From credit card charges to beach extras and taxes, avoid being ripped-off on your holiday with our top 10 saving tips
MORE than seven in ten holidaymakers believe they were ripped off by the cost of food, drink and entertainment on their last trip abroad.
A study by Post Office Travel Money found that record numbers were concerned about the costs they might face abroad.
This year, 72 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed were worried, ten per cent more than 2017.
Today Mr Money looks at some of the worst rip-offs highlighted and the money-saving measures that will help you to beat them.
Spending on plastic
Unexpected charges for paying on plastic caused the greatest number of complaints.
Two in five, 40 per cent, told Post Office researchers they had been caught out by hidden charges when using their debit or credit cards to pay for items in shops, restaurants and bars or to withdraw cash at ATMs.
This cost an average of over £191 per family.
A big gripe for one in six respondents was being charged a fee every time they made an ATM cash withdrawal.
They did not realise they would incur a fee each time they used their card and that it would have been cheaper to withdraw more cash in one go.
REMEDY: It’s important to know how you will spend your money before you go away so you don’t get clobbered with fees.
Top 10 rip-offs
1. Charges and fees for paying with plastic
2. Food and drink prices on airplanes
3. High cost of attraction entry and organised excursions
4. Meal and drink prices in restaurants and bars
5. Compulsory service charges on meal bills
6. Transport costs
7. Waiters expecting tips in cash
8. Poor exchange rates at airports
9. Kids’ beach extras (such as buckets and spades, lilos and ice creams)
10. Unexpected visa charges and tourist taxes
A good way to avoid credit and debit card fees is by using a travel money card loaded with holiday cash because this won’t incur transaction charges.
If you want to make cash withdrawals abroad, some cards allow you to do this fee-free.
Barclaycard Platinum travel credit card, for example, has no cash withdrawal fee, and charges no interest on overseas withdrawals if you pay in full every month.
Food and drink prices
Rising prices for meals and drinks were rated among the worse rip-offs by a quarter of families.
Some 88 per cent said they spent an average of £165 on eating out on their last holiday and £113 on drinks.
It was not just in resorts that families were caught out.
A third of households said prices charged for food and drinks on flights had contributed to holiday overspending.
Post Office research found that a family of four could fork out three times as much on a meal “deal” of sandwiches, crisps and drinks on a budget airline as it would cost to take a packed lunch and stock up on soft drinks at an airport shop.
REMEDY: Half are planning to cut down on bar and café bills by buying large bottles of water and soft drinks in shops.
Post Office Travel Money research found that a litre bottle of Coca-Cola in a Majorca supermarket cost 88p compared with £2.54 for a 330ml can in a bar.
Families can make their own sandwiches for the flight and buy soft drinks in the departure lounge for £12 in total, saving on the £36 cost of a meal deal for a family of four on a budget airlines.
Top 10 saving tips
1. Buy large bottles of water/soft drinks in shops to avoid high bar/café charges
2. Arrange own excursions rather than organised ones
3. Use buses instead of taxis
4.Sightsee on foot rather than by public transport
5. Use restaurants frequen-ted by locals rather than ones in tourist hotspots
6. Drink local draught beers and carafe wine rather than international bottled brands
7. Eat from fixed price set menus rather than a la carte
8. Make a packed lunch to take on the plane
9. Take fruit and pastries from the breakfast buffet to eat during the day
10. Buy a travel/sightseeing pass to reduce transport/ attraction costs
Attractions and tour costs
Another gripe for a quarter of families was the cost of attractions.
Sightseeing on organised tours cost them £84 per family while entry to theme parks set them back £68 per family.
Kids’ pester power was another budget breaker, costing parents £120 for buckets and spades, lilos, ice creams, swimming goggles and activities such as pedalo rides.
REMEDY: More than two in five, 42 per cent, plan to organise their own trip rather than pay an average of £84 for a tour.
The Post Office found that holidaymakers in the Costa del Sol could hire a car for less than £70 for three days.
Pack buckets, spades and a beach ball from Lidl or Aldi too. It will save paying rip-off beach stall prices.
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Transport costs
A fifth of families complained about the high price of getting around.
More than two in five — 41 per cent — will use buses to cut costs and a further 37 per cent will walk.
REMEDY: You can cut costs on public transport with a travel pass.
Two-day travel passes cost £7.50 in Dubrovnik, £8 in Athens and £9 in the South of France.
Do your homework before you go, or visit the tourist information centre when you get there.