How to Ask for and Give Directions in Spanish

Knowing how to ask for and give directions in Spanish is very important when traveling abroad to a Spanish speaking country.

Although sometimes it can be an adventure to get lost when traveling abroad, it isn’t always as much fun. Getting completely lost in a city you don’t know, can sometimes be stressful and even dangerous.

Thus, I gathered the vocabulary that you need to ask for and give directions in Spanish in this post, in order to get ready to your next trip. 🙂

CONTENTS

Directions in Spanish – Vocabulary

LOCATIONS AND LANDMARKS

When asking for or giving directions, it is important to know some key vocabulary.

SPANISH	ENGLISH
El apartamento	Apartment
El aseo/los aseos El baño/los baños El cuarto de aseo/baño El lavabo El servicio/los servicios	Bathroom Restroom
La autopista La autovía	Freeway Highway
La avenida	Avenue
El barrio	Neighborhood
La biblioteca	Library
La calle	Street
El camino	Unpaved road Way Path
La carretera	Road Highway
La catedral	Cathedral
El centro	Center Downtown
El edificio	Building
La escuela El colegio	School
La estación de autobuses La terminal de autobuses	Bus station
La estación de metro	Metro station
La estación de tranvía	Tram station Streetcar station
La estación de tren	Train station
El hostal	Hostel
El hotel	Hotel
La iglesia	Church
El jardín	Garden
La lavandería	laundromat
La manzana	Block
El mercado	Market
El museo	Museum
La oficina de correos	Post office
La oficina de turismo	Tourism office
El palacio	Palace
La parada de autobús	Bus stop
El parque	Park
La playa	Beach
La plaza	Square Plaza
La plaza de toros	Bullring
El puerto	Port Harbor
El restaurante	Restaurant
El río	River
El supermercado	Supermarket Grocery store
El teatro	Theater
La tienda	Shop
El zoológico	Zoo

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Prepositions of place or location express where things are often, relative to other objects or to other people, places and things.

SPANISH	ENGLISH
Alrededor de	Around
Al lado de Junto a	Next to
Antes de	Before
Atrás de	Behind In the back of
Cerca de Junto a	Near Close to
Debajo de	Under Underneath Beneath Below
Delante de	Ahead of In front of
Dentro de En	Inside In
Después de	After
Detrás de	Behind
En	In On
Encima de Sobre En	Above On On the top of Over
Enfrente de Frente a Delante de	Across from Facing In front of Opposite
Entre	Between
Fuera de	Out of
Lejos de	Far from Far away from

ADVERBS AND ADVERB PHRASES OF PLACE

Adverbs and adverb phrases of place express where the action of the verb is carried out.

SPANISH	ENGLISH
Abajo	Below Down Downstairs Underneath
Ahí	There
Al lado	Nearby
A la derecha	To the right On the right
Al final	At the end
Al fondo	At the back At the end
A la izquierda	To the left On the left
Al otro lado	Across On the other side
Allí	Over there
Aquí	Here
Arriba	Above Up Upstairs
Cerca	Nearby Close Near Close by
Debajo	Beneath Underneath
Delante	Ahead At front In front
Dentro	Inside
Derecho Recto	Straight Straight ahead
Detrás	At the back Behind
Encima	Above On On top Over
Enfrente	Across Opposite In front of
Fuera	Outside
Lejos	Far Far away

HOW TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS

There are many ways to ask for directions. Above all, keep in mind the main verbs we use are: Estar, encontrar, encontrarse, ir, llegar and quedar.

Spanish	English
¿Cómo llego al centro?	How do I get/arrive to Downtown?
¿Cómo puedo llegar a la estación de tren?	How can I get/arrive to the train station?
¿Cómo se llega al mercado?	How do you get/arrive to the market?
¿Cómo se va al museo? ¿Cómo voy al museo?	How do I go to the museum?
¿Cómo voy desde la plaza hasta el centro?	How do I go from the square to/until downtown?
¿Dónde está el baño?	Where is the bathroom/restroom?
¿Dónde puedo encontrar la biblioteca?	Where can I find the library?
¿Dónde queda la calle Aragón?	Where is Aragón street?
¿Dónde se encuentra la catedral?	Where is the cathedral?
¿En qué parte del barrio se encuentra la oficina de correos?	In what part of the neighborhood is the post office?
¿Qué hay detrás del teatro?	What is behind the theater?

HOW TO GIVE DIRECTIONS

It is not all about learning how to ask for directions, you also have to understand those directions.

Spanish	English
Detrás del teatro hay un restaurante	Behind the theater there is a restaurant
El baño está al fondo	The bathroom is at the back
Gire/a/as a la derecha	Turn to the right
La biblioteca se encuentra en el centro	The library is in downtown
La calle Aragón queda cerca de la estación de autobuses	Aragón street is close to the bus station
La oficina de correos se encuentra en el centro	The post office is in downtown
Siga/sigue/sigues derecho/recto	Keep straight
Tome/a/as la avenida San Antonio Coja/coge/es la avenida San Antonio	Take San Antonio avenue
Vaya/ve/vas derecho/recto hasta la plaza Cataluña	Go straight until Cataluña Square
Vaya/ve/vas hacia la calle Valencia	Go toward Valencia street

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, I made easier for you to learn and practice how to ask for and give directions in Spanish.

I encourage you to get familiar with this vocabulary and use it in your next adventure! 🙂

Have you ever been lost in a Spanish speaking country? Were you able to find your way?

Leave your answers below, in the comment section.

Before you leave, do Spain and its language interest you? Then, you may find our online Spanish classes helpful. With these classes, you will practice your speaking and listening skills with a native speaker from Spain.

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