Journal
Reports, analyses and features from all 195 countries - the journalism behind the journeys.
Thirty Units and a Closed Window
Most of the world folded departure tax into the ticket. In the places that did not, a small cash payment at a specific window in a specific currency stands between a passenger and their flight — and the desk closes before the gate does.
The Counters That Still Want Notes
The map of where cards fail does not follow income and does not follow the obvious geography. Border posts, park gates and ferry tickets are cash transactions in a great many countries whose restaurants take contactless without blinking.
Everything Between the Quote and the Bill
Resort fees, city levies, regional levies, cleaning charges, pre-authorisation holds and the counter upsell on car insurance. A full accounting of the charges between the price you booked and the money that leaves your account.
The Rate the Machine Offers You
The ATM asks whether you would like to be charged in your own currency, at a rate shown helpfully on screen. Accepting is the single most reliable way to lose money abroad — and it does not remove your own bank’s foreign-transaction fee either.
The Line Nobody Budgets For
The visitor levy is the one charge on a European trip that almost nobody budgets for and almost everybody pays. Three collection models, a long list of exemptions nobody advertises, and a tax whose payers have no vote in the council that sets it.