diff --git a/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/core.ts b/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/core.ts
index 8cc8600a64..a5350c16b3 100644
--- a/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/core.ts
+++ b/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/core.ts
@@ -34,8 +34,10 @@ import {
   createPostVaaInstruction,
   createReadOnlyWormholeProgramInterface,
   createVerifySignaturesInstructions,
+  createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction,
   derivePostedVaaKey,
   getWormholeBridgeData,
+  BridgeData,
 } from './utils';
 
 const SOLANA_SEQ_LOG = 'Program log: Sequence: ';
@@ -46,6 +48,7 @@ export class SolanaWormholeCore<N extends Network, C extends SolanaChains>
   readonly chainId: ChainId;
   readonly coreBridge: Program<WormholeCoreContract>;
   readonly address: string;
+  protected bridgeData?: BridgeData;
 
   constructor(
     readonly network: N,
@@ -79,6 +82,7 @@ export class SolanaWormholeCore<N extends Network, C extends SolanaChains>
       throw new Error(
         `Network mismatch for chain ${chain}: ${conf.network} != ${network}`,
       );
+
     return new SolanaWormholeCore(
       network as N,
       chain,
@@ -88,11 +92,14 @@ export class SolanaWormholeCore<N extends Network, C extends SolanaChains>
   }
 
   async getMessageFee(): Promise<bigint> {
-    const bd = await getWormholeBridgeData(
-      this.connection,
-      this.coreBridge.programId,
-    );
-    return bd.config.fee;
+    // cache lookups since this should not change frequently
+    if (!this.bridgeData)
+      this.bridgeData = await getWormholeBridgeData(
+        this.connection,
+        this.coreBridge.programId,
+      );
+
+    return this.bridgeData.config.fee;
   }
 
   async *publishMessage(
@@ -113,11 +120,18 @@ export class SolanaWormholeCore<N extends Network, C extends SolanaChains>
       consistencyLevel,
     );
 
+    const fee = await this.getMessageFee();
+    const feeTransferIx = createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction(
+      this.coreBridge.programId,
+      payer,
+      fee,
+    );
+
     const { blockhash } = await SolanaPlatform.latestBlock(this.connection);
     const transaction = new Transaction();
     transaction.recentBlockhash = blockhash;
     transaction.feePayer = payer;
-    transaction.add(postMsgIx);
+    transaction.add(feeTransferIx, postMsgIx);
     transaction.partialSign(messageAccount);
 
     yield this.createUnsignedTx(transaction, 'Core.PublishMessage');
diff --git a/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/utils/instructions/feeTransfer.ts b/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/utils/instructions/feeTransfer.ts
index ae0945c7e5..5257f5f152 100644
--- a/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/utils/instructions/feeTransfer.ts
+++ b/platforms/solana/protocols/core/src/utils/instructions/feeTransfer.ts
@@ -1,24 +1,16 @@
 import {
-  Commitment,
-  Connection,
   PublicKey,
   PublicKeyInitData,
   SystemProgram,
   TransactionInstruction,
 } from '@solana/web3.js';
-import { deriveFeeCollectorKey, getWormholeBridgeData } from '../accounts';
+import { deriveFeeCollectorKey } from '../accounts';
 
-export async function createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction(
-  connection: Connection,
+export function createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction(
   wormholeProgramId: PublicKeyInitData,
   payer: PublicKeyInitData,
-  commitment?: Commitment,
-): Promise<TransactionInstruction> {
-  const fee = await getWormholeBridgeData(
-    connection,
-    wormholeProgramId,
-    commitment,
-  ).then((data) => data.config.fee);
+  fee: bigint,
+): TransactionInstruction {
   return SystemProgram.transfer({
     fromPubkey: new PublicKey(payer),
     toPubkey: deriveFeeCollectorKey(wormholeProgramId),
diff --git a/platforms/solana/protocols/tokenBridge/src/tokenBridge.ts b/platforms/solana/protocols/tokenBridge/src/tokenBridge.ts
index e876389543..2744b2bbd2 100644
--- a/platforms/solana/protocols/tokenBridge/src/tokenBridge.ts
+++ b/platforms/solana/protocols/tokenBridge/src/tokenBridge.ts
@@ -216,11 +216,13 @@ export class SolanaTokenBridge<N extends Network, C extends SolanaChains>
     // TODO: createNonce().readUInt32LE(0);
     const nonce = 0;
 
-    const transferIx = await coreUtils.createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction(
-      this.connection,
+    const fee = await this.coreBridge.getMessageFee();
+    const transferIx = coreUtils.createBridgeFeeTransferInstruction(
       this.coreBridge.address,
-      senderAddress,
+      payer,
+      fee,
     );
+
     const messageKey = Keypair.generate();
     const attestIx = createAttestTokenInstruction(
       this.connection,
diff --git a/platforms/solana/src/platform.ts b/platforms/solana/src/platform.ts
index c65c187e02..c06f62f336 100644
--- a/platforms/solana/src/platform.ts
+++ b/platforms/solana/src/platform.ts
@@ -166,10 +166,9 @@ export class SolanaPlatform<N extends Network> extends PlatformContext<
   // recoverable. Currently handles:
   // - Blockhash not found (blockhash too new for the node we submitted to)
   // - Not enough bytes (storage account not seen yet)
-
   private static async sendWithRetry(
     rpc: Connection,
-    stxns: SignedTx,
+    stxn: SignedTx,
     opts: SendOptions,
     retries: number = 3,
   ): Promise<string> {
@@ -177,7 +176,7 @@ export class SolanaPlatform<N extends Network> extends PlatformContext<
     if (!retries) throw new Error('Too many retries');
 
     try {
-      const txid = await rpc.sendRawTransaction(stxns.tx, opts);
+      const txid = await rpc.sendRawTransaction(stxn, opts);
       return txid;
     } catch (e) {
       retries -= 1;
@@ -195,7 +194,7 @@ export class SolanaPlatform<N extends Network> extends PlatformContext<
 
       // Blockhash not found _yet_
       if (emsg.includes('Blockhash not found'))
-        return this.sendWithRetry(rpc, stxns, opts, retries);
+        return this.sendWithRetry(rpc, stxn, opts, retries);
 
       // Find the log message with the error details
       const loggedErr = e.logs.find((log) =>
@@ -204,7 +203,9 @@ export class SolanaPlatform<N extends Network> extends PlatformContext<
 
       // Probably caused by storage account not seen yet
       if (loggedErr && loggedErr.includes('Not enough bytes'))
-        return this.sendWithRetry(rpc, stxns, opts, retries);
+        return this.sendWithRetry(rpc, stxn, opts, retries);
+
+      throw e;
     }
   }