**This post originally ran in 2014. We decided it was high time to update it with more recent data. Last updated 2019.**
So the other day I was feeling the effects of all the cold and gloomy weather we’ve been having here in the Northern United States. So I came up with the idea for a contest to get me somewhere warmer. Naturally I was most interested in doing it for the cheapest possible, of course!
We’ve had a few good ideas for the best and cheapest way to go somewhere warm, and of course one fine soul who apparently missed the entire point of things and commented:
Do the job yourself lazy a******
😀
One thing that I noticed however is that so many of these Caribbean locations also came with a ton of extra fees on top of the points I’d have to spend. What good is going somewhere “for free” on a whim when I also have to pay over $200 in fees?!?! Sure, I could use my Barclay Arrival card to pay for those fees, but I’m not a big fan of paying for things at all if I don’t have to, right?!!?
I noticed that the fees were different depending on where I went, so I thought I’d take a deep look at that to see if I could denote some sort of pattern. I’ve also compiled a list of airport taxes and fees for Europe.
The methodology to determine the Caribbean airport taxes and fees
There actually seemed to be a couple of different ways to figure out the airport taxes and fees. I used ITA Matrix, but because that’s a site that focuses on paid fares, it was hard to figure out the exact amount of the Caribbean airport taxes and fees. In the end, I just picked American Airline’s website, put in a sample roundtrip flight from Miami to every Caribbean airport (and then some), clicked through (making sure to pick a non-stop flight as otherwise there can be an additional $5.60 US “9/11” fee), and wrote them down.
Here is my list of Caribbean airport taxes and fees (updated 2019) –
| City/Locale | Country/Territory | Airport | Taxes and Fees | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan | Puerto Rico | SJU | $11.20 | Only $5.60 US Security fee * 2 for roundtrip |
| Key West | Florida | EYW | $11.20 | Only $5.60 US Security fee * 2 for roundtrip |
| St. Croix | Virgin Islands | STX | $15.16 | US Virgin Islands - $11.20 Security fee + $3.96 US APHIS fee |
| St. Thomas | Virgin Islands | STT | $15.16 | US Virgin Islands - $11.20 Security fee + $3.96 US APHIS fee |
| Guatemala City | Guatemala | GUA | $54.93 | |
| Georgetown | Bahamas | GGT | $59.13 | |
| North Eleuthera | Bahamas | ELH | $59.13 | |
| Marsh Harbour | Bahamas | MHH | $59.13 | |
| San Salvador | El Salvador | SAL | $59.46 | |
| Pointe-A-Pitre | Guadeloupe | PTP | $61.13 | |
| Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago | POS | $61.83 | |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | SKB | $69.33 | ||
| Roatan | Honduras | RTB | $70.57 | $34.74 departure tax (used to be paid at airport, but now appears to be part of fees) |
| Liberia | Costa Rica | LIR | $75.50 | |
| Grenada | GND | $76.63 | ||
| Panama City | Panama | PTY | $76.83 | |
| Managua | Nicaragua | MGA | $77.56 | |
| Belize | Belize | BZE | $77.83 | |
| St. Marten | SXM | $78.65 | ||
| San Jose | Costa Rica | SJO | $80.52 | |
| Cancun | Mexico | CUN | $81.50 | |
| Aruba | AUA | $84.83 | ||
| Fort de France | FDF | $87.73 | ||
| Cozumel | Mexico | CZM | $89.57 | |
| Grand Cayman | GCM | $90.11 | ||
| Providenciales | PLS | $92.33 | ||
| Antigua | ANU | $97.33 | ||
| Port-au-Prince | Haiti | PAP | $100.63 | |
| Nassau | Bahamas | NAS | $112.93 | |
| Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | PUJ | $114.93 | |
| Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | SDQ | $120.43 | |
| Puerto Plata | Dominican Republic | POP | $120.43 | |
| St. Lucia | UVF | $120.53 | ||
| Bridgetown | Barbados | BGI | $124.53 | |
| Bermuda | BDA | $127.56 | ||
| Montego Bay | Jamaica | MBJ | $136.42 | |
| Kingston | Jamaica | KIN | $144.53 |
I did compare some of American’s award prices to Delta, and Delta appears to somehow charge an extra $5.60. Not sure how. But this was the most consistent mismatch between the pricing of the two airlines.
Difference between a one-way and a roundtrip
Interestingly, some airport taxes and fees are assessed only departing the US, and some are assessed only coming when you come BACK to the United States. Naturally, if you make it a roundtrip, you tend to get the “best” of both worlds. In other words, you get hit with everything.
For example, here is the list of Caribbean airport taxes and fees for Guatemala City (GUA), which appears about halfway down the list.
Some countries price things all on the return or all on the arrival. For example, if you take a one-way from Miami to Guatemala City, you only get the $5.60 US “Security Fee”. If you go from Guatemala back to Miami, that’s where you get the remaining $49.33 (as you might imagine from the fact that $30 of those airport taxes and fees are called “International Departure Tax”). I guess the Guatemalans (and just about everywhere else) want you to COME to Guatemala, they just don’t want you to leave 🙂
In the Dominican Republic on the other hand, they get you coming AND going. When going from Miami to Santo Domingo (SDQ) it’s $49.65
- US Security fee – $5.60
- Dominican Airport Infrastructure Fee – $16.30
- Dominican Airport Authority Fee – $15.00
- Other imposed taxes and fees – $12.75
While on the return trip you get charged another $70.78
- Dominican Airport Infrastructure Fee – $16.30
- Dominican Airport Authority Fee – $15.00
- Dominican Airport Departure Tax – $20.00
- Other imposed taxes and fees – $2.75
- And the US APHIS User Fee, US Federal Inspection Fee and US Customs User Fee – $16.73 in all.
Cheapest airport taxes and fees
As you might imagine, the 2 cheapest airport taxes and fees I found were the two locations that weren’t really “international” – Key West, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, you only have the $11.20 TSA 9/11 fee (you pay twice, once on the outbound and once on the return). Similarly, if you go to the US Virgin Islands (St. Croix and St. Thomas), you only pay those plus the US APHIS User Fee ($15.16 total).
It would seem that the bare minimum you could get it down to would be $55-60 for either Guatemala (not really Caribbean anyway) or the Bahamas (minus Nassau). Things slowly climb until you arrive in Jamaica, with the worst offenders being Montego Bay and Kingston!
This was an interesting post to update 5 years later. Some airports experienced slight reductions in fees while others had mild increases. A smaller number ballooned anywhere from 50-90%!! Barbados, St. Lucia and Bermuda in particular have decided to gouge travelers.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Sorry, I forgot to mention the RTB departure tax in my trip report! It is $40, paid at the airport not in the ticket. And totally worth it.
Man – what a scam! :-P. I’ll update the table
…and it is a cash advance if you try to pay with a card! At one time this was common at most Caribbean airports. I remember paying departure taxes at BGI, St. Vincent and POS in 2000
This is a bit tangential, but if you can’t find availabiluty to CUN, give CZM a try. Cozumel is just a ferry ride away from Playa Del Carmen and taxis or buses to anywhere you want to be in the Riviera Maya.
Nice compilation! It is a pain, but many Caribbean countries will have airport departure taxes. Some may be included in the ticket pricing but others are to be paid before continuing to the gate. And like Kenny said, if you use a credit card, it will be charged as a cash advance. Can’t remember which countries I have paid it (off the top of my head), but I do know I did during my recent trip to Liberia, Costa Rica.
Since the info was obtained from an airline website, would be interesting to know if the “Caribbean airport” taxes and fees published are indeed strictly the Caribbean airports’ charges, or are there other fees and charges included (ie. the airline’s fuel surcharge)
You can see from the screenshots above they are airport charges – none of these routes have airline fuel surcharges as far as I can tel
Value added tax is not included here. This is normally a percentage of the over all fare. From 8% to 20%