6 Tourist Scams in Lanzarote

You are walking along the promenade in Puerto del Carmen when a young British or Irish person with a clipboard and official-looking credentials approaches you. They claim to be conducting a survey for the Tourist Board and hand you a scratch card. You scratch it and — surprise — you have won a prize. All you need to do is visit their office for a short presentation to collect your free iPad, excursion, or electronics. The presentation turns into a three-to-four-hour high-pressure sales pitch for a timeshare or 'holiday club' membership costing several thousand pounds. The European Consumer Centre (EVZ) published a detailed warning specifically about the scratch card timeshare scam on the Canary Islands, noting that holiday certificates are used to lure tourists into timeshare presentations on Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife, and Fuerteventura. CanariesLive.com's rip-off guide documents how the scratch card always wins and the 'free presentation' becomes intense pressure to sign contracts worth thousands of pounds. TripAdvisor's Lanzarote Forum includes a thread about 'Holiday Club Scam Costa Teguise,' where visitors report the same operation running under the holiday club label after timeshare regulations were tightened. The Timeshare Consumer Association warns that after new laws made traditional timeshare harder to sell, the same operators repackaged as 'holiday clubs' — promising points-based luxury holidays that deliver very little for the money.

You booked a rental car online for €15 per day — a steal. At the Goldcar desk at Lanzarote Airport, they place an €800 deposit on your credit card and hand you a checkout form where you must highlight any existing damage. You pick up the car, enjoy your holiday, and return it. The desk agent tells you to leave the keys and go — no car inspection is performed and no return document is provided. Weeks later, you receive credit card charges of €500-€1,500 for 'damage' you never caused. One customer was charged €1,534.67 for superficial scratches on the underside of bumpers. TripAdvisor's Lanzarote Forum has a detailed thread titled 'Goldcar / Interrent scam in Lanzarote Airport' with dozens of reports documenting the pattern: cheap upfront prices, large deposits, no inspection at return, and later charges for phantom damage. Trustpilot's Goldcar page has thousands of one-star reviews describing the same experience across multiple locations. SpanishFiestas.com published a 'Goldcar Car Rental Rip-Off' article detailing how the company deliberately does not inspect cars at return to avoid providing customers documentation proving the car was fine, then charges for damage weeks later when the tourist is back home and cannot prove otherwise. The Road Trip Guy's Lanzarote car hire guide warns readers to take timestamped photos and videos of every panel of the car at both pickup and return.

You book an 'exclusive catamaran excursion' for €100 per person that promises a day of water sports including jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking, SUP, banana boat, and snorkeling. On the day, you discover the jet skis are 'all booked elsewhere.' The banana boat ride lasts ten minutes. There is no kayaking, no SUP, no parasailing. You spend most of the day sitting on a catamaran with nothing to do. When you complain to the operator (such as H2O Sports), you receive no response or apology. Trustpilot reviews for Lanzarote excursion companies document this exact scenario, with one reviewer describing a €100 per person excursion where promised activities were unavailable, the only water sport offered was a brief banana boat ride at 5 PM, and the company showed no interest in customer satisfaction afterward. CanariesLive.com's scam guide warns about tour operators in the Canaries who advertise comprehensive packages but deliver only a fraction of the promised activities. FuerteventuraAirport.info's scam prevention guide for the Canary Islands advises tourists to book excursions only through well-reviewed operators and to check specific activity guarantees in the booking terms.

You are having dinner at a restaurant terrace in Puerto del Carmen when a person approaches your table with a clipboard and a laminated card written in multiple languages. The card explains they are deaf and mute and they are collecting donations to fund a center for disabled people on the island. They place a charity donation sheet on your table showing previous donors have given €10-20. It feels awkward to refuse someone claiming to be disabled while they are standing right at your table. TripAdvisor's Lanzarote Forum has a thread titled 'Deaf and Dumb Scam' documenting this operation, with multiple travelers reporting the same approach at restaurants across the island. The laminated cards are professionally produced in four or five languages. Travelers confirmed that the donations do not go to any legitimate charity and that the same individuals were seen working different restaurant areas nightly. FuerteventuraAirport.info's Canary Islands scam guide lists the deaf-mute charity collection as one of the common tourist scams across the islands.

You rent a scooter or jet ski from a beachside shop for the day. You return it in the same condition you received it. The owner suddenly discovers 'damage' that was not there before — a scratch on the side, a scuff mark on the hull, a dent you could not possibly have caused. They demand several hundred euros for repairs. Since they have your credit card details from the rental agreement, they threaten to charge it immediately. CanariesLive.com's rip-off guide for the Canary Islands specifically warns that renting a motorbike, jet ski, or car and having the owner claim damage on return is a known scam across the islands. The GaminTraveler travel scam guide documents the same technique, noting that the rental operator waits for tourists to return the vehicle and then points to pre-existing damage as new. Multiple TripAdvisor threads across Canary Island forums report the same pattern with scooter and jet ski rentals where damage claims are inflated or entirely fabricated.

Your hotel excursion desk offers a day trip to Timanfaya National Park for €85 per person. You think this is a reasonable price for a full-day excursion with transport and lunch. You later discover the same excursion from the same operator is available directly for €45 per person. The hotel took a €40 commission per person for simply making a phone call. The same markup applies to catamaran trips, wine tours, and other popular activities. Multiple Lanzarote travel forums and blogs document the standard practice of hotel excursion desks charging 30-80% markups on activities that can be booked directly with operators for much less. Hotels.com's Canary Islands mistake guide warns against booking all excursions through your hotel without comparing prices. The Road Trip Guy's Lanzarote guide advises tourists to book activities directly with operators or through comparison sites like GetYourGuide or Viator, where competition keeps prices closer to the operator's actual rate.