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Top Travel Myths | 2008

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Photo: Eddie Gerald / Alamy

Myth: There are great deals at airport duty-free shops.

Reality: Put the liquor down. Ditto with the giant chocolate bar and the carton of cigarettes. Duty-free shops at airports make large profits because travelers assume they're getting bargains. People in transit are probably looking to unload some of their unused foreign currency, too. But The Duty-Free Price Guide, which compares duty-free prices around the world, reveals that the cost of duty-free merchandise varies widely. More of a concern is the fact that those same goods are often cheaper if bought in, say, New York or Hong Kong, rather than a duty-free shop in Zurich or Moscow.

Current Advice: Never assume prices are cheaper because they're in a store marked "duty-free."

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Travel + Leisure

Top Travel Myths | 2008

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