11 Things to Buy Duty-Free at the Airport
Updated: Dec. 05, 2023
It's nearly impossible to board an international flight without passing by the duty-free shops at the airport. And you can find some good deals if you know what to keep an eye out for.
What is duty-free?
If you’ve ever flown internationally, you’ve likely seen or strolled through the brightly-lit consumer paradise of a duty-free shop. According to CheapFlighs.com, duty-free shops at airports, “sell products for which duty (local import tax or fees placed on goods by government entities) is not included.” Normally, this allows travelers to save money on liquor, tobacco, fragrances, cosmetics, luxury items, and candy as they prepare to leave the country where the goods are being purchased.
Note: when you bring your duty-free haul to the register, the cashier is going to ask to see your boarding pass to verify travel out of the country. Travelers leaving the United States for at least 48 hours may shop duty-free. Find out the best airport restaurants in the country.
How much can I save when I buy duty-free at the airport?
How much you will save when buying duty-free at the airport all depends on the country, the currency exchange rate and the products you buy. In Europe, for example, “The duty-free shops are not only duty-free but tax-free as well, meaning that V.A.T. (value-added tax) has not been added to the goods,” according to CheapFlights.com. This can save you up to 25 percent on your duty-free purchases, depending on the country. If you’re looking to save a buck, here’s what you need to know about bringing food through TSA lines.
Cadbury Chocolates
Both Alexis Kelly, a travel editor at Fodors, and Paul Eisenberg of TravelingDad.com agree that Cadbury Chocolates are a prime duty-free shopping target when traveling internationally. Kelly says that she stocks up on Cadbury, her candy obsession, “when coming back from the British Isles because their chocolate just tastes better,” while Eisenberg fancies stocking the office candy bowl with elusive mini Cadbury sweets to make co-workers happy. Of course, Cadbury in the United States has been different from the United Kingdom version since 2015.
Longchamp Bags
Kelly doesn’t just line up at duty-free for her Cadbury sweets! When traveling home from Paris a couple of years ago, she spotted a sweet duty-free deal on Longchamp Bags at Charles de Gaulle airport. The savings were significant enough that the Fodors editor bought three bags from the French-owned company! Those bags can then be filled with the best travel snacks to bring to the airport.
Liquor
Travel writer Jason Greene heads right for the shelves of duty-free liquor when flying internationally. Being a connoisseur of scotch, Greene always seeks out a sale but admits to usually coming away with a bottle whether there’s a deal on his favorite scotch or not. By the way, this is the difference between scotch and whiskey.
Last-minute gifts
Greene also uses duty-free shopping at airports to scoop up some unique last-minute gifts for his kids. He says that his son, “Collects snow globes and if I wasn’t able to pick one up while venturing around a city, duty-free usually comes through for me.” While souvenirs and trinkets tend not to present the best value at airport duty-free shops, they may check the “unique gift” box on your shopping list.
Things not available at home
Yes, Cadbury cannot be sourced in its European form in the United States but there are other things sold in airport duty-free shops that are not available at home. Specifically, the foreign candy aisle of duty-free, which is always fun to peruse anyway but when you have the chance. You can stock up on treats like a Crunchie bars, unique flavor varieties of familiar candy and curious shapes and packaging sizes like the massive Tic Tac box filled with dozens of miniature Tic Tac boxes.
Coffee
Greene says that his vacation destination will often dictate the type of duty-free purchases he makes. “If I’m in South America or in the Caribbean, I always buy coffee,” Greene notes, adding that, “Coffee always makes a good gift and I’m a fan myself, so my carry on bag will be overstuffed with beans.”
Swiss chocolate
CheapFlights.com recommends buying your fair share of Swiss chocolate at duty-free because, “If purchased anywhere outside Switzerland, it is typically taxed, so buying it through duty-free is also a great deal.” Chocolate will surely delight a young child on a plane but here are more tasty foods you should pack for a flight.
Grey Goose
According to Duty-Free Addict, a free travel club helping duty-free shoppers find the best deals on all kinds of products from liquor to jewelry, Grey Goose is cheaper in Japan than Australia and the Singapore Changi Airport duty-free is more expensive than Dubai Airport duty-free.
Country-specific beauty products
Travel & Leisure writer Maya Kachroo-Levine explains how she curiously always seems to have the equivalent of $14 left in local currency by the time she reaches the airport to fly home. Kachroo-Levine says, “I like to spend the last of my foreign currency on a country-specific beauty product—whether that’s French micellar water, Fijian coconut oil or a sample of a perfume you can’t get outside India.”
Exclusive product sizes
One of the pleasures of buying duty-free at the airport is not only finding good deals but also finding unusual oversized presentations and packaging of familiar products you already love. In a CNN article, Nadine Heubel, the CEO of Heinemann Americas, a company with duty-free shops in 74 airports across 28 countries, went on record to suggest that travelers, “Look for larger, duty-free-exclusive sizes of products for savings.”
Local honey and sea salt
Chicago-based travel writer Vera Holyrod from Passports and Spice makes frequent international trips to Slovenia. On her return flight home, she never manages to get through duty-free at the airport without buying, “some local honey and sea salt.” She admits she prefers to spend her money in local shops in the countries she visits, but the prices are fair and the quality of the honey and salt is top-notch at the airport’s duty-free. Check out these surprising foods you can bring on a plane, and a few that you can’t.
