I found a duty-free shop with booze so cheap, I did a double take

Each week Traveller publishes a selection of rants, raves and travel tips from our readers. See below on how you can contribute.

November 7, 2026 — 5:00am

Doing your duty

We invited readers to share their thoughts on duty free. Here’s a selection of your submissions.

I was inclined to think that duty free was done – I simply didn’t see enough of a discount (or range) to bother, and treated it as a relic of old time air travel. However, we recently spent a couple of weeks in Vanuatu. To my surprise in the international departure gate at Port Vila, I found a little duty-free store of old. It had an amazing selection of alcohol at bargain prices, including hard-to-find Nicaraguan rums for only $10-$15 a litre. I kept getting out my calculator to double-check that the prices were correct. We stocked up on four litres for about $50. I’m thinking of returning to this most friendly and beautiful nation on our doorstep to enjoy it again. It turns out duty free is not dead. The selection and pricing of this little store are unmatched in my experience.
Andrew Mitchell, Wurtulla, Queensland

I have travelled many times without taking advantage of duty-free options at Melbourne Airport. For a trip in September I decided to check the prices of my favourite perfumes. Local department stores couldn’t compete on the duty-free price even when discounted. Lotte Duty Free’s service of buy on the way out and pick up on your return was fantastic. Unlike the queue at immigration, the wait to pick up was literally 30 seconds. I spent way too much on perfume and, when confirming with the sales assistant about allowance of items up to $990 in value, was told that customs focus on high-end products such as designer handbags and watches, so I was OK to purchase more. Being a rule follower, I did no such thing.
Joe Collins, Kew, Vic

Duty free at airports is a joke, as the prices are so inflated. However, when shopping in Japan, producing a foreign passport at payment time in any major retail outlet gives an instant 10 per cent discount. So much easier than producing receipts and items at the airport and hoping to have duty refunded. And note that buying alcohol at Japanese convenience stores is significantly cheaper than duty-free shops at the airport. Just pack your Australian allowance securely in your check-in luggage.
Adrienne Carlson, Woollahra, NSW

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Editor’s note: Unfortunately for readers wishing to take advantage of the immediate discount, Japan changed its rules on November 1, meaning visitors will now have to claim their refund at the airport upon departure as is the case in other countries.

Heard mentality

Following a recent Scandinavian trip that included a five-day rail and sail package with Hurtigruten, I was asked to provide feedback. Disappointed with a couple of aspects of the trip, I responded. To my surprise, I received an email from the company a few days later with an apology and modest compensation offer. A pleasant reward for the time I had spent filling out the survey, plus the assurance that I had been heard and that the company wanted to correct the issues I had informed them about. Filling out post-experience surveys, tedious as it may be, can provide a direct voice for the unimpressed, frustrated or annoyed traveller.
Cheryl Power, Alphington, Vic

Safe keeping

Brian Johnston provided some great guidance on hotel safes in his Savvy Traveller article.
I’d like to add one more tip: check that the safe is fixed in position. On many occasions, I have checked to see if a safe is bolted down only to discover that it wasn’t. These safes are generally not too heavy and could be easily removed if not appropriately secured.
David Jarrett, Leppington, NSW

Splash hit

In Craig Tansley’s piece on ocean pools, I would have thought that heading the list would be the one at Kiama. Just down the loop road from the famous Blowhole, there is also a sheltered toddlers’ pool alongside, plenty of parking and showers. It’s just a short walk to a popular cafe, a fish shop and an excellent gift shop. Depending on the season you might also spot passing whales, dolphins and an occasional seal.
Nola Tucker, Kiama, NSW

Grand Ghan

We recently had a multi-generational holiday (grandparents, parents, cousins) on The Ghan, with four days in Darwin to start and three in Adelaide to end. Separate apartments in the same accommodation in Darwin and Adelaide kept us together, but separate. Our grandsons (aged 13 to 20) loved The Ghan, although they were by far the youngest passengers. A rare opportunity for our whole family to be together, to see a little of and learn about this fabulous country in which we live, with someone else doing the cooking and logistics. I thoroughly recommend it.
Louise Kloot, Doncaster, Vic

Cereal offender

Regarding the best hotel breakfasts (Traveller Letters, October 31): my wife does not allow Coco Pops in the house, feeling (rightly, probably) that they are a confection best left to small children, rather than middle-aged men who should know better. The best hotel breakfast, then, is one where I can line up with all the other husbands for the rare treat that is just like a chocolate milkshake (only crunchy!) to break my fast. Followed by croissants with too much butter and honey.
Mike Strong, Doncaster East, Vic

Rate rise

Regarding Martin Pundyk’s whopping ATM charge at Istanbul Airport (Traveller Letters, October 17). Returning from Europe we still had some euros left. At Sydney Airport we were offered an exchange of $180 and we declined. The same money was exchanged in Chinatown and we received $410. More than double! Lesson learnt: stay away from exchanging money at airports.
Brendon Fehre, Waterloo, NSW

Your say: Street food

What dish eaten at a roadside stand, market stall, or hole-in-the-wall place was worth making the entire trip for? Share your thoughts via the box below or email us at travellerletters@traveller.com.au and we’ll publish a selection of the responses in an upcoming edition.

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