So you’ve planned the perfect trip with all the things you’d like to see and do. The only thing left is to find airport parking. Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of some alternatives to airport parking.
First things, first. Parking at the airport is expensive because it is usually a profit center for the Airport Authority or municipality that operates the airport.
If you look at other options, you can take the money you save on parking and put it toward dinner at the place you’re traveling to. Let’s face it, that is way more fun and interesting than paying for parking.
Have Someone Drop You Off
Sidestep the whole parking question – ask a friend or family member to drop you off. That’s okay if you live relatively close to the airport and your departure or arrival times are not crazy early or in the middle of the night. Where we live in Rochester, we are about ten minutes from our airport and it’s pretty easy. If you live in a bigger metro like New York or Los Angeles, your friend better like you a lot. Or owe you big. Either way, it’s an easier task than helping you move, right?
Take Uber, Lyft, a Taxi or Airport Shuttle
Pretty easy and you get the benefit of getting dropped off at or near the check-in area. It can be a little variable, but we’ve generally had nice drivers and everyone knows where the airport is (compared to that little hole-in-the-wall restaurant you met your cousin at last year).
This also allows you some flexibility if your plans change. The cost is usually low if you’re not too far from the airport. It’s also good if you live in a snowy climate like we do. Who wants to brush three feet of snow off the car when you get back after a winter trip? Not me. I also have a travel credit card that gives me some free Uber credits every month. If I haven’t otherwise used them, this can sometimes be a good option.
Airport shuttles are a little less of a thing since the demise of SuperShuttle, but depending on routing, could be a good option to check out. Look for coupons and promotions and book your ride to get you to the airport in plenty of time to clear security and be at your gate for departure.
Take Public Transit
Not every city is the same, but if this is an option for you check it out (especially in combination with some of the other options above). Our transit authority recently shuffled their routes and schedule to make this less viable for us, but the idea of paying a couple of bucks at the turnstile to save a ton in parking is absolutely a reasonable trade-off. The downside is managing if you have a lot of luggage and timing your arrival and departure to give yourself enough time on each end.
Park….. In Airport Parking
This provides a lot of flexibility – you have your car and can come and go when you want. Also great if you’re running late and need to sprint to the terminal to catch your flight. Choose the least expensive option that’s practical at the time you’re traveling.
Valet parking is the most expensive option. You pull up, they take your keys and you have them grab it for you when you get back.
Short-term parking is also expensive, but okay if you don’t have any other options. Great if you only go for a few hours or a day on a business trip. This is a good option if someone else is paying for it, but a longer trip will cost an arm and a leg.
Long-term parking is less expensive but usually requires a longer walk or shuttle ride to get to the terminal. It is still more expensive than off-airport options. Downsides for me are climate-related. The car is super hot in the summer or cold/snowy in the winter when you get back. On our last big winter trip, it took 25 minutes to shovel our car out, brush it off, and warm it up to head home. Not my idea of fun after a day of flying.
Off Airport Parking
I didn’t even know this was a thing until about five years ago. We had a great deal on a trip to London that left out of Toronto that made it worthwhile to drive there. The thing that made it less great was the [almost] million dollars it was going to cost to park at Pearson Airport for our trip.
As it turns out, hotels near the airport have spare capacity in their parking lots and a shuttle bus that’s already going to the airport for their guests anyway. They charge less than the on-airport rate and generate a little extra revenue each month for their property. Win-Win. The good news is there are services for coordinating this so you don’t have to call all the hotels near the airport to figure out who’s offering parking.
We’ve used Airport Parking Reservations the last couple of trips we took and found them easy to get it all set up. Search for your airport, pre-pay for the time you’ll be there. Then just show your confirmation to the hotel when you arrive. You’ll spend slightly more time getting to and from the airport than using a long-term lot, but not appreciably at most places.
When you get back into town, just take the shuttle back to the property, grab your car and you’re ready to roll.
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