More and more countries charge visitors a fee to arrive, stay or leave: visa-on-arrival fees, electronic travel authorisations, island entry taxes, national park fees, nightly green taxes and departure taxes. The amounts are usually published. What catches people out is how they have to be paid.
Some want specific foreign banknotes at a window before passport control. Some refuse cash entirely. Some must be bought online before you fly, and some are already buried in your airline ticket. Here are the main types, with real examples, and how to pay each one without a queue, a refusal or a markup.
1. Cash Only, in the Right Notes
Egypt's visa on arrival. Unless you hold an e-visa, you buy the tourist visa sticker at bank windows before passport control, and it costs $30 since March 2026. It is paid in US dollar, euro or sterling notes, not Egyptian pounds and often not by card. At Hurghada and other airports, people in official-looking jackets offer to buy it for you at a markup. Our Hurghada airport guide walks through the arrivals hall.
The Galapagos park fee. Foreign adults pay $200 to enter Galapagos National Park, collected on landing at Baltra or San Cristóbal, plus a $20 transit control card bought at Quito or Guayaquil airport before the flight. The park fee is in practice a cash payment in US dollars; card machines are unreliable.
The fix. Carry clean, undamaged US dollar notes in small denominations, printed after 2013 where you can. Torn, marked or very old notes are refused at visa windows across the world, as our guide to refused dollar bills explains. Keep the exact amount separate from your other cash.
2. Card Only, Online or at a Counter
Bonaire's Visitor Entry Tax. Every visitor aged 13 and over pays $75, children $10, either online in the week before arrival or at a counter in the airport, and cash is not accepted. Our Bonaire money guide covers the separate $40 nature fee for divers.
The UK ETA. Visitors who do not need a visa, including Americans, Canadians and Australians, need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before flying to the UK. It costs £20 since April 2026, paid by card in the official app or on GOV.UK, and lasts two years.
Bali's tourist levy. Foreign visitors to Bali pay a levy of Rp 150,000, about $10, through the official Love Bali website or app before arrival, or at counters at the airport. It applies to Bali only, not to Lombok or the rest of Indonesia.
The fix. Pay on the official government site, with a card that has no foreign transaction fee. If the site charges in local currency and your card offers to convert into dollars, decline it.
3. Already in Your Ticket
Departure taxes. Most countries' departure taxes are collected by the airline and printed in the taxes line of your ticket. Japan's international tourist tax tripled to ¥3,000 for departures from 1 July 2026, on tickets issued after 30 June. The Maldives departure charge rose to $50 in economy for foreigners in December 2024.
Why it matters. You do not pay these at the airport, but they explain why a cheap fare costs more at checkout, and why a ticket changed after a tax rise can suddenly cost more. A few countries and some small airports still collect departure tax in cash at the airport; check before you spend your last local notes.
Pay Official Fees at the Real Rate
Government sites charge in local currency. A Wise card pays them at the mid-market rate with no foreign transaction fee, and holds dollars, euros and pounds for the fees that want notes.
Get the Wise Card →Free account, ~$9 card fee. Want cash on arrival? Order currency before you fly →
4. Per Night, on the Accommodation Bill
The Maldives green tax. Since 2025, resorts and hotels add $12 per person per night, and smaller guesthouses on inhabited islands $6, on top of the tourism GST and a 10 percent service charge. Quoted resort prices often leave them out. Our Male airport guide covers the rest of the bill.
Bhutan's Sustainable Development Fee. Most visitors pay $100 per person per night, paid with the visa through your tour operator or the official portal, not on arrival.
City and tourist taxes. Across Europe and beyond, hotels add a nightly tourist tax at check-out, from the Balearic Islands to Paris and Amsterdam. Our guide to hotel bills higher than the booking explains how they are charged and why they are rarely in the online price.
5. At the Dock or the City Gate
The British Virgin Islands. Every visitor pays a $10 Environmental and Tourism Levy on arrival at any port of entry, and ferry passengers from St Thomas also pay port and customs fees at the dock. Carry small dollar notes and a card. Our BVI money guide covers the charter fees too.
Venice's day-tripper fee. On peak days in spring and summer, day visitors to Venice's historic centre pay an access fee of €5 if booked at least four days ahead, or €10 later. Visitors staying overnight are exempt because they pay the city's hotel tax instead. It is paid online and checked by QR code.
National parks and protected areas. From Komodo to the Bonaire marine park, park fees are increasingly paid online in advance, sometimes by your tour operator. Ask whether the price you are quoted includes them; in Labuan Bajo, boat trips are almost always quoted without.
6. Coming Soon: ETIAS
Europe's travel authorisation. Visitors who do not need a Schengen visa, including Americans, will need an ETIAS authorisation to visit most of Europe. The fee has been set at €20, free for travellers under 18 and over 70, paid online by card. The European Union has targeted the last quarter of 2026 for launch, with a grace period before it is enforced, and the date has slipped repeatedly. Check the official EU site before you travel.
7. The Agents Who Charge More
Lookalike websites. Search for the UK ETA, ETIAS, an e-visa or a tourist levy and the top results often include private agents that charge two or three times the official fee to submit the same form. The UK ETA costs £20 on GOV.UK; agents charge £40, £60 or more.
Airport fixers. At visa-on-arrival airports, helpers offer to fill in forms or buy the visa for you. The forms are free and the windows are signposted.
The fix. Use the government's own site or app, linked from the official tourism board or embassy, and pay with your own card. If a payment page offers to convert the fee into dollars, decline it; our explainer on dynamic currency conversion shows why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay the Egypt visa on arrival by card?
Usually not. The visa sticker is sold at bank windows before passport control for 30 US dollars since March 2026, paid in US dollar, euro or sterling notes. Bring exact, clean notes, or buy an e-visa online by card before you travel.
Can I pay the Bonaire entry tax in cash?
No. The 75 dollar Visitor Entry Tax, 10 dollars for children, is paid online up to seven days before arrival or at the counter in Flamingo Airport, by credit or debit card only.
How do I pay the Galapagos entry fee?
The 200 dollar national park fee for foreign adults is collected on landing in the Galapagos, in practice in US dollar cash. The separate 20 dollar transit control card is bought at Quito or Guayaquil airport before the flight. Carry clean, small notes.
How much does the UK ETA cost in 2026?
20 pounds per person, raised from 16 pounds on 8 April 2026. It is bought by card through the official UK ETA app or GOV.UK and is valid for two years or until your passport expires. Private agents charge more for the same authorisation.
Is the Japan departure tax paid at the airport?
No. Japan's international tourist tax, 3,000 yen for departures from 1 July 2026 on tickets issued after 30 June, is collected through your airline or ship ticket. Older tickets keep the previous 1,000 yen rate.
When does ETIAS start and how much is it?
The European Union has targeted the last quarter of 2026, followed by a grace period, but the date has moved several times. The fee is 20 euros, free for under-18s and over-70s, paid online by card on the official EU site.
The Bottom Line
Visitor fees are multiplying, and the amounts are rarely the problem. The trap is the payment method: dollar notes at an Egyptian bank window, a card at Bonaire's tax counter, an online form before a Bali or UK flight, and a ticket that already includes the departure tax.
Check the fees for your destination before you pack, carry clean small US dollar notes for the cash-only ones, pay the online ones on the official site with a card that has no foreign fee, and never pay an agent to do what a government form does for less.
Our travel card comparison lists the cards with no foreign transaction fees, and the guide to tourist prices for foreigners covers the two-tier ticket prices you meet once you are in.
Hero photo: the visitors' immigration queue at Hong Kong International Airport, by Benlisquare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.