7 Biggest Tourist Scams in Spain

hey there fellow Travelers Mark here with Walters world and today we're in Herona Spain and today we're going to talk about are some of the scams you might see when you come here to Spain and before I get started I got to let you know Spain is a very safe country to come to so don't let this video scare you from coming here I'm just trying to give you the heads up on possible scam you might see when you're here because in general 99% of the tourists that come here have no problems whatsoever but for that 1% that get nailed I want this video out there to help you so you don't get in trouble and I think one of the kind of not necessarily hams but one of the gotas you might get when you come here is the hamon Iberico you know the hamon the ham you want to have when you're here in Spain that just amazing it melts your mouth it's so good but you're like Mark how can it be a scam when it tastes so good well the scam of it isn't really a scam it's just the you didn't read the menu right is you have to realize and look and see the price and how is it priced is it price per 100 grams or is it priced per plate because I've seen people that are like oh yeah I want a pile of it they're like okay and they think oh that's the the price is on there no that's for 100 gram and then they got like 400 gram they're like oh my God I just spent like 80 what the heck just happened I'm like yeah you you didn't you didn't you know notice how they pric this that's one I wish to have a heads up for it and sometimes that happens with the uh the croquettas as well the little fried like the ham thingies that you want to love to have when you're here cuz sometimes they sell them like as six or three or just as one so just be aware of that and ask how many do I get when I order my cettas now a real scam you need to look out for when you do come here to Spain is actually the pickpockets at any of the major tourist sites especially if you're going to be on lambla in Barcelona that is like the peak pocket capital of like the world okay have heads up there PL a myor when you're in Madrid I mean anytime there's a lot of tourists there's going to be pick bockets that's not just in Spain that's anywhere in the world so just be aware of that be extra cautious when you're there and what's funny is once you leave those busy tourist areas like Barcelona's nearby like when you leave the the B goo and the elbourne districts where all the tourists are there's really like zero possibility or almost zero possibility that you'll get pickpocketer okay so just be extra aware when you're in like major tour SES like Sevilla when you're coming out of the the cathedral there okay and the thing is it's not always pickpockets to get you what I've seen a lot here in in Spain is actually the distraction scams you know someone gets you to look over here and your bag is appears over there this comes in different ways you know there's the oops I got mustard on you oh bird pooped on on you oops excuse me you got a little something on your shoulder there these kind of stams and what'll happen is some will be dressed up nicely and they'll be like hey uh there's a little something on your jacket there can I help you clean it off here's a napkin they're dressed nice they're very friendly their English is almost perfect you're look oh that's very nice you take off your bang and when you put your you go to get it back with the person helped you it's gone and they're like we don't know what happened or they've already walked off and you don't even suspect them okay you have to realize there's a team working you got something on your shirt you you'll be like thank you I'll get it taken care of when I go back to the hotel I have warned our fans for years on this and I still get emails about it every summer even my mom didn't listen to me cuz she got nailed because they got her bag cuz she had the mustard on her shoulder put it down on the ground poof her bag was gone but the guy was very nice now another serious scam you might run into when you do come here to Spain is actually vacation rental scams now it's not all over the country it's more in really popular tourist place like you're look at Cost Del Soul you know down by there or other places um and basically what it is it's just a fake apartment listing and the thing is if you use reputable sites you know verbo Airbnb you know hotels.com booking.com those you're usually fine it's that you're using secondary tertiary markets to get Apartments that's where you have to be careful you're looking up on random websites for it that's where you need to be wary especially if the pictures don't match up or if they're not give you enough information don't trust them just because somebody found a good apartment on eBay or whatever or Craigslist or wherever people look Facebook Marketplace doesn't mean it's real okay so I do recommend using reputable agencies to book your tours book your apartments book your hotels just in case because this is something that a number of tourists have mentioned over the years in the summertime now another scam which is you know a lot of places around the world but I think it's really important to mention is the free flower or free kind of something they give you whether it's a bracelet whether it's like a a stick of of herbs okay I mean this has happened to us it's especially if you're in Sevilla you'll come out of the cathedral and people will try to give you something like oh here it's free it's for peace it's for love it's for our church and you take it they're like give me money and you're like well Mark that's not a scam they just gave you that yeah but they make you think it's for free and it's not and then they pressure you to give them something and that I've seen tourists that just kind of just take the money just leave me alone because they get pressured into it so if someone comes up and tries to give you something and if you have little kids cuz they used to do that to our kids all the time when we come to Spain even they were tiny like just putting it in their hands they're like look your kid took it give me money and they could be very forceful just be like no and just walk away now another not necessarily scam but whoopsie I accidentally paid too much for something is the Tapas versus rones scam it's not really a scam but just the fact that we have to realize is tapas is a small plate you enough to cover the top of your glass to cover the top of your wine bottle just a top of a cover right but sometimes you want more and people like oh I'd like a lot of cetas I'd like a lot of the hamon I'd like a lot of the patas bravas and you move from the small Tapas to the big rasion and Aion is a lot more of quantity but also price and that's why sometimes when you think you're going to have a cheap dinner you or a cheap snack you end up spending a lot more CU you got the Rion versus the Tapas so make sure you mention uh just the Tapas version please Tapas por no and you're go to around Spain there's some really fantastic squares you want to go to whether you're go to Plaza mayor you know in Madrid you're going L rambla you know all the streets there in Barcelona there's a lot of fun place to be to have drinks get something to eat yes I I do got to tell you this one anytime you're eating and drinking near any main site just like anywhere in the world it's going to be overpriced and probably under tasty okay so do be aware of that cuz you're like oh you're like usual like three or four or 5y- old fla might be1 in Madrid by the plaza myor so be aware of that by any of the sites just walk a few blocks away you'll get food that costs a lot less and tastes a lot better and the thing is when you come to Spain just like when you go anywhere we have the usual kind of scams that are out there you know like fake bags on the street they're never really Louis Vuitton people they're never really Gucci you know the shell game where they're moving things around that's a given that you're going to lose even if your kid wins you're going to lose so if you're going to do it have your kid play cuz they like the kids to win because the adults say oh I can win like them and so then they let them play then the adults lose of course there's the always popular petition scan where someone comes up to ask you to sign something they might be scouting you out they might be pickpocket you when you're doing that we don't really know so believe me you're not from Spain so your signature does that count in any referendum so you can just walk on right by and one thing I want to say is if you're going to be going to ATMs I do recommend especially if you're in Barcelona go to the ATMs inside especially if it's by like popular tourist places because you'll be surprised how many people can just get your pocket without even noticing so it's better to do it inside of a bank and put your money in your your wallet and then put your wall away and then walk out because never know I mean it's not really that big of an issue but it is something I I always warn people when you go to ATMs people know that you took out cash and they can see how much cash you have that gives them more more reasons like okay that person has €300 I don't know how many euros that person has so I'm going to go rob that person now you all are nice people and good Samaran and you want to help people out in need I know that and we know that and other people know that what you have to realize is here in Spain there are Beggars who are actually part of organized groups so don't always assume that if you're giving to Beggars they're actually begging for themselves it might be begging for an organization of not good people so do be aware of that they do have social systems here to help people and the government recommends that you do not get to Beggars when you are here and also it kind of goes for the begging tourist because I actually have had here in Barcelona and in Sevilla I've had people actually come up be like Oh I'm a tourist could I still get my ticket back to Madrid could you help me out you're like oh yeah that sucks man here's €20 helping get back to Madrid to get home thanks man I appreciate it for me it was a lady who was doing that and I was in Sevilla for a week and by the end of the week I saw her again and she asked me for money again I'm like oh you didn't and I got had by it cuz their stories are so good and it's usually some of that's not Spanish so they have a different International accent so you fall for it CU you think you're being a nice person but in reality you're just falling for their scam now another thing I want you to be aware of that you might not think about is when you're at any Cafe you're at any restaurant this is a normal little scam kind of thing to look out for pickpocket thing to look out for don't leave your wallet or your phone on top of the table because people just walk by and swipe it especially in high traffic areas cuz you don't notice and I'm going to tell you right now your waiter is not going to go run after them if they take your bag or if they take your wallet or if they take your phone and the cops probably won't run after them either okay so do be aware of that keep your bags in front of you underneath your table right you keep your wallet in your pocket keep your phone in your pocket you want to take your picture of food get your pictures then put them back away now my next it's not really a scam it's more of like a tourist trap kind of symbol it's if you go to the Canary Islands or you go to mayorca and any place is offer you some kind of deal with Sangria look sangria is going to give you a headache CU probably has too much sugar and made with bad wine there's better ways to have sangria than at a discount place that's going to give you a tourist trap headache later have sangria with Cava that is a really good thing to have that you will not get the bad hangover for the bad wine with so do be aware of that especially in super touristy places where they have you know all inclusive resorts or Resort kind of things like the Canary Islands May Minorca Ibiza you'll see that okay so do be aware of it and speaking of places like that you got coel soul and I think that actually reminds me of another kind of it's not necessarily a scam it's just something to be aware of is don't think that the time shares and the vacation rental places to to buy into here in Spain are any better of investment than anywhere else in the world I give people many warnings when they go to pakana in the Dominican Republic or when they go to Jamaica where they go to Cancun about the time share things same thing here if you go to the south of SP you'll see them trying to sell houses and retirement communities or whatever look they're probably not a good investment I'm I'm not an investment adviser I'm not telling you how to do your money I'm just saying have it heads up and do your research before you you know sign that check that you get an apartment for 10 days once a year for the rest of your life and then I have the tourists kind of tricking themselves things to finish off and it has to do with the weather and one is tourists thinking that it's Spain and it's always warm and they'll realize that you do need a quter zip sometimes it's it's almost June and I am freezing cold here and I have a quarter zip on you got to be prepared for the weather and that's where I've seen some tourists get in really big trouble they've been really cold in the winter times because they didn't have the right clothes but also the summer they forgot that you still need to use sunblock when you're walking around the city too okay so don't trick yourself into thinking you're not going to get cold or you're not going to get fried by the sun all right so what are some other scams that you've seen here in Spain let me know in the comments below so we can help other Travelers have a better time here in Spain and now worry about these scams but honestly you're probably not going to bump into any of these when you're here so I hope you have a great time cuz I know you will the Spanish people are awesome the food is good and the partying goes all day long have a great time and I'll say bye from here in hona

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 22,019

Keywords: travel, europe, wolters world, travel advice, tourist attractions, travel vlogger, honest travel, Walters World

Id: MPXsp15DlyA

Length: 11min 44sec (704 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 02 2024