How to buy a train ticket in Spanish
Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor.
“A return ticket, please.”
When: At the ticket window or counter
The moment
You are at the ticket window in Atocha station in Madrid and you need a ticket to Toledo and back the same day. The queue behind you is long, so keep it short.
A1 · Unit 3 · Getting around
The lines
Ida or ida y vuelta
Ask for the ticket and say in the same breath whether you are coming back: "Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor" gets you there and back. Leave off "y vuelta" and you have asked for one way only.
Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor.
“A return ticket, please.”
When to use it: At the ticket window or counter
What you’ll hear back: ¿A qué hora quiere volver? (What time do you want to come back?)
When does the next one leave?
"¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren?" asks when the next train leaves. Swap tren for autobús or metro and the question still works everywhere.
¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren?
“What time does the next train leave?”
When to use it: When you just missed one and want the soonest
What you’ll hear back: A las ocho y media. (At half past eight.)
Words for this scene
| Spanish | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ¿De qué andén sale? | deh KEH ahn-DEHN SAH-leh | Which platform does it leave from? |
Perdone, ¿de qué andén sale el tren a Toledo? Excuse me, which platform does the Toledo train leave from? Tip: At Atocha the platform appears on the board minutes before departure. | ||
| una recarga de diez viajes | OO-nah reh-KAR-gah deh dyeth BYAH-hess | a ten-trip top-up |
Póngame una recarga de diez viajes, por favor. Give me a ten-trip top-up, please. Tip: Ten trips cost far less per ride than single metro tickets. | ||
| ¿Hay que hacer transbordo? | eye keh ah-THEHR trahns-BOR-doh | Do I have to change trains? |
Para ir a Chamartín, ¿hay que hacer transbordo? To get to Chamartín, do I have to change trains? Tip: If they say yes, follow the orange correspondencia signs. | ||
Your objective
Buy a return ticket to where you’re going and ask what time the next train leaves.
- a return ticket
- where to
- the time of the next train
Lines that get it done
- Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor.
- ¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren?
In the live scene the objective stays on screen, and the Replay afterwards says whether you got it done.
Check yourself
1. You are going to Toledo for the day and coming back tonight. What do you ask for?
- Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor.
- Un billete de ida, por favor.
- Dos billetes de ida, por favor.
- Un billete para volver, por favor.
Show the answer
Un billete de ida y vuelta, por favor.
Ida y vuelta is there and back; ida on its own is one way.
2. How do you ask what time the next train leaves?
- ¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren?
- ¿A qué hora llega el próximo tren?
- ¿Dónde sale el próximo tren?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta el próximo tren?
Show the answer
¿A qué hora sale el próximo tren?
Sale is leaves; llega would ask when it arrives instead.
3. You have your ticket and now need to know where to wait. What do you ask?
- ¿De qué andén sale?
- ¿Hay que hacer transbordo?
- ¿A qué hora sale?
- ¿Cuánto cuesta?
Show the answer
¿De qué andén sale?
Andén is the platform, so this is the question that tells you where to stand.