Tour & Activity Scams in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Unlicensed guides, fake tickets, bait-and-switch excursions, and ticket scalping. Below are the tour & activities scams reported in San Juan — how they work and how to avoid them.
For broader context, compare this scam type with nearby destinations like Willemstad, San José, and Havana.
Last updated: April 2, 2026
4
Tour & Activities Scams
10
Total in San Juan
How it works
The government-run ferry from Ceiba to Culebra and Vieques is extremely popular and often sells out weeks in advance. Scalpers outside the terminal sell tickets at 3–5 times face value, and some tickets are counterfeit. The ferry operator (Puerto Rico Ferry) does not use third-party resellers.
How it works
Individuals near the cruise ship piers and the entrance to Old San Juan approach arriving passengers presenting themselves as "official" city guides with lanyards, printed itineraries, and sometimes laminated ID cards. They offer walking tours of Old San Juan's historic sites at seemingly reasonable rates but demand full cash payment upfront. The tour is either significantly shortened, skips advertised stops, or the guide disappears partway through. There is no recourse as no official booking record exists.
How it works
Puerto Rico's bioluminescent bays (Mosquito Bay in Vieques, La Parguera) attract unofficial operators who charge for "bio bay tours" but visit during full moon when the bioluminescence is barely visible, or take tourists to an entirely different (non-bio) body of water.
How it works
Touts near the cruise pier in Old San Juan sell tickets to unofficial "rum distillery tours" that take tourists to a small back-room operation or simply to a shop for a tasting session, presenting it as a factory visit. The real Bacardí Distillery is in Cataño and requires a ferry or rideshare to reach.
See all scams in San Juan
10 total warnings across all categories