Travel vaccines cost: each shot and the whole trip

Each vaccine, per dose

The table gives the median self-pay price per dose at the departments that list each vaccine, their range, the number of doses in a full series, and the CDC private-sector list price where the vaccine appears on that list. The list price is what manufacturers charge private buyers, vaccine only; travel-only vaccines such as yellow fever, typhoid, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, cholera and chikungunya are not on it.

The oral typhoid vaccine counts as one purchase, a box of four capsules. Hepatitis A counts both doses, though only the first is needed before the trip. A department that does not list a vaccine is left out of that line rather than given an estimate, which is why the number of departments differs from row to row; cholera, chikungunya and tick-borne encephalitis are listed by fewer departments than hepatitis A or typhoid.

Typical trips, with fees

Lists vary from one traveler to another, so the trips below are examples, not prescriptions: they combine the vaccines CDC lists for most travelers to those places, plus Japanese encephalitis or rabies where the stay makes them likely to come up. Each total is the range across departments that list every vaccine of the row, with their consultation and administration fees for the visits needed.

Routine vaccines CDC asks every traveler to be up to date on, such as measles (MMR) and, for unvaccinated travelers, hepatitis B, are not in these totals because most travelers already have them or have them covered by insurance. For an adult who needs them, the calculator above adds hepatitis B, and the hepatitis B page explains the options.

Where the money goes

A travel vaccine bill has three parts. The vaccine itself is the largest; it varies little between departments for routine vaccines and a lot for travel-only ones. The consultation, when there is one, pays for the clinician's review of the itinerary, past vaccines and health, and some departments bill it once, others at each visit. The administration fee pays for each injection, sometimes less for each extra shot given the same day. A series that needs several visits multiplies the visit fees, which is why Japanese encephalitis or a three dose hepatitis B series costs more than the dose price suggests. The clinic fees page breaks those fees down.

Insurance and coverage

Vaccines on the routine US schedule, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B, MMR, Tdap and polio, are covered by most private health plans and Medicaid without cost sharing when given in network. Travel-only vaccines are a different matter: plans decide whether to cover typhoid, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, cholera and chikungunya, and many do not. Several health departments state on their price list that travel vaccines may not be covered and ask for payment at the visit. A health savings or flexible spending account can usually be used. Asking the plan with the list of vaccines in hand, before the visit, is the way to know what the trip will really cost.

Malaria tablets

Malaria prevention is a prescription, not a vaccine, and it is priced at the pharmacy. The figures here are the NADAC survey of what pharmacies pay wholesalers, as of October 21, 2026: for a two week stay, 23 atovaquone-proguanil tablets cost about $33 and 44 doxycycline tablets about $5. The shelf price is higher, by the pharmacy's dispensing fee and margin, and insurance often covers the drug. The malaria pills page computes any length of stay.

Outside the United States

In the United Kingdom, the NHS gives some travel vaccines free at a GP surgery, after a risk assessment: hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera and the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio booster; others are paid at private clinics. The travel jabs page sorts a UK list into free and paid. Private prices in the UK, Canada and Australia are set by clinics and pharmacies, and no dated official list was found for them, so they are not shown.