As a self-proclaimed travel addict, I’ve spent years chasing those ultra-cheap Ryanair fares across Europe. I’ve also learned – sometimes the hard way – how a €9.99 ticket can balloon with sneaky extras if you’re not careful. In this article, I’ll share my own experiences and tips on how to avoid hidden fees when booking with Ryanair.
The Lure of the Low Fare
I still remember the thrill of finding my first €10 Ryanair flight. A weekend in Barcelona for the price of a pizza – what could go wrong? Well, plenty, as it turned out. By the time I finished booking, my “€10” flight had sprouted fees for a cabin bag, a seat next to my partner, and even an “administration” charge I never saw coming.
In the end, I paid more than double the advertised price. That initial shock was a wake-up call. Ryanair’s business model is ultra-low-cost base fare + extras – meaning the airline profits by charging for almost everything beyond a seat on the plane. Over the years (and after a few missteps), I learned to spot these extras and dodge them.
What follows it’s a field guide. I’ll walk through each major “hidden” fee I’ve encountered, sharing stories of my mishaps and the strategies I use now to avoid them without sacrificing comfort or convenience. Think of it as a conversation with a fellow frequent traveler who has already made the mistakes so you don’t have to. Let’s start with perhaps the biggest culprit: baggage.
The Baggage Trap
The baggage policy is where Ryanair hooks many travelers. On my first Ryanair trip, I naively packed a standard carry-on suitcase – the kind that flies free on almost any other airline – only to learn at the gate that it didn’t qualify as a “free” item.
An agent eyed my bag, slid it into the metal sizer (it stuck out about an inch), and promptly informed me I’d have to pay €50 on the spot to check it into the hold. Ouch. I paid more for that little suitcase than for my flight ticket.
What I had missed is that Ryanair’s free carry-on allowance is truly tiny. These days, non-priority passengers are allowed only one small bag that fits under the seat – 40 cm × 20 cm × 25 cm (about the size of a small backpack or handbag). Any larger “normal”-sized cabin bag (the typical 55 cm wheelie case) is not included for free.
In fact, back in 2018 Ryanair stopped allowing a free second bag even to put in the hold; now there are no free gate bags at all. If you show up with an extra or oversized carry-on and you haven’t prepaid for an option, you will be charged at the airport – about £25 to put it in the hold at the gate under the updated policy (it used to be as high as €70 in the past).
My lesson: measure and weigh your bags before leaving home. On a recent trip, I measured my trusty backpack the night before flying – it turned out to be 10 cm too wide for Ryanair’s under-seat limit.
I immediately went online and paid for a larger carry-on (the 10 kg cabin bag option) rather than risk a nasty surprise at boarding. It cost me £24 because I added it last-minute during check-in, but had I added it when initially booking the ticket, it would have been only £14.
Pro tip: if you know you’ll need a bigger bag, purchase it upfront to get the lowest price. Ryanair actually offers a few baggage options: you can pay for “Priority & 2 Cabin Bags” (letting you bring one small bag + one up-to-10 kg wheelie bag into the cabin) for around £6–£20, or pay to check a bag (they even have a 10 kg check-in bag option for about £13–£24 in advance).
The same 10 kg bag will cost more like £25 if you wait to pay at the airport. Heavier checked bags (20 kg) cost more – between £18.99 and £59.99 depending on route and season – so sometimes the luggage can cost more than your seat!
How do I avoid baggage fees now without sacrificing my wardrobe? I’ve become strategic in packing. If it’s a short trip, I challenge myself to fit everything in the free under-seat bag – it’s doable with a bit of minimalism and creative layering. For longer trips or if I need more stuff, I compare the cost of Priority (two bags) versus a checked bag.
Often, paying ~£10 for Priority is worth it to bring a properly-sized carry-on onboard and avoid the wait at baggage claim. Plus, priority boarding means I’m among the first to stash my bag in the overhead bin. On one flight, I sprung for Priority and smugly bypassed a huge crowd of non-priority passengers whose carry-ons were being tagged for the hold (with some grumbles about fees).
If I opt for checking luggage, I pre-book it online well before the flight. And I always stick to the weight limit – Ryanair’s excess weight fees are brutal. They have a strict 20 kg per bag limit (no single bag over 20 kg, as I once found out the hard way when I showed up with a 23 kg suitcase in Treviso).
I had to frantically repack at the counter and pay for an additional bag because no amount of pleading would let me off the 20 kg rule. Now I use a luggage scale at home to ensure I’m under the limit; if it’s borderline, I’ll wear a heavy jacket and stuff the pockets with socks to shave off a kilo – yes, I’ve become that person in line layering clothes!
The key is: know Ryanair’s limits and play by their rules. With smart packing or a small upfront fee, I avoid the far worse charges later.
Seat Selection Shenanigans
I have a confession: I love window seats. There’s something about gazing at clouds that never gets old. Ryanair, of course, has found a way to monetize even this simple preference.
When booking, you’ll inevitably face the seat selection upsell. Prices vary by seat location: extra-legroom seats (like exit rows or the very front) are the priciest (often £14+), front section seats cost a bit less (around £7+), and standard seats in the back can be as low as £3.
On one flight, I paid £8 to reserve an aisle seat near the front so I could deplane faster – a small luxury for a review I was writing. Ironically, due to an aircraft swap, I ended up in an exit row which I hadn’t intended to pay for (the seat map mix-up placed my seat differently).
I got extra legroom for “free” that time, but it highlighted how even when you pay, things can get unpredictable.
Ryanair insists that if you don’t pay, seats are randomly assigned. In my experience, “random” almost always means any traveling companions on the same booking will be split up – often comically far apart.
Once, my partner and I (who dared to skip the seat fee) were given 26B and 5A, literally 21 rows apart. The cabin crew acknowledged that the seating algorithm loves to scatter groups, and we saw numerous families trying to play musical chairs with strangers to sit next to their kids.
This isn’t just in our heads: there’s been a storm of protest from passengers over Ryanair seemingly allocating groups into different rows to nudge them into paying for seat assignments. The only foolproof way to sit together is indeed to pay for allocated seats.
Ryanair even mandates that if you’re traveling with an under-12 child, at least one adult must pay for a seat reservation (from ~£4) – but then up to four kids get free seat assignments next to that adult. It’s both a safety consideration and, conveniently, another source of revenue.
So how do I handle seat selection now? It depends on the trip. If I’m flying solo or on a short hop, I usually skip paying for a seat. Honestly, for a one-hour flight, I don’t care if I’m in 16E (middle seat) – I can handle it and save the money. I’ll check in as early as the free window allows (now just 24 hours before departure) to get a decent chance at what feels like a less awkward middle seat, though the assignment is automated.
Sometimes I luck out: on a half-full flight from Dublin, I didn’t pay for a seat and ended up with an entire row to myself because the random assignment left many middle seats empty. Jackpot!
If I’m traveling with friends or family, we discuss how much sitting together is worth. For a longer flight (say 3 hours) or a special trip, we might bite the bullet and pay a few pounds each to ensure adjacent seats – especially if traveling with my elderly father, I’d rather not have him wedged between strangers.
But if we’re okay with a bit of separation, we make a game of it: who will get the better random seat? We’ve had moments where the random allocation put us a row apart and a friendly swap with a neighbor got us together for free.
It’s a bit of a gamble, but if saving money is priority, skipping seat fees is one of the easiest ways to keep costs down. After all, Ryanair’s flights are short and utilitarian – we’re all arriving at the same destination at the same time, whether we paid to sit in row 5 or got bumped to row 30.
One strategy I found useful: if you really want to sit together but don’t want to pay for everyone, reserve just one seat (for the person who cares most, or an adult required to with kids) and let the others go random. In one trip with three friends, we paid for one seat for the person who insisted on a window.
The rest of us were assigned “randomly” but because the window seat was paid and we checked in simultaneously, the system ended up placing two of us next to our friend anyway (perhaps accidentally beating their algorithm!). No guarantees this works every time, but it was a nice hack that saved a few euros.
And if you truly don’t care about a little discomfort, there’s always the chance of the Ryanair shuffle: once the flight is in the air and the seatbelt sign is off, you can swap into any open seat you fancy.
On a half-full flight from Kerry to London, I initially sat in my assigned back-row middle seat, but after takeoff the flight attendant cheerfully announced we could move if we wanted. I ended up in an exit row with plenty of legroom at no extra cost, sipping a celebratory tea from my thermos (which I’d brought to avoid the €3 onboard charge). It felt like I beat the system – at least until the next time!
The Check-In Gauntlet
If there’s one lesson I preach to every Ryanair newbie, it’s this: Check in online, always, and do it on time. Ryanair’s check-in policy is notoriously strict. Miss the check-in window or show up without your boarding pass and you’ll face one of the most extortionate fees in the airline industry.
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, once called passengers who forget to print their boarding passes “idiots” – and he made sure they paid like idiots too, charging up to €70/£55 per person to print a boarding pass at the airport. Yes, you read that right: that could be £220 for a family of four just to get boarding passes reissued.
Even if you did check in online but, say, lost the paper printout or your phone can’t display the e-ticket, Ryanair will still fine you £20 per person to reprint the “boarding card” at the desk. These fees are so outrageous that they’ve made headlines and sparked outrage – but they remain in effect.
I met a distraught traveler at Palermo airport who hadn’t been able to check in online due to a glitch; he was hit with about €60 per person fee at the counter, wiping out any savings from his cheap fare.
Early on, I too nearly fell into this trap. On one of my first Ryanair flights, I misread the check-in policy and thought I could just do it at the airport like in the old days – big mistake.
Thankfully a friend warned me the night before that I must check in on Ryanair’s app or website, or face the fee. I scrambled to find a printer at my hotel (this was before mobile boarding passes were widely accepted) and managed to avoid the fine.
That panic taught me well. Now my routine is: check in the moment it opens. If I haven’t paid for a seat, the free check-in window opens 24 hours before departure (formerly 48 hours), so I set a phone alarm or calendar reminder for that moment. If I did pay for a seat (which lets you check in up to 60 days early), I still make sure to do it well in advance. I use the Ryanair mobile app to check in and download the boarding pass to my phone’s wallet – the app is a godsend because it means no paper to print or forget.
Just be aware: a few airports (mostly outside the EU, like in Morocco and Turkey) don’t accept mobile boarding passes, so in those cases you’ll still need a paper printout or else face that £20 printing fee. Ryanair helpfully lists those airports on their site; I always double-check if I’m flying from a less common destination.
To cover my bases, I often print a hard copy of the boarding pass as well, especially if I’m already at home or the office with a printer. It might be old-school, but I’ve seen phones die or glitch at security, and I’d rather have a backup than pay a fortune because of a dead battery. I keep the paper tucked in my passport – an extra piece of mind.
The bottom line: never leave check-in for the airport. That’s playing with fire (and by fire I mean a 3-digit charge on your credit card). I treat the check-in deadline like an immovable meeting – if I’m on holiday and 24 hours before my return flight falls during a beach day, you bet I’ll step out of the water at noon to find Wi-Fi and check in on the app.
Slight hassle? Yes. But nothing compared to trying to argue your way out of €55 per head at the airport – Ryanair staff have heard it all and they won’t budge, trust me.
One more tip: ensure the names on your booking exactly match your passport. This isn’t directly about check-in, but it’s related paperwork. Ryanair’s name change fees are astronomical – up to £115 online or £160 at the airport to correct a name. Something as simple as going by “Rob” instead of the full “Robert” on your ticket could trigger it.
So triple-check that you spelled everything correctly when booking, and if you do make a typo, it might actually be cheaper to cancel and rebook a new ticket than to pay the change fee. I once met a traveler who accidentally booked under her maiden name – the fee to change it was more than her flight cost! She ended up buying a new ticket entirely.
In summary, dealing with Ryanair’s check-in and documentation policies feels like a gauntlet, but it’s one you can handily beat by being prepared and punctual. Set reminders, use the app, have backups, and you’ll sail through without giving Ryanair a penny more than you planned.
The Travel Insurance Upsell
During the online booking process, just when you think you’re done selecting flights and seats, Ryanair throws in another curveball: travel insurance. A page will prompt you to add Ryanair’s travel insurance for a given price. Now, I’m not against travel insurance – in fact I often have my own annual policy – but I am against the way Ryanair tries to trick you into buying theirs.
In the past, their system was downright devious: the insurance add-on was pre-selected by default, and the way to opt out was hidden in a dropdown list of countries.
You had to find the option that said essentially “No travel insurance” (at one point it was literally a “Don’t Insure Me” option buried between “Denmark” and “Finland” in the alphabetical country list, or infamously a “No grazie,” for Italian site users, sandwiched between country names). If you didn’t know to look for it, you could easily buy an insurance policy you never wanted. Talk about a dark pattern in user experience!
Ryanair has since slightly improved this process (after consumer advocates called them out). Nowadays, they usually present insurance as an optional add-on rather than a default you must uncheck. Still, the wording and placement can be confusing.
Just recently, while helping a friend book a flight, I saw a section asking “Who do you want to insure?” with a dropdown – easy to assume you must pick something. In reality, one of the choices was a version of “Travel without insurance,” which is the magic opt-out phrase.
If you’re not paying attention, you might think you have to select your country of residence for insurance, and end up tacking on ~€15–€20 to your booking for coverage you didn’t really research.
My approach: always decline the Ryanair travel insurance on the booking page. Not because I fly uncovered – I actually make sure I have travel insurance either through a third-party or my credit card’s perks – but because Ryanair’s own insurance isn’t a great deal.
Travel experts and consumer rights groups have noted that Ryanair’s insurance is more expensive and less comprehensive than many standalone policies. In other words, you pay more for less coverage. For example, it might have low limits on reimbursements or high excesses.
If travel insurance is something you need (and for bigger trips, it’s wise to have), you’re almost always better off buying a separate policy that you can fully tailor to your needs, rather than a generic one-click Ryanair policy that’s biased toward their profit.
So when that insurance screen pops up, I channel my inner Jason Bourne – eyes keen for the hidden “no thanks” option. I’ve gotten so practiced that it’s almost a game: find the opt-out. It’s perversely satisfying to click “Don’t insure me” and watch the price on the summary stay low.
After booking, Ryanair will sometimes nag you with emails like “Add Travel Insurance for your trip!” – I ignore those. I’ve read the fine print and I know my own coverage is better.
One more insider tip: If you’re skittish about flying without any coverage but don’t want to overpay, look into third-party travel insurance companies before you even start booking flights. Some offer very affordable single-trip policies, and many credit cards offer travel insurance as long as you purchase the flight with the card.
For frequent travelers, an annual policy can be very cost-effective. Armed with that, you can confidently hit “no” on Ryanair’s offer, knowing you’re covered elsewhere.
By avoiding Ryanair’s insurance upsell, you not only save money, but you also ensure you’re not caught in a claim later realizing the policy wasn’t what you thought.
As always, the theme is: do your homework and don’t be fooled by the interface that seems to guide you into paying for extras. In this story, knowledge (of the opt-out) is literally money in your pocket.
Payment and Currency Gotchas
You’ve navigated the gauntlet of add-ons and you’re finally at the payment page – time to breathe easy? Not so fast. Ryanair has a few last tricks here as well.
Over the years I’ve noticed subtle fees or costly options creeping in during payment. Let’s break down two main areas: payment method fees and currency conversion.
First, the good news: credit card fees are largely a thing of the past on Ryanair (and other European airlines) thanks to regulations. It used to be that Ryanair would slap on ~2% surcharge if you paid by credit card, and only some obscure prepaid cards could dodge the fee – a real pain.
But in 2018, the EU banned surcharges on consumer card payments, so now Ryanair no longer adds a booking fee for using a standard Visa/MasterCard. If you see something called an “administrative fee,” it’s usually already included in the fare these days.
I haven’t been charged extra just for using my credit card in recent memory – if you do spot a fee, double-check, as it might be only for certain card types or perhaps a bug. By and large, you can use a debit or credit card freely. I often use a travel credit card that has no foreign transaction fees, which brings me to the next point: currency.
The currency conversion trap is alive and well. Here’s the scenario: I’m booking a flight in euros (since Ryanair is based in Ireland, many fares are in €) but my card is in pounds or dollars. Ryanair will often “helpfully” offer to charge my card in my home currency at a “guaranteed exchange rate.”
This is basically dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and it’s almost always a bad deal for the customer. One time I was about to pay €20.39 for a flight, and a little text popped up: “Your card will be charged $24.28 (at our guaranteed rate of 1 EUR = 1.19 USD)”. That sounded convenient – but I knew the actual market rate was about €1 = $1.12 at the time.
Ryanair’s rate would have overcharged me by about 7%! On a €20 purchase that’s only a couple dollars, but imagine if you’re buying tickets for a family or an expensive itinerary – 7% of a few hundred euros is significant. Essentially, Ryanair (or their payment processor) pockets the difference.
Whenever I see that “guaranteed exchange rate” offer, I click for more info or look for the opt-out. Sure enough, there’s usually a little checkbox or toggle that says something like “Bill me in the currency of my card” vs “Bill in EUR”. You want to decline Ryanair’s conversion and pay in the original currency (EUR, or GBP, etc.) because your own bank or credit card will likely give a better exchange rate.
Even if your card has a foreign transaction fee (often ~3%), that’s still lower than the ~7% markup Ryanair was giving in that example. I unchecked the box, and my card statement later showed the correct converted amount with minimal fees. If you have a no-forex-fee card (which I strongly recommend for frequent travelers), you’re golden – you’ll get close to the interbank rate with no extra charges, beating Ryanair’s “service” handily.
A quick personal story: A friend of mine once didn’t notice the currency thing and allowed Ryanair to charge her in USD for a €100 purchase. She was hit with about $7 more than if she’d just paid in euros. She thought Ryanair had added an unseen fee, but it was just the poor exchange rate.
Now she’s almost overly cautious – she’ll call me while booking to ask, “Which currency do I pay in again?!” The answer is: pay in the airline’s currency or the local currency of the flight, not your home currency, to avoid DCC markups.
Additionally, be aware of PayPal or other methods if you use them – sometimes PayPal does its own DCC if your account is in a different currency, so you might have to decline conversion there as well. I stick to cards for simplicity.
In summary, at the payment stage take a moment to review the final price and currency. Ryanair will show you a summary – make sure no unexpected optional fees (like the weird €2.49 SMS fee for flight details) are checked.
Yes, they will even try to charge €2.49 to text you your booking info (something most airlines do for free!). I always ensure that nonsense is unchecked. Check that the total matches what you expect, and the currency is the one you want. Only then hit that “Pay Now” button.
By navigating the payment minefield with eyes open, I often save a few bucks here and there – it all adds up, and it feels good not to let the airline have the last laugh. Instead, I have it, imagining Michael O’Leary begrudgingly saying, “Dang, that passenger didn’t fall for our currency conversion scheme.”
Boarding and Beyond
You’ve made it through booking without piling on unwanted charges – congratulations! But the journey isn’t over. The day of the flight has its own potential pitfalls and ways Ryanair can squeeze a bit more from the unprepared traveler. Let’s talk about the airport and boarding phase.
Arrive Early (but Not Too Early): Ryanair is strict about closing the gate on time. If your boarding pass says gate closes at 8:00, they mean it. I once saw a frantic passenger arrive at the gate just as the staff were finishing boarding; the door had closed and they wouldn’t reopen it – the poor guy had to watch the plane depart without him, and likely had to pay a hefty fare difference to catch the next flight.
While that’s not a “fee” per se (it’s essentially a new ticket purchase), it’s a nightmare scenario you can avoid by being at the gate early. I aim to be through security and at the Ryanair gate by the time boarding starts. Often they start boarding ~30 minutes before takeoff for priority passengers, and ~20 minutes before for everyone else.
Priority vs Non-Priority at Boarding: If you paid for Priority (mainly for the bag allowance), you’ll line up in the priority queue. This can save time and stress, as you’re among the first to board and get overhead space. If you didn’t pay for Priority, expect that your small free bag must go under the seat – overhead bin space is basically reserved for those who paid.
Don’t try to sneaky-bring an extra bag. I’ve seen non-priority folks attempt to carry a second shopping bag or slightly oversized backpack onto the plane; the gate staff are hawk-eyed for this. They will force you to pay the fee (around £25) and tag the bag for the hold if you violate the one-bag rule.
It’s just not worth it. Instead, consolidate your belongings before boarding. If I buy something at the airport (like duty-free or snacks), I stuff it into my backpack before the gate so I’m still technically carrying one piece.
Baggage Spot-Checks: Remember that little under-seat bag? Ryanair staff may do spot checks with that metal sizer and even a tape measure if a bag looks over the limit. They are stricter than a drill sergeant about it – I’ve heard them gleefully cite Mr. O’Leary’s stance on “no mercy for oversized bags.”
I usually make sure my bag visibly looks small – I compress it and avoid overstuffing so it slides in the sizer easily. If you know your bag is borderline, consider priority or be ready to cough up a fee at the gate.
There’s no sweet-talking; I once watched a man try to argue that his bag was “just a little bigger, what’s the big deal” and the gate agent flatly replied, “That will be €25, card only.” Rules are rules, and with Ryanair, they enforce every centimeter.
Boarding Pass Checks: If you require any special check (for example, some non-EU citizens need a visa or document check stamp on their boarding pass before going through exit immigration), do that first at the check-in desk. Ryanair is known for not letting you board if you skipped a required visa check stamp.
While that’s mostly a concern for certain passport holders and not a fee scenario, it’s another example of how procedural details can trip you up. And if you do forget, you might end up missing the flight or having to rebook, which again costs money.
In-Flight Sales (Just Say No): Once on board, you might feel the last of your defenses slipping – you’re hungry, you’re bored, and here comes the trolley. Ryanair’s onboard food and drinks are, unsurprisingly, pricey.
A study found Ryanair charges more for snacks than most British/Irish airlines – even water isn’t free. It’s not a hidden fee since you don’t have to buy, but consider this part of avoiding unnecessary costs: I always bring my own snack and an empty water bottle to fill after security. That way I’m not tempted to pay £3 for a tiny can of Pringles or €5 for a sandwich.
Also, flight attendants will hawk duty-free items and even scratch cards mid-flight. Yes, they sell scratch-off lottery tickets on board (with the chance to win a prize, but of course, you pay to play). There was even a gimmick called “Play to Win” during booking where they tried to add a €2 lottery ticket to your cart – I make sure to decline that during booking.
And on the plane, I just smile and say “No, thank you” to the scratch cards. Saving money sometimes means resisting those impulse buys; I remind myself that winning a free Ryanair flight (one of their typical prizes) means another round of fighting off fees – no thanks!
Comfort Without Cost: One thing I refuse to compromise on is basic comfort and courtesy. Ryanair might be low-frills, but I’ve learned a few tricks to make the journey pleasant without paying extra.
For instance, I carry a refillable mini water bottle and fill it at the airport, as mentioned – hydration for free. I also bring a light travel pillow and an eye mask on early flights, since you won’t get any amenities like that on board.
If I have a longer wait or a long flight, I load up a movie on my tablet or phone beforehand – in lieu of Ryanair’s scratch card “entertainment,” I entertain myself. Essentially, I try to bring my own comfort. That way I don’t find myself reaching for my wallet mid-flight out of boredom or discomfort.
Finally, a note on attitude: navigating all these fees and rules can be frustrating, but I approach it like a game (or perhaps a battle of wits). Ryanair presents a series of hurdles, and I take pride in clearing them while keeping my costs minimal. Instead of getting angry, I choose to be amused and alert.
The airline is upfront in its own cheeky way – they’ll charge for anything not bolted down (legend has it they even floated charging for the lavatory use), so I expect nothing for free except a seat and a safe journey. Everything else, I plan for. And when I land having paid exactly what I intended and not a cent more, I feel a small victory.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, Ryanair offers something incredible: the ability to fly across Europe for less than the cost of dinner. The trade-off is you need to be a savvy traveler, vigilant about the true cost of your trip.
By sharing my stories – the almost-missed check-ins, the baggage close calls, the seat scramble, and the “gotcha” moments – I hope I’ve given you a realistic, inside look at how to master the art of flying Ryanair without breaking the bank.
Safe travels, and may your future Ryanair adventures be fee-free and fabulous. With a bit of preparation and a dash of humor, you’ll beat Ryanair at its own game and keep your trip truly budget-friendly. Happy flying!