Driving your own car is by far the most convenient way of getting to and from the airport, but how can you ensure you get the best price on your airport parking? Well, the short answer is to do a bit of research online first. As well as many UK airports providing their own provision, there are now airport car parking comparison sites and widgets with budget prices that can do a lot of the searching for you. So what are you main options and what other measures can you take to make sure you’re getting the best price?
Comparing Cheap Airport Parking
There are many reputable airport parking comparison sites now available and most of them give a reliable indication of what you should be paying. A lot of these sites now include simple search widgets, but to make doubly sure you’re getting a good price, you should use two of three different sites, making sure you go by the price quoted rather than the size of the discount available as the latter might not be an accurate reflection of the overall value.
Another interesting addition to airport parking comparison sites is the option to search for a hotel room and parking combined. If you’re planning on staying in an airport hotel for a night or two before you fly, this could well work out to be better value.
Compare Like for Like
Comparing budget airport car parking isn’t as straightforward as you might think – there are many different types of parking provision and services available, so when looking for a cheap quote, here are a few things to keep an eye out for:
Location
Where the airport car parking is situated is incredibly important both in terms of your planning and the total amount you might end up spending. If it an off-site car park, you need to find out how you can transfer to the terminal, how long this will take and whether it will cost extra. This type of airport parking is often cheaper, but on-site airport parking might be better suited to your requirements.
Type of Service
When looking for airport parking, make sure you’re comparing similar types of services. So for example, a meet and greet service is likely to be more expensive than a park and ride service.
Other Factors Affecting Cost
Booking in Advance
The more advanced planning you do, the more likely you are to get a budget price. Most airport parking operators want to fill their spaces as soon as possible so it follows that the budget prices go early.
Supply vs Demand
Some airports are much more popular than others, and when you factor in limited provision for airport parking, then you get a lot more potential customers that there are airport parking spaces. Gatwick Airport is a particularly popular departure point, so if you’re planning on flying out from here and still want cheap airport parking, may we refer you back to our previous point – book as early as possible.
When You’re Travelling
As with anything holiday-related, travelling during the school holidays will add to your parking costs as well as your flights and accommodation, so if you’re in the VERY early stages of planning your travel, see if you can go during term time if possible.
Airport parking comparison sites and widgets are a valuable tool when planning your travel and holiday budget, but if you use them wisely and take some of these points into account, it’s possible to get even more value from them when looking for cheap airport car parking.