Tips for traveling without speaking the local language

Go with the basics already learned. It’s not necessary to speak a language fluently to travel abroad, however, if you do not speak the language, it’s advisable to spend a little time learning basic words and phrases that will surely be useful to you. You’d not believe how much it can help you to know few basic words such as: “Hi, Thank you, Yes, No, Please, Bathroom, Help…”

Smiling is very useful in almost any country, except Russia where it’s not usual to smile at foreigners, but generally by being nice to the locals they’ll try to help you as much as they can despite the language barrier.

Make hand gestures. Pointing, imitating, or trying to communicate with your hands often gets your message across. Be careful because in certain countries you can offend with certain gestures, if you think this is the case and you have offended someone by mistake, ask for forgiveness, the word “sorry” in English accompanied by the gesture of putting your hands together (prayer) is known globally.

Download a translation App on your phone. The Google Translate app is a very good option, camera focus on the text you want to translate (a menu, a sign …) and the app will translate it instantly. It also makes it easy for you to have a conversation with someone, use the microphone to say what you want in your language and the app will translate it into the selected language.

Have the route from the airport to your hotel already clear. If you’ve decided to go by train or bus to the city, be very clear about which lines you should take and where to find them, airports usually have signs in English or recognizable signs. If you plan to take a taxi, find out before what they usually charge to avoid scams, and if they offer you the possibility, best option is to use your hotel’s shuttle.

Take a paper map with you in the local language. You can easily get one at your hotel, ask a receptionist to mark the places you want to visit, in case of loss, just by pointing to the place on the map they will quickly know where you want to go and will try to help you get to your destination.

IMPORTANT, take a hotel card or write down somewhere the address where you are staying, in case of loss you can always show it to someone and they will for sure help you return without problems.

Take one of our portable Wi-Fi devices with you! Stay connected anywhere in the world with Wifivox and check the internet, Google Maps or whatever you want when necessary. Visit https://blog.travelwifi.com/ and rent or buy your own portable Wi-Fi to take it with you wherever you want.

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