Do you need to have a knowledge of Spanish to travel in South America?

Quite a lot of folks who wish to travel stay clear of going to South America because they fear they won’t be in position to speak. They are both right and wrong. They are wrong, because many people have been traveling the world for centuries and they have been traveling to places where they didn’t be familiar with the language and somehow survived. These people are right, because possibility to speak at least few Spanish words and phrases can significantly boost your level of satisfaction but as well your safety and well-being.

If you are going to travel on your own, than studying some Spanish does help. Except for those most touristy places, barely anyone speaks English. So if you intend to shop for a bus ticket or simply ask for directions, it may be hard to do so without some elementary language capabilities. You can get lucky and come across a person speaking English, but the probability of this is truly low, so I wouldn’t depend on it.

Having said that, don’t think that you must to speak excellent Spanish to survive. All you need is some elementary Spanish words and phrases, numbers and some fundamental grammar (like the ability to conjugate a few most common verbs in present tense).The good information is that those things are pretty easy to study. You don’t even need to take classes. You can actually do it all on your own, by purchasing a language learning application or an exercise publication and just spending an hour a day mastering them. All you need is around 3 weeks of this kind of 1 hour a day effort and your encounter of travelling in South America is going to be so much richer. You will be able to have a chat with the natives, negotiate the prices and basically you will feel safer and have more fun.

If you are traveling to South America on an arranged trip with a Spanish speaking tour guide, you most likely don’t need to know any Spanish words and phrases. Your guide will do most things for you - plan overnight accommodation, food, transportation, show you around and answer your questions. But what if you are given some free time to walk around the place where you happen to be? What if during this time you go to the shop and want to purchase something? Your guide is not around so you don’t fully understand what the sales person is saying to you, and you can’t bargain the price. In a moment like that being knowledgeable of just a few numbers and words and phrases in Spanish does come in handy. Again don’t feel you need to be proficient. Just make an effort to devote a few hours studying on your own at home and your family vacation will be so much better.