Short answer
Tour package prices normally exclude visa fees, travel insurance, meals not explicitly listed, entrance tickets to optional sights, tips, personal expenses, and any cost caused by flight delays or road closures. Budget an extra 15 to 25% of the package price. Optional excursions in Europe alone add $400 to $680 per person.
The genuine surprises are rarely the obvious ones. People expect to pay for shopping. What catches them out are the optional excursions that turn out to be the reason they came — the Jungfraujoch ticket at CHF 250, the Vatican skip-the-line, a Seine cruise — which sit outside the inclusion list on almost every European group tour.
Meals need reading closely. Half board means breakfast and dinner and no lunch, and a twelve-day Europe tour therefore leaves twelve lunches unpaid at €15 to €30 each. Indian-meal-inclusive tours usually cover dinner only, and drinks are almost never included anywhere, including bottled water in some countries.
Tips are formalised in several destinations. Safari camps in Kenya and Tanzania expect US$10 to US$20 per guest per day for the guide and camp staff, and European coach tours commonly bill a driver-and-guide gratuity of €4 to €7 per person per day. Ask for these as a number before you book, not after.
| Item | Usually included? | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Visa fee and service charge | Sometimes | $75–$160 depending on country |
| Travel insurance | Sometimes | $5–$45 per person per trip |
| Lunches on half-board tours | No | $15–$30 per meal in Europe |
| Optional excursions | No | $400–$680 per person on a 12-day Europe tour |
| Tips for guide and driver | No | €4–€7 per person per day in Europe |
| Camera fees and monument tickets | Partly | $5–$35 per site |