Fees That Can Quickly Increase Your Vacation’s Price

/ September 3, 2016

We love to go on trips and take vacation time to explore the world. We usually rejoice once we are done with booking the flight and accommodation. Those are the biggest expenses, which suck up most of the budget. But have you stopped to think (and calculate) how much the other fees add up to the cost? No? Take a look at the below fees, then!

Visa and vaccines fees

Yup, before you even start your journey to the airport, you have to pay some money. We assume you already have a passport, otherwise, you’d have to pay for that as well. Next, come the visas and some of them can be quite expensive. And if you go to any exotic place, you also need to factor in the vaccine fees.

Currency exchanges and debit / credit card fees

Nowadays it is a lot cheaper (generally) to just use your card at the destination to avoid high currency exchange rates. Right but…cards also have fees and in some places, you cannot use cards to pay. So you add more fees for withdrawing money.

Airport check-in fee

Have you booked your flight with a low cost carrier? Great! Now tell me what did you actually choose for check-in: online (free) or at the airport? If you didn’t choose to do the check in online or if you fail to show proof that you have done that, every single low-cost carrier will give you a “fine”. Depends on the carrier, of course, but be prepared to part with up to 70 USD for one boarding pass. We are not kidding and I am looking at you, Ryanair!

Checked luggage or hand luggage fee

Another question… what luggage do you have included with your ticket? You don’t know, right? Let me spell it out. Some airlines have two types of hand luggage: the tiny one for free and the more decent sized one paid for. More so, if your hand luggage is overweight, you will pay for that.

When it comes to checked luggage, unless you fly a transcontinental flight, chances are nothing is included with your ticket so, yes, you pay. Depends on the airline again but be prepared to part with 25 USD and more for one checked luggage.

Items which are forbidden in the hand bag

So you decided to travel carry-on only. That’s awesome. But you forget the rules of what is allowed in your hand bag and …you need to ditch some items at the security check. Typical offenders include liquids in containers bigger than the accepted limit.

Preferred seat

If you choose the seat when you book your ticket, many airlines – and all low-cost ones – will charge you for your preferred seat. Prices vary and can start from 2-3 USD with some carriers. If you want an exit row seat, prepare to part with a lot more.

The way to avoid this is to just get the seat at online check in and don’t be fussy. Choose whatever the system offers.

Food

Not many people research the cost of food at the destination. And even those who do this will find some discrepancies between online information and the reality on the ground. And 10 USD for a meal, quickly adds up.

Transfers

Other travelers don’t bother to research how much it actually costs to get from the airport to the accommodation and vice-versa. A lot if you take a private couch. A lot cheaper options can be found on public transportation (assuming there is one available when you land/depart)

Roaming fees*

Love to use your cell abroad? Then, first of all, ask your cell operator if you have any roaming minutes or data included. In Europe, we have it easy and cheap. Pre-paid SIM users can text freely (and use the allowance from national or international minutes) and may post-paid SIM users have roaming included. But, if you are not European, the fees can bite you in the behind quite quickly!

*Note: thank you, Katie, for the reminder:)

16 thoughts on “Fees That Can Quickly Increase Your Vacation’s Price”

  1. Good points! I’ve been stung by the credit/debit / cash withdrawal fees before I got wise to them! Also I would add watch out for roaming charges etc when using your mobile abroad – leads to massive bills if not!

    Reply

    • Ah that! I keep forgetting because I have *some* included with my subscription and I don’t use the data abroad (save from that *some* I keep for checking flight status, etc). Luckily, in the European Union, we’ll be rid of roaming fees as of Jun 1.

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  3. Heck yes go the food costs! Food is the main reason I travel so I learned quickly that 1) its definitely not free, and 2) it adds up quick!! In some places more than others!

    Reply

    • We don’t mind going to markets (actually i love markets) or stores to buy food, but ..seriously, nothing beats a traditional taverna or tavernolla. And the cost quickly goes up!

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  4. This post is perfect for me, I’m always so budget-conscious and HATE paying extra for something that I didn’t need to! Plus who doesn’t love getting public transport and eating the local food! 🙂

    Reply

    • Correct! 🙂
      I do admit I pay for the preferred seat and , lately, priority boarding, but only because of the perks (of course, choosing exactly where we like to stay, 30 days online check in – for Ryanair – and personal item – for WizzAir).

      Reply

  5. I’ve definitely been guilty of a few of these. Visas, transfers and vaccines for sure! It’s interesting to see how these little things add up, but weirdly, I am much better at sticking to a budget when I am planning/on a holiday than at home….odd that.

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  6. Such a great reminder. I always forget these fees but they add up and then your vacation is way more expensive than you intended. Thanks for a great read!

    Reply

  7. All those hidden costs can really add up. In the UK there are a lot of ‘cheap’ flights but they depart and arrive from places that are hard to get to so you can quickly waste a lot of money getting to where you need to be

    Reply

    • Yup, that’s why I included “transfers”. We also fly low-cost and I always need to remember the airport transfers. Or train/bus if we end up flying into a completely different city than where we want to go.

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  8. Love this post! People seem to forget how the little things add up.
    People always tell me “Why do you fly from Helsinki? It’s so expensive. Just take the ferry to Stockholm and then fly from there. Flight from Stockholm are much cheaper”. Never mind that the ferry costs money and the flight from Stockholm still costs money.. Do you know how freaking expensive transport within Stockholm is?! Getting from the harbour to the airport? No thanks.

    Okay, maybe in the end I’ll safe 10 Euros or 50 Euros, but I lose one full holiday day on only travelling. Opportunity cost is significantly higher. Something to consider also 😉

    Reply

    • Oh yeah, for my upcoming trip to Greece I checked all possible options I could be thinking of…fly into Mykonos, take ferry to Ios; fly into Athens, take ferry to Ios…flapping my wings would have been cheaper but, hey, don’t have the luxury lol Ended up with more days in Athens to grab a cheaper flight but overall will save money (thank you, my angel called my airbnb host haha)

      Reply

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