All the random fees and charges you could be hit with while travelling
Anyone who has travelled - particularly in Europe - knows that some restaurants can add on sneaky charges to your bill.
From paying $5 for bread you didn't order, to mandatory service charges, there are some things that we're all pretty aware of.
But what about paying extra for salt or ice? Or copping a charge for a spare plate?
Read on to see some outrageous surcharges that travellers have been hit with.
A charge for extra ice
A tourist was stunned when he noticed an extra charge added to his bill at a Spanish seafood restaurant.
Antonio Barbeito shared a photo of his receipt from a meal out in Menorca, which revealed he had been charged €3 ($5) for an extra glass of ice.
He was happy to shell out the $270 for the meal, but took to X to share his frustration at the extra charge, saying it was "extremely out of place".
Health insurance for the workers
A restaurant in Palm Springs came under fire on TripAdvisor when a reviewer revealed that on top of her bill for food and drinks, she'd also been charged a fee to cover the employees' health insurance.
"Beside $15 drinks and $26 pieces of cake, they are now passing the cost of their employee's health insurance onto every customer with a separate charge on the bill," she wrote.
According to her receipt, on a $87 bill for two drinks and two meals, they were charged $8.05 in tax and $1.74 as an employee health insurance surcharge.
Getting your sandwich cut in half
In Lake Como, a traveller was less than thrilled to discover she was charged an additional €2 ($3.50) to have her sandwich cut in half.
"Unbelievable but true," the reviewer wrote on TripAdvisor. The receipt showed they spent 15.70 euros and had been charged for a service called "diviso a metà."
The cafe's owner told Italian media that the charge was fair. "We had to use two plates instead of one and the time to wash them doubled, and then two placemats."
"To cut it in half took us some time, and work must be paid for."
Extra charges in Paris
In France, a 15 per cent service charge is automatically added to all bills. Many restaurants also add another 5 per cent surcharge called pourboire, which means 'for drink'.
But in time for the busy Euro summer months and the Olympic Games currently being held in Paris, local restaurants have been accused of forcing unsuspecting tourists to leave an extra tip when dining.
This is usually done by waiters hinting that tipping is common in the city, while displaying the 'add tip' screen on their card reader or tablet.
If you're in Paris, just remember that tipping isn't mandatory, nor is it common. Your service fee is your 'tip'.
An extra plate
Similarly, couple travelling in Italy were charged €2 for an extra plate so their young daughter could eat some of the spaghetti they'd ordered.
When the diner posted a photo of the receipt online, the regional governor, Giovanni Toti, even spoke out, calling the charge "mistaken".
After the news went viral, the owner of the restaurant told The Times the charge was valid because more plates to clean meant more work to do.
A fee for the live band
A restaurant in the US was called out after a customer had $20 added to their bill, as a "live band entertainment fee" for two people.
Many people complained about the added fee, with one person on Reddit writing: "Unless it is advertised outside, seems like a s---ty thing to do."
"They also charge the 18 per cent service fee on the music. The server gets $3.60 because someone is playing music," wrote another.
Salt charge
While paying extra for tomato sauce is unfortunately a fact of life, what do you think about paying extra for salt?
A beachside cafe in NSW came under fire for listing 'chicken salt' on their menu for chips, which comes in at an extra 20 cents.
"That's a bloody outrage that is," one commenter wrote on Reddit, with another labelling it as 'un-Australian'.
An extra spoon
A traveller in Italy was shocked after being charged money at an ice cream store when she asked for an extra spoon.
"I split an 8 euro caramel cup, but I paid 9: I was charged an extra euro as a 'service' for asking for a second teaspoon," a translation of Chiara's message on TripAdvisor reads.
"I won't be coming back, but if you come by, bring one from home!" she added.
Chiara also shared a photo of the receipt showing that she was indeed charged an extra euro, or AUD $1.65.
Sitting in the sun
A tourist in Spain was outraged after having to pay extra at a restaurant in order to sit outside.
She said, local media reports: "Despite having a reservation for two on the terrace, they placed us at a gloomy table.
"When requesting the change, the waitress informed us that those tables were reserved and had an additional cost of €10."
She added: "What was even more annoying was sitting and watching how none of the tables under the sun filled up.
One commenter quipped that they would "take the table home" if they were charged €10 to sit in the sun.
