up "Fui" (Past) and "Voy" (Present)
Do not mix your time frames! Saying "El año pasado voy a España" means "Last year I go to Spain".
Correct: El año pasado fui a España. (Last year I went to Spain.)
Pitfall 2: Translating "I had a good time" literally
In English, we say "I had a good time". If you translate this word-for-word into Spanish ("Tuve un buen tiempo"), a Spanish speaker will think you are talking about the sunny weather!
Correct: Always use the set phrase Lo pasé bien or Lo pasé genial.
Pitfall 3: Weather Confusions with "Hace"
In Spanish, we use the verb hacer (to make/do) for most weather expressions, not ser or estar.
Incorrect: Es calor or Está calor.
Correct: Hace calor (It is hot) / Hizo calor (It was hot).
For rain: Use the verb llueve (it rains) or está lloviendo (it is raining). Do not say hace lloviendo!
Pitfall 4: Adjective Agreement
Remember that adjectives describing your trip or hotel must match the gender and number of the noun:
el hotel era cómodo (singular masculine)
las vacaciones fueron divertidas (plural feminine)
6. Quick Summary Review
• Transport: Use en for vehicles (en avión, en tren, en coche, en barco, en autobús) and a pie for walking.
• Past Tense Superstars: fui (I went / I was), fue (it was), hice (I did), hizo (it made/did).
• Opinions: Use Lo pasé genial to say you had a great time, and Fue increíble to say it was incredible.
• Future Plans: Use voy a + infinitive (e.g., voy a visitar) and Me gustaría ir a... for dream destinations.