Tips for shopping in duty free shop

Let's face it there is not much else to do at most airports than wander around looking at the shops and occasionally getting the wallet out. Most of us tend to know exactly what we need to get, whether it be some aftershave, perfume, bottle of whatever or perhaps some cigarettes, but for these more regular items where is the best place to buy them ?

After all any traveller on an International flight will generally have three choices when purchasing his/her's duty free. There is the airport of departure, the plane and then the airport of arrival. Logically some may think that the prices would be similar, not worth bothering about comparing, but how wrong they could be. Sometimes the price difference for exactly the same size, brand and product can be quite large and it is definitely worth doing some homework before you spend your hard earned cash.

Don't believe us? Well let us give you an idea of what you could save on a trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok. We have listed a few regular items with the prices at Hong Kong International Airport, China Airlines inflight Duty Free and the arrival Duty Free at Bangkok International Airport.

Product	Hong Kong Airport	China Airlines	Bangkok Airport
Mild Seven (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 100	US$ 11	THB 480
Dunhill Top Leaf (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 200	US$ 20	THB 980
Marlboro (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 110	US$ 11	THB 480
Davidoff Magnum (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 225	US$ 27	n/a
Black Label Whisky (1 litre)	HK$ 198	US$ 22	THB 850
Macallan Whisky 12yo (1 litre)	HK$ 288	n/a	THB 1,620
Chivas Regal Royal Salute (75cl)	HK$ 800	US$ 62	THB 5,320

See the differences? Of course with the cheaper items such as the cigarettes the differences are quite small but still worth thinking about. Take the Mild Seven cigarettes as an example inflight they are only US$ 10 at HKIA they cost HK$ 100 which is roughly US$ 12.8 and at BIA they are THB 480 which is roughly US$ 12.2. By purchasing them online you save yourself over US$ 2 per carton of 200.

If we then compare the more expensive item such as the Chivas Regal Royal Salute bottle inflight it costs US$ 62, at HKIA HK$ 800 (roughly US$ 103), and at BIA THB 5,320 (roughly US$ 136 !!!). This really is staggering as you could buy two bottles inflight for less than one bottle at the Bangkok International Airport.

Now we hope you understand why you need to check out your options before you buy your duty free next time. This section of our site will be devoted to bringing you as many airport and airlines comparisons as possible to ensure that you know of the best place to buy. We will offer charts, and show you what allowances you are legally allowed for each country to ensure that you get the most out of your trip.

It must be understood that buying duty free inflight does pose one small risk and that is that the airline may not have the item you want in stock, which would leave you with no other option than buying on arrival.

All our extensive reviews and analysis will be added here shortly so do check back and save yourself some cash!!

Please note that due to much tighter restrictions and laws in Thailand very few cigarettes are available on arrival. We would advise you to buy them on the plane or in the Duty Free shops on departure. Cigarettes are widely available however on departure from Thailand's International airport.