4 Hugely Popular Destinations Americans Will Need To Pay A Fee To Visit In 2025
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As an American, you probably have always enjoyed hassle-free travel worldwide due to the prestige of your passport, which grants you unrestricted access to the vast majority of destinations worldwide.
A U.S. passport is one of the most valuable travel documents, from the Americas to Europe, down to Asia, and over in Africa (though with its limitations).
In 2025, however, your U.S. citizenship will not exempt you from paying a mandatory fee to visit certain places––and if you refuse to pay, there’s no amount of passport power that will save you from getting stopped at the border if you didn’t pay a sneaky fee.
Be it tourist taxes, digital visas, or the so-called ETAs (Electronic Travel Authorizations), here are 4 hugely popular destinations that will have Americans shelling out the dough in 2025:
Venice, Italy
Venice is the most romantic city in Italy.
A complex manmade archipelago interconnected by bridges and narrow, gondola-navigated canals, it is a permanent feature on the bucket list of countless Europe-bound travelers.
Something you must know ahead of visiting is that, on certain times of the year, you’ll be required to book your entry and pay a tax in order to visit the historic center.
The measure was introduced back in 2024, and it’s being brought back for 2025 with two significant updates:
Instead of only 29, the tax will apply on 54 days this year, and if you register to enter Venice less than four days preceding your planned arrival, the price will double from last year’s €5 to €10 (roughly $10.48).
It doesn’t sound like a particularly strong pinch, but what if we told you that, unless you have a valid pass, you can’t see Venice at all? And you didn’t fly all this way for nothing, right?
Now, there are exceptions to the rule: the fee is only levied on tourists on certain dates, typically over the high season, and it only applies to day-trippers.
If you’re staying in the historic center (as in, the City of Venice itself, not neighboring Mestre), you are exempt from paying––you only have to pay the nightly tax.
This is particularly relevant to note, as many tourists will actually stay in Mestre, the mainland ‘extension’ of Venice, a short 13-minute train ride away, to avoid paying upwards of $250-a-night on a canal-facing hotel, so keep that in mind.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Next up, we have one closer to home:
Believe it or not, Puerto Vallarta is imposing a new tourist tax on American newcomers––and every other foreigner, for that matter.
From March 2025, if you fly into Puerto Vallarta International (PVI), you’ll have to show proof of online payment of the new tourist tax or pay it on the spot to be let in.
The payment system will be set up shortly after the measure is implemented next month, and the fee is around $7 or the equivalent in Mexican pesos.
You can pay it in cash (either U.S. dollars or pesos), or with a credit or debit card.
The same will apply to those arriving by cruise ship, as checkpoints will be set up at the main cruise port to ensure tourists comply. So, if you want to get through immigration smoothly, make sure you have a few dollar bills handy.
Aruba
In maintaining its taxation policy of the previous year, Aruba will keep requiring that U.S. passport holders pay a $20 ‘sustainability fee’ when traveling to the sun-drenched island.
If you dream of swimming off its turquoise coast, in the warm Caribbean Sea, and marvel at gracious pink flamingos as they parade down virgin-white sands, there’s just no getting around paying it:
In order to enter Aruba, you must present a completed Online Embarkation/Disembarkation Card (ED Card) upon boarding, and the only way to submit this form is paying the sustainability fee at the end.
As the Aruba Government has noted, at this moment, only credit cards are accepted, so make sure you have a valid one with enough credit.
Unless you have submitted your personal and travel information prior to boarding, you may not be allowed to travel to Aruba, so it’s paramount you do so in advance––and preferably not in the hours leading up to your departure.
London, England
The most expensive fee on this list yet, London has decided that, henceforth, all visa-exempt travelers must apply (and pay £18) for an Electronic Travel Authorization in order to enter.
This one you can’t pay with cash on arrival, though.
More than a tourist tax, the U.K. ETA functions essentially as a digital visa, and unless you can present it upon check-in, you won’t be allowed to board your London flight from America.
The application process is pretty straightforward, but it requires time:
You must download the ETA app, create an account, submit the required documentation, such as a photo of your passport and a selfie, and answer a series of security questions.
Once the form is fully completed, you’ll be asked to provide your credit card details to cover the (roughly) $23 fee when converted to U.S. dollars. You should expect a response from British authorities in up to 3 working days.
That’s why it’s important to get it early, as you don’t want to be grounded at check-in as your ETA hasn’t yet been issued.
The good news?
Well, at least it’s valid for 2 years, and you can use it as many times as you want within that timeframe, so long as every visit to London (and any other U.K. destination) does not exceed six months at a time.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.