British tourists charged over $82 for 4 ice creams

Four British tourists say they were charged a whopping $84 for four ice creams in Italy's capital city. (iStock)

First it was tourists being fined up to $650  for eating ice cream on Rome's Spanish Steps, but now even the mere cost of the ice cream itself is churning the stomachs of holidaymakers.

Four British tourists say they were charged a whopping $84 for four ice creams in Italy's capital city.

Roger Bannister told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he, his brother Steven and their wives Wendy and Joyce ordered four cones of gelato from Antica Roma ice cream bar at the top of Via della Vite, just off the Spanish Steps.

The order, which consisted of four cones -- two wafers and three flavors -- cost a total of 64 euros, or about $84.  Each cone came in at a staggering 16 euros each, or about $14.

"And when we paid up, they didn't even say thank you," Bannister said.

Even some Romans think this was over the top. "It's a scandal and it should be treated as such," said Matteo Costantini, a city councillor. "It's not the first time that things like this have happened."

This wasn't the first tourist trap in the city to lure in some unsuspecting tourists. According to Corriere della Sera, another restaurant in Rome called Piazza Novona restaurant charged a pair of Japanese tourists $910 for their meal.

Certainly Rome isn't the only place that jacks up the prices is high tourist areas. And tourist traps sometimes are worth experiencing --maybe just once.

What's your worst travel rip-off story?