Back in January, my family went on a wonderful vacation for a few weeks to the country of Costa Rica.

But guess what?

The first time that I walked into a shop in Costa Rica, I was hit in the face with the realization that I did not practice enough Spanish for this trip.

I'm a language teacher.

I should know this, right?

Well, I want to help you not make the same mistake as me.

When you visit an English-speaking country, I want to help you remember and practice the most common travel phrases for common situations so that you don't get smacked in the face with English and realize, oh, I forgot to study.

So this lesson is for you if you are planning or you would like to visit an English-speaking country and you want to brush up your English-speaking skills before you go.

Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

Today, I'll help you with three common travel categories, eating out, shopping, and hotels, plus a bonus category that's especially for if you're traveling in the US, which is renting a car.

Let's talk about all of these four categories so that you don't feel embarrassed and smacked in the face with language like I was.

And of course, like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet to help you never forget what you are about to learn in this important lesson.

I've included all of the essential expressions, the meanings, some sample sentences.

You can print this out and you can study it on the airplane, on the train, while you're sleeping so that when you visit an English-speaking country, you're prepared.

That's the goal, right?

You can click on the link in the description to download this travel essential phrases worksheet and you will use it when you travel.

All right, let's get started with our first category, which is eating out at a restaurant.

When you walk into a restaurant in the US, the server might ask you, how many?

Well, they're wanting to know how many people are with you.

Sometimes we say how many people are in your party, even if it's not a birthday party, it's just your group.

And you can answer with, well, I'd like a table for four.

I'd like a table for four, please.

Or can I get a table for four?

Wonderful expressions.

When you sit down at your table, the server will ask you, what would you like to order?

And maybe you're not familiar with a lot of the food on that menu, or you want to make sure you get the best thing.

So you can ask this question, do you have any recommendations?

Do you have any recommendations?

Of course, make sure that their recommendation is not the most expensive thing on the menu.

Most servers are pretty honest and will tell you something that they think is really good, but it's a good way to be able to get the specialty of the restaurant or just something that maybe you hadn't thought about before.

A lot of restaurants in the US are aware that people have different eating diets or restrictions.

So if this is you, you're welcome to say, are there any vegetarian options?

Are there any vegan options?

Are there any gluten-free options?

You could say, I'm allergic to gluten.

Are there any gluten-free options?

And sometimes even on the menu, you will see little symbols like a G with a line through it.

And that means this has no gluten and those will be special items that you would be able to order.

Something that's very American is ordering something and then customizing it to what you want.

So you could say, can I get the cheeseburger and hold the lettuce and tomato?

Or can I get the cheeseburger without the lettuce and tomato?

You're not ordering it as is.

On the menu, it says cheeseburger, lettuce, and tomato.

It comes together.

But in the US, it's perfectly normal and really common to customize it to what you want.

So you could say, can I get the cheeseburger and hold, that means don't give it to me, hold the lettuce and tomato?

Or can I get the cheeseburger without the lettuce and tomato?

And they'll say, sure, no problem.

Something else that the US is known for is gigantic portion size.

And it's true.

You get huge portions here in the US.

So what happens if you don't finish all your food and don't feel like you need to finish all your food?

You can just ask the server, can I get a to-go box, please?

Can I get a to-go box, please?

It's perfectly normal.

Sometimes they will take your plate away and they'll fill up the to-go box for you.

Or more likely, they'll just bring you the box and you can put what you would like in that box and take it home and you've got lunch the next day.

The next phrase is one that you need to be a little bit careful about because it's different in movies and real life.

When you're done eating, you don't really need to ask for the check.

The server will eventually bring you the check.

They'll probably bring you the check and say, take your time.

There's no rush.

Of course, they don't want you to sit there for five hours.

But let's say that you are in a rush.

You need to leave quickly.

So when you finish your food, you want to ask them to bring the check immediately.

You should not say, check, please.

This is really common in movies and TV shows where you'll see someone say, check, please.

This is pretty rude, actually, in real life.

And it's much better to can I get the check, please?

Can I get the check, please?

Thanks.

This is much more polite and it's really the phrase that everyone uses.

So I recommend not saying, check, please.

It might be a little bit weird.

The next category of phrases are for when you're shopping.

This is where I really got stuck in Costa Rica because I felt like I understood the questions that the people working in the shop asked me, but I just didn't know how to formulate a response.

And I want you to be in that same situation.

So let's go over some common shopping situations and those easy expressions you can use.

Usually when you walk into a small-ish shop in the US, the person working there will just say, hi, welcome.

But they might also say, hi, are you looking for anything?

Hi, can I help you?

Hi, are you looking for anything special or anything in particular?

And with these questions, you need to know how to respond.

The easiest response is to just say, just looking, thanks, or I'm just looking, thanks.

Very simple, clear, and straightforward.

If they ask you, are you looking for anything special?

You can take that same word and say, no, I'm not looking for anything special.

Or if they use the word particular, are you looking for anything in particular?

You can use that same word and say, no, I'm not looking for anything in particular.

I'm just looking.

And this will get them off your back.

And you can just browse around the shop however you want.

But what if you are looking for something in particular or something special and do you need a little help?

What can you say?

You can use the phrase, I'm looking for.

I'm looking for some special chocolate to buy as a gift.

That's what I was often doing in Costa Rica.

I wanted to buy some special chocolate to bring back home to my friends and family.

So you can say, I'm looking for some special chocolate to buy as a gift.

Or you could use it as a question instead.

You can use the simple phrase, do you have any special chocolate that I could buy as a gift?

Do you have, or do you have any chocolate with strawberries in it?

I think that's something I'd really love.

Do you have?

And then they might say, oh yes, it's right over here.

You did it.

If you're buying clothes in the US, it's really common to be allowed to try them on.

And I know in some countries, this is not the case.

And for me, this is really frustrating because I want to try it on and make sure that it fits before I buy it.

But in the US, this is really common.

And usually they will direct you to a fitting room or a dressing room.

But let's say it's locked.

This is often the case.

And you need to ask someone for permission to go into the dressing room.

What can you say?

You've got two questions.

You can ask, can I try this on?

Can I try this shirt on?

Or you can hold up the shirt and say, can I try this on?

Or you can say, can I a dressing room?

Can I have a dressing room?

And maybe they'll say, oh yes, right this way.

And they'll unlock it and let you in.

That's great to use.

Fortunately, in the US, it's really common to be able to use a credit card or a debit card, like a Visa card, even at a small shop.

Sometimes we call these mom and pop shops.

And sometimes those smaller shops just have a minimum purchase of $5 because there's a fee involved.

But you can ask, if you want to be certain, you can ask, do you take credit cards?

And sometimes on the shop window, there will be little icons for Visa, MasterCard, and that will let you know that as well.

But in the US, as long as you're buying something at a regular store, then you can use a credit card for a $1 purchase, $2 purchase.

They don't really care.

If you go to that small mom and pop store, usually you have to buy a minimum of $5 to use a credit card.

But let's imagine that you find a shop that does not accept credit cards.

This is pretty unusual, but I'm sure they're out there.

So I want to help arm you with that knowledge.

If they say, no, sorry, we don't take credit cards.

In fact, I can only think of one store in my whole town that does not take credit cards.

And everyone knows that that's the store that doesn't.

So it's pretty uncommon.

But if they say, no, sorry, we don't, you need to ask, oh, is there an ATM nearby?

This is the term that we use in the US for a cash machine, kind of magic money.

You put your credit card in, push some buttons, and money magically appears from the wall.

We call that an ATM.

It stands for automated teller machine.

Is there an ATM nearby?

And they might say, oh yeah, just right around the corner.

And usually places that only accept cash will know where all the ATMs are because they often get that question.

Well, let's imagine the worst case scenario.

You have fallen in love with something and they don't take credit cards.

There's no ATM nearby.

What do you do?

Well, you can ask them these two questions.

Do you have a website and do you offer international shipping?

And who knows, they might even ship it to your hotel if you're going to be there for another couple days.

So you could say, do you have a website and do you offer international shipping?

They might say no, but it's always worth a try.

All right, let's go on to our third category for helping you to travel easily and with success.

And that is talking about your hotel, your reservation.

You can even use a lot of these expressions for an Airbnb, but this is the type of travel that my family likes to do where we stay in someone's home or in a home that someone is renting out.

You can cook easily.

It feels more comfortable and relaxed because it's someone's home.

There's a yard, especially with children.

This is great.