Learning Spanish online
 

I plan to do South America in 2026.

I have completed 8 bike tours in SEA (South East Asia) and this would be the ultimate tour.

It will be tough especially doing it solo but before I get into buying a bike there, which country to start with, routes etc I think I should have some basic conversational Spanish.

Being fluent in English won't help me much at South America I guess.

So, the question is what is the recommended website to lean Spanish online? Hoping it's not too cost prohibitive.

Thanks
:scooter:

Duolingo. It's fairly basic but free, and you can get a reasonable grasp of the language if you put the hours in. Alternatively look for language classes near to you. Spanish is a mainstream language and you'll learn a lot more with live tuition.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately there are no Spanish classes in the city I live in. That means it has to be online classes only.

I've been using Duolingo for the last 2 days but I think I need a native Spanish speaker to talk to me hence online classes.

beerbier

Duolingo is good for getting basic vocabulary and grammar, but yeah the best way is to search for a tutor who can do personalised 1 to 1 tutoring as well since you have specific needs.

Note that accents, casual vocabulary, and pronunciation varies greatly. My Spanish is ok, but there's a guy from Chile at work who I can barely understand even when he's trying to speak slowly and clearly for me!

While touring South America I was surprised to find my minimal Spanish wasn't getting much better. Then I realized that not only did most of my fellow tourists (oops--I mean adventure motorcyclists) speak English, but that for major parts of my trip the dominant local languages were not Spanish at all, but Portuguese (Brazil), French/Dutch/English (the Guianas), Guaraní (Paraguay), Quechua/Aymara (Bolivia and Peru), and others. And to the extent that I was already able to speak Spanish, it didn't seem to do me much good once the pronunciation changed in Chile and Argentina.

None of which answers the OP's question. There's no doubt that online classes and translator apps have made a huge difference in learning languages, but best bet remains stopping early in your trip to take some immersion classes on the ground. If you're traveling north to south, a couple of weeks in Colombia would really help; if south to north, B.A. is popular, although the pronunciation is quite different there. And if coming from Central America, Oaxaca, Guanajuato or Antigua have lots of language schools, as do other stops on the tourist routes.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

I've been using Pimsleur Spanish for a good number of years and it has worked very well for me. My Spanish is adequate for travel. I seldom have the opportunity at home to speak with a Spanish native speaker. My Spanish is learned totally from Pimsleur. I can speak without having to think about it too much. Spanish speakers understand me, telling me my Spanish is good. I think they are referring to their ability to understand me and my accent, not my vocabulary. I'm an old guy; old guys can learn a new language!

You have two years. You should be able to complete the second level or more in that time frame, considering you'll probably have moments of slow learning from low motivation. You won't be fluent, but your Spanish will be adequate to travel solo. Native speakers will be able to understand you.

Pimsleur does cost money, but it's all conversational. No written drills. It doesn't even include formal grammar lessons. It works! I think they have a few free lessons to try. Put the lessons on an i-pod and multi task when driving, walking, or when you wake up at 2AM in the night. How much are you spending on your trip? How much are you spending for gear? This is another expense of preparation. Having basic Spanish and traveling solo puts you in direct contact with the residents of the country you are traveling in. It's definitely worth the discipline and cost. I attest to that from direct experience.

Great response from a great community.

@markharf,

I like the idea of doing immersion classes on the ground when I am at South America. Do you have any idea how much it costs for the classes?

I come from a developing country in Asia (Malaysia) so the currency is weak versus the USD/Euro. So what might be reasonable for a European might be costly for me when I convert to Malaysian Ringgit.
I actually would love to do a European tour but the cost of bike rental, food, accommodation converted to my local currency quickly put an end to it! LOL

I really have no rough plan yet in my mind for the big South America tour .... i do know it will be very challenging for a solo rider especially when my mechanical skills are to put it mildly shite!

@LD Hack,

I'll check out Pimsleur and thank you for sharing your personal experience.

I have not made any preparation yet for this big tour except that my first step is to learn conversational Spanish.

In my previous life I was in logistics so I like to plan as much as I can and I am known to be OCD in my planning! LOL

When I did this in Mexico classes ran five days a week all day long and cost something like US$100/week. Lodging and food could be done on your own or through the schools, in local families for more practice or in dorms or private rooms. That was 15 years ago, and I imagine prices have at least doubled by now.

South America is not difficult at all unless you go looking specifically for difficulty (and even then). There is infrastructure, people are mostly pretty nice, and the vast majority of the horror stories you hear are from people determined to sound like they've been having bold adventures on the far fringes of the universe. You may find yourself complaining about how tame everything is.

I wouldn't discourage you from learning some basic maintenance--flat tires, chain maintenance, bulbs, cable adjustments, that sort of thing. But if you're riding a basic bike without too many weird parts and cutting edge features, most stuff can be dealt with fairly cheaply by local mechanics.

Last but not least: there's nothing wrong with riding solo!

Mark,
Assuming the prices have doubled to USD$200 per week for all day classes for a week it still sounds reasonable!

All my tours in South East Asia were solo so I am used to traveling alone.

I can do basic stuff like chain maintenance, bulbs, tyre repairs if it is tubeless. Tube tyres are beyond me though!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

:scooter::scooter:

Tube repairs on the road consist of replacing the tube. Carry a spare front and rear tube along with wrenches, tire irons, and a pump. Know how to replace the tube without pinching the new one. Basic skills are all that you need. Definitely ride a simple moto, and I recommend something light, under 135 kilos/300 pounds. For more complex repairs (clutch or wheel bearings for example), there are motorcycle repair shops throughout South America, some countries with more, others with fewer.

My thought on immersion classes: While surely an excellent learning and cultural experience, my choice has been to maximize my travel time, instead of spending it learning Spanish. My trips to Latin American countries are multiple 2 to 8 week time periods, not one big, long, epic trip. I can study Spanish at home and utilize my travel time for traveling, instead of studying Spanish during a trip.

Hello

I don't know anything about online classes, but whatever you do is a step in the right direction.

I did several weeks of classes in Mexico and Ecuador.
I can only recommend doing a few weeks of classes in the country you start or soon after, depending on the prices of the country.
For the price of a 10 people class in one country you might get privat class in an other country.

Today with the internet it's easy to find out about schools.

In a city with an university, you could try to look for studends who like to make extra $.

Just do whatever you can, speaking some spanish opens the hearts and doors of the locals.

sushi

Thanks for the recommendations.

Muchas gracias.

:scooter::scooter:

duolingo is great to learn grammar and vocabulary if you take some spanish class. The cheapest and best place is in Ketzaltenango guatemala.

There are like 20 schools and it's dirt cheap between $150 to $200 for 20 hours a week room and board in a family setting. Some of the school are motorcycle friendly and will assist in every way they can.

The city is tourist friendly

This by far the best advice I can give. I did that in Antigua in the 70's for a lot more money.

My wife had been using Duolingo to (attempt to) learn Swedish on an off for the last 12 months. After all that time our three year old bilingual granddaughter can’t understand a word she says. Her bilingual Swedish mother damns her with faint praise (and a smile) whenever another attempt at Swedish is uttered. Our conclusion is that it’s not what you say but the way that you say it. In the words of the song, that’s what gets results.

Evening classes or personal tuition have to be the best - certainly for correcting your pronunciation- but failing that I put Michel Thomas way above Duolingo for remote learning.