The Hidden Costs of Travel: Budget for the Whole Trip!

That cruise for under $100 a day? That week in Cancun for $500? They're real—but they're not the whole story. In this eye-opening episode, travel advisors Ryan and Julie pull back the curtain on the "hidden" costs of travel that can turn your dream vacation budget into a financial surprise.

The hosts emphasize they're not talking about scams—these are legitimate expenses that travelers simply forget to factor in. From ground transportation (how ARE you getting from the airport to your resort?) to travel insurance (especially crucial after hurricanes like the one that just devastated Jamaica), parking fees that can double your hotel costs in major cities, and those resort fees you don't see until checkout—it all adds up.

Julie shares how checked baggage fees, seat selection charges, and clothing purchases for specific climates (hello, Antarctica coats!) can quietly inflate your budget. The episode includes Ryan's real-time experience rebooking his honeymoon from Jamaica to the Dominican Republic due to hurricane damage, demonstrating how travel insurance and working with an advisor can save the day.

Beyond logistics, they dive into experience costs: drink packages, specialty dining, shore excursions (which can cost as much as the cruise itself), WiFi on ships, and international cell coverage. Julie confesses her weakness for Disney merchandise, while Ryan offers his son's wisdom: "Does it look cool at home, or just here?"

The truly forgotten costs? Pre and post-travel food, laundry services on longer trips, visa fees, passport renewals, overweight luggage charges, and Ryan's pet peeve—constantly buying bottled water. Julie's tip: bring your own water bottle (just don't fill it before the plane pressurizes!).

This episode arms you with a comprehensive checklist so you can budget accurately from the start and avoid that sinking feeling when unexpected charges appear.

Transcript

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 0:00

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. We all see the commercials that boast Cruise for less than a hundred dollars a day or the social post with a week in Cancun for under 500 per person, believe them? Not really. Today we're gonna talk about the hidden costs of travel, the little details of your trip. That can add up to a lot more, and we wanna make sure you know about them ahead of time.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 0:28

Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts. Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation, and she's a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 0:53

This week has been a nutty, nutty week. we are dealing with the effects of the hurricane hitting Jamaica. fortunately, none of my clients are impacted. Ryan has a story he is gonna share in a little bit.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 1:08

Yep.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 1:09

And it's also Halloween, like today is Halloween when we're

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 1:13

Yes, yes.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 1:15

followed immediately by daylight savings time. So thank you, universe.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 1:20

could we have a full moon? And something else going on at the same time? Obviously everybody's seeing about the hurricane. Julie, you and I see a little bit more because we're part of, travel advisor groups where we're seeing, reviews and comments from people that are there and we're getting information from the resorts. Man hearts go out to the island of Jamaica. It is a gorgeous place. The people and the culture are amazing there, there are places in Jamaica that just cannot withstand this sort of beating, and I just can't even imagine what they're going through. as a travel community and as a travel loving community, really, really hoping that we can get there and support them and help them get back to where they need to be.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:09

Yeah, I think you said that really well, and I went on my socials yesterday after you and I talked about this a couple different times and just kind of said. a couple things like number one,

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:20

Cool.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:21

thinking about traveling to Jamaica, let's reconsider your timeframe for that. and number two, if you were considering any, all inclusive in 2026, let's get it on the books because. is moving their trips,

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:36

Yep.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:37

and there's only, you know, so many places to move them too. So let's get your trip moved or, or booked, as soon as we can do that, but onto today's topic.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 2:49

Yeah. But before we talk about the hidden cost of travel, I wanna remind folks that last week on all things travel, we discussed visiting one country with three budgets, and we started this series with the country of Italy.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 3:05

Okay, so when we think about the hidden cost of travel, I'm not trying to say that we are hiding things from you or suppliers are hiding things from

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 3:14

Yeah, it's not, you're not talking about scams.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 3:17

No, no, no, no. Not at all. I am saying that, sometimes you'll see something that is a very low price or maybe it doesn't have to be a low price, whatever price it is, and you're like, oh, great. Like that's it. wanna talk about all the other details that come after that, that can add a lot to your trip. And we just want everyone to be aware of those things'cause these are a lot of things that get kind of forgotten. first we're gonna talk about the logistical things of your trip that add costs to it. some of these are, little things, but some of them really contribute to making your trip flow smoothly and are absolutely necessary. Ryan, wanna start us off with the first couple?

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 4:01

Sure. So you've arrived at, uh, your destination, you've picked up your bags. Maybe you've had to go through customs and you get outside and you're like, how do I get to my resort? I hadn't thought of that. Your transportation and do you have private transportation? Do you have shared transportation? If you're lucky, maybe your resort offers that as part of your package, but often not. There's a cost with that, that's not reflected in the overall package price for the stay

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 4:29

I will say that now after being an advisor for so many years, I do try to include ground transportation up front, especially

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 4:38

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 4:38

all-inclusive trip or, a Europe trip, something like that. I tend to include that. up front right away and book it at the time of travel. Something like Disney World or Cruise, we don't always book right away because it's not always available at that time. this is something I'm definitely trying to tell people more about. Just so we're all clear.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 4:58

Yeah, it makes it more transparent because then you know you've paid for everything. Absolutely. Travel insurance, we just talked about a major hurricane that impacted thousands of travelers travel insurance highly, highly recommended. I know people don't think they need it, but there's people who aren't going to Jamaica this next month and won't get their money back because they did not pay the usually about 5%, cost of travel insurance

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:28

Yeah. So important. All right, next up is checked bags on your flight. Every airline charges four bags at this point, and

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:37

Yep.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:38

various costs. I just don't want you to be surprised when you show up to the airport and need to do that.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:43

I would add to that too, Julie, picking your seat on a plane.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:48

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 5:49

I was just working on my honeymoon for Jasmine and myself to be able to sit together, I had to purchase a premium economy seat. that raised the, the ticket a little bit, but not much, but enough that it's a, a cost I wasn't expecting.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 6:05

Yeah. gratuities. So on something like a cruise, you can prepay your gratuities gratuities are the tips throughout your vacation. if you're going to a Sandals Resort, those gratuities are included except for your transportation drivers. everywhere else gratuities are not included.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 6:23

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 6:24

Just like when you're at home, if you're going out to a restaurant in Walt Disney World, you should be tipping on your meal. if you have a porter or a Butler anywhere on your vacation, you need to consider gratuities housekeeping, daily housekeeping, just anyone that you would like to tip. Just another thing to consider bringing some extra funds for, and especially cash. Additional clothing and consider the climate you're going to. I live in Maryland. We have four seasons, but If I was going to Antarctica. I would need to purchase additional clothing that was appropriate for Antarctica. maybe you're going on a cruise and they have a formal night and you don't have a formal dress you might be purchasing a new one for that. new swimsuits, new shoes. as people are getting ready for a trip, they're getting excited and spending money on outfits or, anything that my kids need, which is everything things like that. I feel like they add up really quickly. You're, you're Amazon and this, and picking up that and, and it just adds up quickly.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 7:28

The next one is resort fees. Have those been included ahead of time or you do have to pay on property? A big, culprit of this, Julie is Hawaii. A lot of times they will collect the resort fees directly at the location. So, you know, you're paying one thing and you think you're done, and sometimes you're paying hundreds of dollars more in resort fees, and if you haven't factored that in, that can be a big shock at the hotel.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 7:58

Yeah, and get your checkout bill. I will say a lot of the times if we are booking. trip like Hawaii, we will see the price that says this is the price for the hotel, this is what they're gonna pay in destination.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:12

yes, yes,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:13

provide the total of those things and then explain,

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:17

Correct. A, again, it's not that people are hiding the price from you, it's just did you take the time to see that you're expected to pay that when you're there,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:26

But I will say Not every hotel gives us that information in advance,

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:30

right?

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:31

a lot of times, if I'm breaking like a

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:33

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:33

for a pre cruise stay, I'm not always seeing the resort fee right up front. I have to go, I'm going to the website and confirming is there a resort fee? And it's usually not much, but an extra 25 or$30 for a one night stay.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:50

It.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:50

wanna know about

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 8:51

Yeah. it may make you choose one hotel over the other. And then lastly, parking fees. So at the port, at the airport, at your resort, at your hotel, what are you expected to pay when it comes to, parking fees? You know, if you're in a city, my goodness. Going to Chicago and staying a couple nights at a normal Hampton Inn you're almost doubling your hotel stay by the parking fees.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 9:18

And the way that I think about the parking fees the most is at the airport because I feel like that is something that you pay when you get back from your trip

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 9:27

Yep.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 9:28

You know? Like I thought I was done handing over my credit card, and here I am again. And especially for us, we have very much gotten to the point where. are gonna park the closest we can to the terminal. So like at BWI, like most other airports, you can park at a parking lot across the street and take a shuttle over. You can park, in a garage, but you still have to take a shuttle or you can park hourly where you can walk directly to the terminal through a

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 9:53

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 9:54

And you know, that's the most expensive. but that's where we're parking because. I don't wanna have to deal with a shuttle. It's just, I like having that control of being able to walk. having that in mind, I know a lot of my clients will park at that parking lot across the street where you have to take the shuttle. But the experience of getting out of the car with three children, a stroller and all

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 10:14

right.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 10:15

and trying to hog on a stroller is, not fun. It's

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 10:18

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 10:18

it's

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 10:18

Yeah, I hear you. Alright, so we are going to talk next about experience costs and the ones that you really do tend to forget about. But first I wanna talk Julie, about where in the world is Wonder and Beyond Travel. And today I want to talk about my favorite clients to book for, and that's myself and my new wife. So we, we've alluded to this and, and folks that listen to the podcast regularly are gonna know that I recently got married, and we've been talking about our upcoming honeymoon in Jamaica, which is three weeks from yesterday, the day that we recorded. And so obviously over the past, you know, 48 hours, we had to make some decisions, didn't we?

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:04

We had some really fun phone calls.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:06

Ju, Julie and I had,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:08

this.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:08

Julie and I had some heart to hearts when it came to my level of anxiety and,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:13

you down.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 11:14

and first and foremost, like I said at the very beginning, we understand the devastation of this hurricane. And I also understand that I'm talking from a very privileged standpoint that I'm discussing going on a, multi-thousand dollar vacation I'm not in any way making light of what happened in Jamaica and how that impacted me as a traveler, but. A big hurricane hit Jamaica and it's impacting me as a traveler. Jasmine and I, and when we talked about it, we just said, you know, we're not willing to go through the uncertainty of what Jamaica's gonna be like in a couple weeks We're seeing that some places are perfectly fine and we're seeing that other places aren't. the conversation was even, is it appropriate for us to travel there right now? a lot of those thoughts were swirling through my head over the last day, Julie. we decided to switch our honeymoon. We're still gonna go at the same time. we were originally gonna go to the Hyatt Zu Rose Hall. in Jamaica and I really wanted to stay at a Hyatt, property.'cause I've, I've heard really good things about those all inclusives. I know you book them quite regularly and neither Jasmine nor myself have been to the Dominican Republic. And so we were able to switch everything to the Hyatt, Zara Capna. And I think when I told you that you were super excited'cause you've just had great reviews from that resort.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 12:38

Yeah, you're gonna love it. Every client that I have sent to the Hyatt, Zara is attached to the Hyatt Ziva, so the adults only and the family friendly side share the property. every client, whether it's a family or adult only that I've sent there, has come back basically ready to book their next trip.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 12:56

so I'm really excited and in a few weeks we're gonna talk about my stay at the resorts, and our experience there. And so just a lot of anxiety taken off with kind of trying to figure out what to do, um, and to be honest. That's another reason to work with a travel advisor who knows different options and knows what to do. I talk about having anxiety, but I knew what to do. It was just more the fact that it was my personal trip.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 13:24

making that final decision.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 13:26

Right. exactly. And so, you know, I'm glad that we did it. We are certainly excited to experience Jamaica and visit Jamaica when it's the right time. It just wasn't in three weeks from now for our honeymoon.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 13:40

Absolutely, and I felt a lot of relief when you text me this morning to tell me that you were definitely switching. I was like, oh, thank God I don't talk Ryan off a ledge today.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 13:53

Alright, let's get back to it. I'm laughing about the hidden costs of travel. as I've been moving stuff around, I've literally been dealing with some of these hidden costs.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 14:01

handing over your credit card constantly.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 14:04

No, no, it's not too bad. First and foremost, drink and dining packages. Plan that stuff ahead of time, as much as you can so that you have that cost factored in. You've prepaid it if possible. Oftentimes, you get, price cuts or discounts. If you do it ahead of time, just do it. Don't sit there and say, do I think I'm gonna have it? If you know yourself and you know that ultimately it's gonna be part of your vacation, just do it at the beginning and be done with it.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 14:39

a lot of times I will be helping clients compare various cruise lines and they'll say, wow, this one is so much cheaper than this one. And I'll say, well, correct, but let's take a step back and think about what is included on this one.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 14:52

Yes.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 14:53

And what is included on this one, because some cruise lines include things like that, and other cruise lines include nothing. So you will need to add all of that on. even something like a river cruise, will include a lot of wine or beer selections at. Meals so, seeing the difference in price and all these things you really need to consider are drink and upgraded dining packages available in that price that you're seeing.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 15:21

Excursions is another big one. Especially if we're talking about cruises or all-inclusive resorts. You're probably going to want to get out and do something. When you're at an all-inclusive and I would imagine most port stops, you're gonna be doing something on the cruise. Have you factored that in? can you prepay it so that you go on your trip? Not having a big bill at the end, how much does it cost to get on the ship, but how much does it cost to get off the ship if you want to think about it that way.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 15:49

Yeah, I know personally, we were planning and we've talked about, we were supposed to go on that Mediterranean cruise for next summer, and after thinking about the ages of the kids and the excursions, I was like, I don't really wanna pay this amount of money for an excursion that not all of us can truly enjoy yet. So we put it off for another year because cruise itself is not a, vacation.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:10

Right,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:10

then

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:10

right.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:11

all those excursions on top.'cause you're gonna wanna do one at every port.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:16

What about souvenirs, it's within your control and there are some things that you can do, but obviously this is a hidden cost because you might not know what souvenirs you're on the lookout for or what you're gonna find.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:27

what I find is that if I go on a cruise or I go to an all inclusive. I find less than what I think I'm going to to do. So like I

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:37

Agreed. Agreed.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:39

I go to Disney World and I need everything in every store I can't be the only person like that.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:47

Oh, you're not the only person

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:48

there's a large group of us adults out here who

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:53

I.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:53

go to Disney World and we need everything that ever had a mickey on it.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 16:58

it's interesting because, I took my son to Universal this summer. I've talked about that trip on the podcast, he was looking at all the Harry Potter stuff and Jurassic Park stuff and, he always wants to look. I said, now remember, stuff looks cool here. Does it look cool at home?

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:16

Yes.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:17

Is this something you're gonna want to have at home? And he's like, yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, he definitely got some cool stuff, but you know,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:24

my house is full of Disney

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:26

You have a lovely home that's decorated very nicely with lots of Peter Pan homages.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:32

and there are so many times we walk out of the house and I'm like, oh, we are all wearing a Disney shirt, because that's just what's in our closet.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 17:39

And that's fine. But when it comes to thinking about that, do you have a budget in mind? Next is wifi. Do you want to stay connected? do you need to have wifi? Does everybody need to have wifi? when you and your family and my, fiance and I cruise together this summer. I had wifi. You had wifi from rural Caribbean as as travel advisors. she, she listens to things while she goes to sleep, so we would just switch the device. we were able to share wifi. Does everybody need wifi? what does that look like with your budget? and then lastly, cell coverage. Do you need to have cell coverage when it comes to travel? What's already included in your cell coverage? So, for instance, with mine, Canada, Mexico is already included. My phone works completely the same. Am I going somewhere where I need to have an international plan for my time there? that's something you don't think about. Until that next month's bill comes, why not just factor that in from the very beginning?

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 18:41

Mm-hmm.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 18:42

And then, Julie, there's this whole list of forgotten types of fees. Give us some examples

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 18:50

Okay. This one I feel like hits me hard and I really forget about it. Pre and post travel food or snacks. things at the airport that you're getting on your travel days. we're driving home from an airport and maybe we've come home and it's closer dinner time and we're just gonna DoorDash something. it adds up quickly and you're like, Ugh. I just spent all this money on my vacation and now I'm adding another amount to it. I feel like those really get forgotten.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 19:15

They do.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 19:16

Laundry services, because it's hard to know how much that's gonna be if you're on a cruise. Sometimes there's a cost per item. It adds up quick. visa and any entry fees. These are usually pretty minimal, but it is something you're typically doing the week before your trip, if you have a lot of people, it could add up.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 19:35

Sure.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 19:35

Something like a passport renewal, global entry, TSA precheck, those things can cost money and it's absolutely necessary for your trip. Granted something like a global entry or a TSA precheck, it's gonna last you years and years, but still an upfront cost and especially if you're getting that for a larger family, a family of four, a family of five. And the last one is if your luggage is overweight, and how embarrassing is it when you're like the person at the counter rummaging through, you know, like all your intimates are falling out and like you're just trying

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:12

Have you ever had to do that, Julie?

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:15

We purchased a luggage scale to avoid this

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:17

Yeah, I do have a luggage scale that I carry, but there have been instances, especially when I've gone on like a big international trip and I'm bringing home a lot of stuff or I've gone for an extended period of time and yeah, there's been times I've had to pull some stuff.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:32

So I always be, as alluded to our previous conversation a couple of moments ago, I always pack an extra duffel bag in my suitcase when I go to Disney World because I don't wanna be in Disney World and be like, oh, I can't buy that because I can't get at home.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:48

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:49

All right, so this feels like a lot of things that we or our clients forget to budget for, I'm gonna toss one more out there,

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:58

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 20:58

is such a pet peeve of mine when I'm traveling bottled water. Like I, I really hate not having like a water bottle with me. Um, and just having to get bottled water

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:09

Yeah.

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:10

every time I get on an airplane I'm like, let me fill up my water bottle. And every time I go to drink said water bottle, I basically have taken a shower on the plane because I pressurized every time.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:23

It's funny that you mention bottled water because, after the cruise this summer, Jasmine and I went to Disney for a few days, this was her first time in 13 years being at Disney. And so I was packing everything up. I pulled out the travel bin that I've discussed on this podcast many times, and I said, you know, what water bottle are you gonna want to have with you? And she's like, what do you mean? And I said, well, you know, for filling up with water and stuff. And she goes, well, we'll just buy bottles of water throughout the day, won't we? And I started laughing. I'm like, do you know how much that costs

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:56

Next thing you know, you spent a hundred dollars

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:58

a,

j_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:58

water.

ryan_1_10-31-2025_134611: 21:59

on water? Yeah. So, so no, it, it is those things that, uh, that you don't necessarily think about. The world is full of wonder and your next great adventure is waiting at Wonder and Beyond Travel. We work with you to create a one of a kind journey, taking the stress off your plate so you can focus on the joy of exploring and the memories that will stay with you forever. If you're ready to start planning or you just want to dream a little bit bigger, head on over to Wonder and beyond travel.com. We'd love to help you get started. We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel. When we wrap up our best of series when it comes to excursions by talking about Alaska.