When it comes to traveling, hidden fees are as common as luggage. From hotel fees to airport fees, hidden fees are everywhere. Knowing these fees, and knowing how to avoid them, is a start at saving money on traveling.

Before booking your trip, and assuming you got a steal of a deal, consider the following:

Airport fees: Traveling by air may be one of the most efficient ways to get from point A to point B, but it can also be one of the most expensive. One of the most common reasons for this is the concept of the “bate and switch” fare. With these fares, the deals look too good to be true, and it turns out that they are. From 9/11 security fees to meal fees, fees are accessed on nearly anything. One way to avoid falling for this is to wait until the entire price is revealed before you purchase.

Rental Cars: Like airline tickets, the advertised price for rental cars are generally much less than the actual price. From “car insurance” fees to “concession recovery” fees car rental fees can often increase the price by as much as fifty percent! When it comes down to it, the best option lies in two things: don’t agree to any optional fees and call ahead to the car rental place and ask for the bottom line price, not the advertised one.

Hotel Rooms: Hotel rooms are notorious for adding ridiculous fees. Mini bars, $10 bottles of water, phone charges, Internet charges can all add up to one expensive bill. The best option to take in hotel rooms is simple: DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING (sounds paranoid but trust us). Don’t touch the mini bar, don’t drink the bottled water, and don’t order the movies. Even if you touch something accidentally, you may still accrue charges. Hotels base their charges on the conception that if you touched something, you obviously consumed it. Take the safest route, and avoid touching any kind of product that you don’t intend to use or consume.

Compare Taxi Prices to Parking Fees: In some hotels, avoiding parking can be impossible. Unfortunately, this can add up to lots of parking fees. For this reason, opting to use taxis or other forms of public transportation may be cheaper than paying for the rental car, and the parking fees. Some hotels, however, may not have any parking fees, or they may be willing to waive them. Consider asking your hotel to waive parking before committing to taxi fares.

Money, Money, Money: To anyone who has never ventured out of the US, the currency conversion fee may come as a shock. This is the fee that the currency exchange and credit cards access, typically two percent of each purchase for the latter. This fee once was hidden, but now it must legally be disclosed by credit card companies. This doesn’t stop it from existing though. But, even with this percentage, credit cards may be cheaper than other forms of currency exchange. The total currency conversion fee is typically 3%, a full percentage point higher than credit cards.

Your best bet is to be informed about currency exchange rates, use credit cards with caution, and only use your ATM card at banks and credit unions that are in your bank’s network.

Traveling can be an expensive endeavor. But, it generally is more expensive than you might think: the hidden fees add up and add up quickly. Heeding the above advice is your best bet at being prepared and understanding the bottom line often runs deeper than you may think.