When you travel, WhatsApp is your pocket interpreter
In much of the world, booking a taxi, confirming a stay or reaching a guide goes through WhatsApp. You might as well do it in the right language.
Why everything goes through WhatsApp
A host or a local driver will often give you a WhatsApp number rather than an email address: it is free, instant, and you can send a location, a photo or a voice note. For a traveller it is a precious tool, as long as you understand each other.
It also means your trip is organised in a handful of short messages, so every one of them has to be clear.
Messages that prevent misunderstandings
- One message, one request: date, time, place.
- Write times in 24-hour format and dates with the month spelled out.
- Send your location pin rather than an approximate address.
- Confirm the price and the currency before you set off.
- Keep the conversation: it is your proof if something goes wrong.
Before you leave
Install and link the app before your departure, while you still have home Wi-Fi. Check that messages from a foreign contact arrive translated. Save your hosts’ numbers in WhatsApp, not just on a booking confirmation.
Abroad, a local SIM card or roaming plan keeps you connected. WhatsApp and a translation layer both need data, so check your plan before you rely on them for something important.
Agreeing on price without an argument
For taxis, tours and rentals, write the amount, the currency and what it includes in one message, and ask for a simple “yes” in reply. A screenshot of that agreement is worth more than any memory of a conversation in a noisy street.
With oKiKo
Your chats with the host, the guide or the driver arrive in your language, and your replies leave in theirs, with a preview. For things that matter, such as prices, times and access, read the preview and confirm with a number or a photo.