What you will actually pay in United Kingdom: Edinburgh 5% of the room rate. Add applicable entry fees below for the full total.
54 cities with nightly tourist taxes20 country entry & visa fees13 major park passes
All fees are approximate and change frequently. Check official government/park websites before travel. Currency conversions shown in USD (approximate). Visa fees depend on your passport nationality — verify with the embassy or official visa portal.
What United Kingdom charges
Edinburgh
5% of the room rate
5% of the accommodation cost, charged before VAT and only on the first 5 nights of a stay. Scotland's first visitor levy, live since 24 July 2026 at the same rate every day of the year. It is not charged on extras — parking, meals, drinks, laundry or transport. Two things catch people out: there is NO child exemption, so children pay the same as adults, and UK and Scottish residents pay it too. A stay on or after 24 July 2026 escapes the levy only if it was booked AND paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025. The disability and war-pension exemptions are not applied at the desk either — you pay the levy, then claim it back from the council after checkout with the benefit award letter, an invoice in your name and proof of payment. People who are homeless or at risk of it, asylum seekers, refugees, those escaping domestic abuse and people in seriously unfit housing are outside the levy altogether.
Read at source: City of Edinburgh Council — "About the Edinburgh Visitor Levy" (edinburgh.gov.uk/business/visitor-levy-edinburgh) and "Visitor Levy exemptions" (edinburgh.gov.uk/business/information-visitors-exemptions), under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 · checked 2026-10-09
City Nightly Tourist Taxes
Select cities you're visiting and input nights + travelers to calculate nightly tourist levies.
Country Entry & Visa Fees
Select countries you're entering. Fees vary by passport — check your country's requirements.
National Park & Attraction Passes
Major park and attraction entry fees — the ones that cost more than you expect.
Select cities, countries, and parks above to calculate your total government fees.
Why Tourist Taxes Have Exploded
The Overtourism Response
Venice, Amsterdam, and Barcelona are using tourist taxes to manage visitor numbers and fund infrastructure repair. Amsterdam charges 12.5% of the room price — the steepest rate in Europe, and a share rather than a flat fee, so it climbs with the price of your hotel. Barcelona hit 40 million visitors/year with a population of 1.6 million.
Conservation Funding
Bhutan's Sustainable Development Fee ($100–200/day) funds forest conservation and free healthcare/education for citizens. Rwanda's $1,500 gorilla permit directly funds mountain gorilla protection — the population has grown from 620 to 1,000+ since 2004. Higher prices = better conservation outcomes.
New Entry Authorizations
The UK's ETA (2024) and New Zealand's NZeTA join the US ESTA in creating pre-arrival fee systems for visa-waiver nationalities. The EU's ETIAS launches in 2025 — €7 for 3 years, covering 30 Schengen countries. These are not visas, but they cost money and must be arranged in advance.
Budget Planning Rule
Add 10–15% to your accommodation budget for tourist taxes in European cities. For adventure travel (gorilla trekking, Galápagos, Machu Picchu), the permit/entry fees can equal or exceed your flights. Always research before booking — some permits (Inca Trail, gorilla trekking) sell out months in advance.
Highest-Fee Destinations to Budget For
Bhutan: $100–200/person/day government fee — mandatory for all visits
Rwanda gorilla trekking: $1,500/person per trek (non-negotiable, all goes to conservation)