We drove to the airport with no plan. We wanted to be as stressed out as possible before we went away to relax. You know, we tried to make the most of our holiday.
We knew the traffic would be bad because we had kids and a lot of luggage. The flight was at the end of the day. Why did we do it? I don’t understand…
The price of a taxi to and from the airport was roughly the same. We decided that the stress involved in trying to find a cab at busy times was not worth it. We decided to take Herbie. It’s the name of our car. That’s my name for the vehicle. My fella hates it.
But I digress.
The worst part was that we could have avoided it. We didn’t prepare and made bad decisions at each stage of the process because we did not plan. We hit every branch of the tree. That was bad planning for airport parking on our way down. Strange metaphor, but I am in a peculiar mood.
You don’t have to be like me. Plan. Follow these tips to make airport parking a breeze.
Plan your route to the car park, not just the airport
Airports are huge. Airports are huge. They have multiple terminals and many more parking lots.
I suggested that he be more specific when entering Manchester Airport into Google Maps. He replied, “There will be signage,” and I just left it there.
The first mistake
Use your GPS to find the exact car park. There are lots of signs at airports, but they are useless if you don’t have a clue where you’re going.
The second tip is a good one.
Book in Advance
The second mistake was not reserving a parking space in advance.
We had looked up the prices before we went but assumed that they would remain the same. The prices were different. Not even close.
It isn’t very comfortable to say how much we paid, but it was twice as much as we would have if we had booked. The rest of the trip was well planned, but the decision to drive or take a taxi was made at the last minute. We failed miserably.
Airport parking companies make up to PS2 Million per day from people like us.
You can even save more money this way. It’s always cheaper to book through sites like these than directly with the airport, particularly for VIP and Meet and Greet.
We ended up paying a lot of money and parking in a place that was far from where we wanted to be. What is tip number three?
Book the closest car park to your terminal
If you get it right, you will receive 10 points.
The third mistake was parking miles from the terminal. We decided to deal with it because we were so stressed out from the trip and haggling with the parking attendants. The kids had to leave.
My other half did a fantastic job of taking two trips to get the luggage while I took care of the kids and their food.
It was a good thing we arrived in plenty of advance because it could’ve been a major problem had we not. Serious, as in missing your flight seriously.
Keep the key handy
Mistake number 4
The key was still in my father’s jeans pocket when we returned.
My fella’s jeans are at the bottom, in the laundry bag, of the largest suitcase. The idiot had forgotten it and left it there, not realising that he’d need it after we returned.
When we reached the car, he realised.
In the middle of an icy car park, at 9 pm, you’ll find yourself frantically unpacking your suitcase and turning pockets inside out after a 3-hour flight. Two pre-schoolers were exhausted. I was fuming.
Bless him. Despite my many angry huffs, he didn’t lose it.
Parking Types
Let me update you on another important airport parking tip.
What I’m talking about is the various types of parking available. They have made it ridiculously complex.
You will have a number of options available:
- Short Stay – From a few hours to several days
- Mid Stay – up to a week
- Stay longer – Any length of time.
- At the airport – On the airport grounds. It is convenient but more expensive.
- Offsite – Just outside of the airport boundary. It is cheaper but farther away. Park and Ride options may be available.
- Meet & Greet – Hand someone your keys, and they’ll take your vehicle to the parking space and bring it back when you return. VIP service. It is more expensive.
These are the most common, but there may be more. Many options are available, and they’re usually for different terminals. Others have Park Mark certificates, meaning they also meet security standards.
I hope you found it useful. I wish I’d read this before our last holiday. I will not make those mistakes again. According to a, but it was definitely the parking for us.
The bags were fine.
