The vacation is over. You’re wistfully looking back at the volleyball game in progress on the beach as your taxi whisks you to the airport. You’ve managed to spend just about all of your foreign currency except for the taxi fare, and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself. You replay the highlights of your vacation in your head as the driver weaves his way along the sunny coastal highway.
At the airport, you wait in line to check your bags, then, you’re shuttled over to the customs line. But wait: In order to exit the customs area you have to pay a “departure fee” — in the local currency. Uh-oh.
 |
As you leave Canada, be prepared to pay a CAD $10 improvement tax at Montreal’s
Trudeau Airport. |
Before you leave on vacation to any foreign country, it’s important to make sure you know about any potential surprise fees, especially departure fees. Many times your airplane tickets will include such fees at the time of purchase.
But woe is the traveler whose fee is not included in the price of his ticket when he discovers he doesn’t have enough cash to leave the country and the airport’s automatic teller machines don’t accept his credit card.
Some of the countries that currently require departure fees include:
Brazil : Tourists leaving Brazil must pay a US$ 36 departure tax, which can be paid in U.S. dollars or in reals.
Canada : Vancouver’s airport requires travelers to pay an “Airport Improvement Fee” that varies depending on whether you are flying to another destination in British Columbia, another destination in North America or a destination outside of North America.
Continued: When Leaving Isn’t Easy: Airport Fees
1 |2 |Next
| 