Last time we went on holiday we did something really stupid.
We decided to drive to the airport without a plan. Just to make sure we were as stressed as possible before heading away to unwind. We wanted to get our money’s worth out of this holiday, you know?
We had young kids, loads of luggage, the flight was in the middle of the day so we knew traffic would be bad. Why did we do it? I don’t know…
I think we totted up the cost of a taxi there and back and it was about the same price. We figured the stress of finding a free taxi during busy times wasn’t worth it (oh the irony!) so opted to take Herbie. That’s our name for the car. Well, my name for it. My fella hates it.
But I digress.
We had an absolute nightmare, and the most irritating thing was that it didn’t have to be that way. It’s just that we didn’t plan ahead, and as a result we made the wrong decision at every stage in the process. We fell off the top of the bad airport parking planning tree and hit every branch on the way down. Odd metaphor but what can I say, I’m in a weird mood.
Anyway, I’m here to encourage you not to be like us. Plan ahead. Airport parking can be blissfully easy if you follow these tips.
Plan the Route to the Car Park, Not Just the Airport
Airports are big places. They have many terminals and even more car parks.
When my other half put ‘Manchester Airport’ into Google maps, I did suggest he should be a bit more specific. He said “There will be signs”, and I left it at that.
Mistake number 1.
Put the specific car park into your sat nav. Airports are like little villages, and yes, there are signs, lots of signs, but that doesn’t help when you don’t know where you are going and the kids are screaming in the back.
This brings be neatly on to tip number two.
Book in Advance
Mistake number 2 was not booking a space in advance.
We did look up the prices in advance, but we assumed they would be the same when we got there. They were not. Not even close.
I’m embarrassed to tell you how much we ended up paying but it was more than twice what we would have paid if we booked. Everything else to do with the holiday was planned to perfection, but for some reason the driving/taxi decision was all last minute and late at night and we failed miserably.
People like us are the reason airport car park companies earn up to £2 million every day.
Another tip here is to use a site like https://www.cheapairportparking.co.uk/ because you can save even more this way. I’ve done a few tests on sites like this and it always comes out cheaper than booking direct with the airport. Especially for the VIP and Meet and Greet options.
Since we didn’t book in advance we cost ourselves a fortune, and also ended up in a car park no where near where we needed to be. Can you guess what tip number 3 is going to be?
Book the Car Park Closest to Your Terminal
10 points if you got that right.
Yep, mistake number 3 was to park miles away from our terminal. And because we were already so stressed from the journey and from haggling prices with the parking people, we just decided to deal with it. The kids needed to get out.
My other half was an absolute hero making two trips with the luggage while I sorted the kids out with food and stuff.
It’s a good job we got there in plenty of time because it could have been a serious problem if we hadn’t. I’m talking missing our flight levels of serious.
Keep the Key Handy
Mistake number 4.
When we got back, the key was still in my fella’s jeans pocket.
The problem with that, is my fella’s jeans were at the bottom of the laundry bag at the bottom of the biggest suitcase. The plonker had left it in there without realising he would need it when we got back.
He realised when we got to the car though.
Cue the frantic unpacking of suitcase and turning inside out of pockets in the middle of a drizzly car park at 9pm. After a 3 hour flight. With two exhausted pre-schoolers. And me, seething.
Bless him. He didn’t lose his temper, even though I was making plenty of antagonistic huffs and puffs.
Types of Parking
Now that our calamitous tale is told, let me bring you up to speed on another airport parking need to knows.
I am talking about the different types of parking that are available. Yes, like anything that could be kept nice and simple, they have gone and made it eye bleedingly complicated.
Here are a few options that will be available to you:
- Short stay – A few hours to a few days
- Mid stay – Up to a week
- Long stay – Anything longer
- On site – On the airport grounds. Convenient by more expensive.
- Off site – Just outside the boundary of the airport. Cheaper but further away. May have park and ride option.
- Meet and Greet – Give someone your keys and they will take your car to the space, and bring it back for you on your return. VIP service. Obviously more expensive.
There may be others but these are the main ones. They are usually all available for each different terminal too, so there is plenty to get confused by! Some have Park Mark safety certificates too, which just means they meet certain security standards, while others do not.
I hope that has been useful. I wish I had read it before we last went on holiday. I won’t be making those mistakes again! According to a 2019 survey collecting your baggage is the most stressful thing about going through airports, but for us, it was definitely the parking.
The bags came out fine.