Do you need a driving licence for a buggy in Lanzarote? Age, years held and passengers

Before the price, the real question is "will they actually let me drive?". There are no unguided buggies or free self-drive hire on Lanzarote: everything is a guided convoy tour, and each company adds its own conditions on top of the law. That is why two people with the same licence can drive with one operator and end up in the passenger seat with another.

Do you need a driving licence for a buggy in Lanzarote?

Yes. Every tour on the island asks for a valid category B (car) licence. A moped licence (AM) will not do: no operator on Lanzarote accepts it. Nor do you need a motorbike licence for the buggies, or for the trike, the Slingshot or the Spyder, going by the operators' own conditions.

Spanish law (RD 818/2009) says the B licence, which you can get at 18, covers cars and also motor tricycles and quadricycles. With one important catch: until you are 21, a B licence does not cover tricycles over 15 kW. The Polaris Slingshot and the Can-Am Spyder are above that, so to drive them on a car licence you must be 21 or over. The "B licence for more than 3 years" rule you may hear about applies only to 125 cc motorbikes, not to buggies or trikes.

What really decides it is the operator: almost all of them want the licence held for two years and a minimum age of 20 to 22.

Minimum age and years held, operator by operator

Three things the table makes clear:

• At 18, 19 or 20 the only published option is Lanzabuggy's Maverick Trail, which takes drivers from 18 with a full B licence. At 20 you can drive with H2O; at 21, with almost everyone.
• Paracraft is the strictest: 22 to drive its Puerto del Carmen buggy, although one third-party listing says 21. If you are 21, ask before you pay.
• Buggies Lanzarote publishes no minimum age and no passenger height. Its only written requirement is two years' driving experience, so confirm the rest when you book.

The difference between Lanzabuggy's two buggies is explained in Can-Am Maverick and Trail.

Original licence only: no photocopies, no photos on your phone

H2O Sports, the operator with the most reviews on GetYourGuide, puts it bluntly: each driver needs their original licence plus a passport or national ID card, and copies are not accepted. A reseller selling the same route claims it accepts the official digital licence, but the operator at the base has the final say, not the agency.

Paracraft also asks you to bring the physical licence for its buggy and jet ski pack. The practical rule is simple: bring the plastic card and your passport or ID, even if you have your licence in an app. A photo on your phone is not a licence.

UK, Irish and other foreign licences: do you need an IDP?

The tours accept licences from outside Spain, but it is worth knowing what the DGT (Spain's traffic authority) says:

• United Kingdom: a UK photocard driving licence is valid for driving in Spain, and Spain and the UK have recognised each other's licences again since March 2023. The UK Government's Spain travel advice does not mention an IDP. If you still have an old paper licence, the UK Government warns you may need to update it to a photocard. Provisional licences are not valid.
• Ireland, the rest of the EU and the EEA: valid with no further paperwork.
• United States, Canada and Australia: your national licence plus an International Driving Permit (IDP). Australian digital licences are not accepted outside Australia.
• Other non-EU countries: your licence is valid if it is current, you meet the Spanish minimum age and it follows the Geneva or Vienna convention models, in Spanish or with an official translation. The DGT recommends an IDP, valid for one year, carried with your licence and passport.
• Switzerland: we have not found an official statement. It is normally accepted, but an IDP avoids any doubt.

And remember: the two-years-held rule applies to foreign licences too.

Children and passengers: the 1.35 m rule

The 1.35 m limit is not a whim. Spain's General Traffic Regulations require anyone under 135 cm to use a child restraint, and two-seat buggies do not have one. That is why H2O and Paracraft ask for passengers to be at least 1.35 m tall, and Paracraft also asks for age 8.

If you are travelling with shorter children, the options change:

• H2O on-road from Puerto del Carmen: its listing only excludes under-3s. It is a road route with a walk of about 40 minutes to the El Cuervo volcano, from €180 per buggy for up to four people.
• Lanzabuggy's 4-seat family buggy: the reseller that sells it says "no age limit" on one page and "over 3" on another. Check when you book.
• H2O off-road 4- and 6-seaters: its website keeps the 1.35 m passenger rule, although an agency reselling the route says there is no limit in the back seats. If in doubt, go with what H2O says.

Guided quad tours leave from Playa Blanca; one reseller offers them with children from age 12. We compare the two in quad or buggy, and the bigger models in 4- and 6-seater buggies.

H2O does not accept pregnant passengers or people with back problems, and sets no weight limit.

Trikes, Slingshot and Spyder: 21 at the very least

Three-wheelers have the clearest rule on the island. Lanzabuggy asks for drivers aged 21 with two years' licence for the Rewaco trike (up to three people, manual gearbox), the Polaris Slingshot and the Can-Am Spyder. Here the law agrees: on a B licence, tricycles over 15 kW require you to be 21.

H2O's Can-Am Ryker, on the other hand, is driven on a car licence and is the only unguided motor hire we have found on the island (24 hours, €150 for up to two people). More details in trike and Slingshot and buggy hire.

Helmet, gloves and shoes: the new rule

Since 1 October 2026, article 118 of Spain's General Traffic Regulations requires drivers and passengers of quads, tricycles and quadricycles to wear an approved helmet on all roads, protective gloves on roads between towns and closed shoes covering the whole foot.

Buggies with a roll cage and seat belts recorded on their ITV (MOT) card are exempt: the seat belt is enough. On trikes, Spyders and quads you need the full kit; on the Slingshot it depends on its technical card, so ask the operator.

Every operator we checked requires closed shoes, and H2O provides a helmet and dust goggles. More on clothing and kit in what to bring on the tour.

Alcohol, insurance and deposit

Alcohol. The general limit is 0.5 g/l in blood (0.25 mg/l in breath). For drivers who have held their licence for less than two years it drops to 0.3 g/l (0.15 mg/l), which may affect anyone driving the Maverick Trail at 18 or 19. A cut to 0.2 is going through the Spanish parliament, but it is not law yet. H2O flatly bans driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Several routes stop at a bodega in La Geria: if you are driving, leave the tasting to your passenger.

Insurance. H2O includes insurance for each customer in the price.

Deposit. No operator on Lanzarote publishes a damage deposit or insurance excess. That does not mean there isn't one: if it worries you, ask when you book what happens if the buggy gets damaged. Do not confuse this with the booking deposit some agencies take: excursionslanzarote.com keeps 25 % up front, which is not refunded if you cancel.

Before you book: quick checklist

1. Age and years held for every driver, as per the table.
2. Children's height: 1.35 m in most two-seaters.
3. Original licence, passport or ID card and, if your country needs one, an IDP.
4. If everyone qualifies, the H2O off-road tour from Costa Teguise has the most reviews, from €150 per two-seat buggy (about €75 per person if there are two of you).

On 2 October 2026 the Cabildo (island council) opened a public consultation on a by-law that could restrict or ban buggies and quads on dirt tracks. Nothing is banned today, but routes may switch to tarmac: check when you book. For the full picture of companies, start with operators and platforms.

Reviewed: 6 October 2026