My daughter Erin and I visited Ireland in February 2008; she was participating in the All Ireland Irish Dancing Championships in Killarney. We flew into Shannon Airport and made arrangements to share a rental car with another mother and daughter. The car was so tiny that our luggage was up to our necks. When we arrived at our hotel, our room was not ready, so I spent time making phone calls from my cellphone and eating in the overpriced restaurant. To make matters worse, a big storm in New York City shut down JFK (airport) on the day we were to arrive home, so we spent 16 hours in the Shannon Airport making calls. I came home to a $385 phone bill. I had mistakenly thought making calls from my cellphone would be cheaper than paying the hotel for the calls. Overall, the trip cost nearly $700 more than we expected.
-- Suzie from Pennsylvania
Make sure this doesn't happen to you: Check out billing costs associated with every aspect of your trip so you don't overspend.