Did you know you can reserve parking just as you do hotels and airfares? It's a good idea. This allows you to know exactly what it will cost and where you can go to get the best deal.
Web sites like Airport Parking Reservations give you a choice of major airports and the discount lots that are available in the vicinity.
Let's look at a major airline's hub for some examples:
AirportParkingReservations.com gives me three reservation options near Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International. Each involves booking a hotel room.
Confused? Don't be!
In many cities, you get parking and a room for the price of a room. One recent search under the criteria above brought up a room at a Baymont Inn for $84/night. You simply take the hotel shuttle back to-and-from the terminal. In this case, I can park for 14 days at the hotel and spend the night. If I add $5, I can park in long-term parking at the airport for two weeks. There's no immediate valet service to the terminal, but the airport runs shuttle buses.
Fourteen days of parking at the airport's covered lots next to the terminals: $182.
That's just one airport's situation. Your departure point might be quite similar or very different.
The point is to do some quick homework. First, find your airport's Web site. You can find links on sites like AirlineQuality.com.
Next, check both short-term (convenient) and long-term (inconvenient) rates. Then look at the off-site alternatives.
Ready for some less conventional ways to save or eliminate these costs? Click "next" and find out more!
