Compare or Beware.

 When considering parking your car at any UK airport you need to be aware of the possible pitfalls when putting your hand in your pocket. Nowadays more than ever it’s important to check and compare things properly. By comparing car parks you can nearly always find the best price, but not only this, you can get up to date information on things like car park security measures, car park location, bus transfer times and car park facilities. For some people it’s not always about finding the cheapest car park, some people want the utmost convenience or the most comprehensive security measures for example, so a website which allows you to compare all of these is a website which truly compares. All of these things can make your travelling experience a lot easier, it just takes a couple of minutes homework.

 

Know what to do when you get there.

 

It does not end there though… you will also need to consider what sort of arrival and departure procedures you need to go though and this is what some websites fail to let you know. If you’re parking your car at Heathrow or Gatwick for example you can find yourself with a massive selection of different car parks to choose from and a lot of them have different procedures. For example some require you to arrive at a reception area, some others require you to use the credit card or debit card you used for booking online to enter the car park and some really up to date car parks now work on a car number plate recognition system.

There is also the Meet and Greet options which nearly always require you to phone just before arriving at the airport terminal and also require you to phone again when you’re just leaving the baggage pick up area. So as you can see it’s vital that when you book your airport parking you find a site which not only compares the price and security etc… but also makes sure you get all the other information to hand such as telephone numbers, addresses and arrival and departure procedures to make your experience as simple as possible. Some websites out there can offer you the very best chance of getting things right the first time so make sure you take your time to look properly.

 

Know your Terminal.

 

Another not so well known issue when booking airport parking is making sure you have the correct car park which serves the terminal you are using. For example if you are looking for Heathrow airport parking then it is especially important because there are five terminals to choose from. Make sure you check the information on the car park and make sure the transfer bus goes to the correct terminal.  Can you imagine getting on the shuttle bus only to find that it has taken you to the wrong terminal !

So always read the car park information very carefully, the better websites out there will always have a “More Information” button for you to click on to get every piece of information you need.

 

Pre book Online and Save.

 

It’s no exaggeration to say that by pre booking online you can save as much as 60% compared to the gate price. The gate price is the price individual car parks will charge you if you simply turn up on the day to park and pay. Most of the major car parks at the major airports will always keep some parking spaces free for such eventualities, but rest assured you will pay a lot more. For example if you wanted Gatwick airport parking in the summer months for two weeks you could choose “Airparks” which is off airport and pay £64.99 by pre booking online, however if you just turned up on the day you would pay £135.00, that’s an amazing saving of £70.01.  Another very commonly used car park at Gatwick is “Summer Special North” which serves the North terminal, if you wanted to use this car park for the same period it would cost you £82.80 when pre booked as apposed to the turn up and pay price of £121.50. So as you can see the advantages of pre booking is very obvious and well worth doing.

You would think that saving so much money would be reason enough to pre book but there is also another less known reason for pre booking your airport parking especially at the larger airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester. When you pre book airport parking you are ensuring that a parking space is available for your car on your given dates. It is true that car parks do set aside some parking bays for people who do turn up on the day but these can and do get taken up especially in the summer months. Can you imagine turning up at the car park and finding that the car park is full, yes you could try another car park but what if you’re running slightly late for example or what if the next car park is even full.

 

Stay Overnight On or Near the Airport Before You Fly.

 

One of the best things about staying in a hotel on or near to the airport the night before you fly apart from starting your holiday a day earlier, is that you can seriously wake up the day of your departure much more relaxed and refreshed, your bags are already packed and you’re already at the airport. Staying in a hotel is especially useful if you have a very early flight time, imagine having to be at the airport for say four or five in the morning, who wants to get up at two or three and then drive all that way. For example lets say you want to book Manchester airport parking in summer for two weeks, for ON airport parking this would cost you anything from £49 to £99 depending on which car park you chose and OFF airport parking will cost you anything from approx. £37 to £88. Compare those parking only prices to a cost of only £68 for a double room at the Cresta Court Hotel (3 star) which is approx. 30 mins from the airport which also includes two weeks parking at a secure car park next to the airport. You could also choose the Crown Plaza Hotel (4 star) which is located on the airport itself with two weeks parking at the hotel for only £91.

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