Want to know how Joseph felt on Christmas morning? Head off to the airport to start your big holiday trip, only to find there’s no room in the parking lot. It happens, and not just at Christmas.
Just getting to the airport can be a “trip.” There may be no one to take you. Public transit may not be an option, either. Where can you park? Can you even afford to park?
But there are ways to make it easier on yourself, and these folks say they have some answers for you.
PRICE, THEN PARK
Airport Discount Parking
Give them your departure airport and your date of travel, and they’ll tell you where the cheapest parking is. At least, they’ll tell you where the cheapest parking is among the particular lots that they’re affiliated with. What the hell, it couldn’t hurt to look, right?
YOUR SPACE AWAITS
You book your flight in advance…why not your airport parking space? These guys say they can reserve you a space at scores of airports across the United States, Canada and elsewhere.
A reserved space at a lot away from the airport will always be cheaper, but if you go that route, make sure they have a 24-hour shuttle between the lot at the airport — and make sure you know how often that shuttle runs.
Above all, get there early. You won’t be the only one who had this idea.
About Airport Parking
Airport Parking Reservations
Park n Fly Network
More Airport Parking sites
The Parking Spot
Park Ride Fly USA
Long Term Parking
PARK ‘n CHILL
Here’s a little stress-busting trick to start or end a trip involving one of those marathon flights. There are lots of hotels near major airports that will, for the coast of a night’s stay on either the outbound or the return leg of your trip, let you park your car in their lot while you’re gone, usually up to one or two weeks.
They’ll shuttle you to/from the airport, handle your luggage, and the higher-end versions of this service will even pamper your car while you’re gone — detailing, oil change, mats over your doors to protect them from dings. Check in the night before you go, or pamper yourself a little after you come off that 14-hour flight on your return. In between, the hotel keeps your car safe and secure in gated, guarded lots.
Such services are increasingly turning up at airports around the United States, Canada and elsewhere. If you’re going to gone long enough that you’ll wind up spending $100 or more on airport parking, anyway, it’s worth considering.
Park Sleep Fly
Park Sleep Fly Hotels
Stay 123
Buy Reservations
GETTING AROUND
Can’t afford limousine service in your destination city? Shocking! These days, I try to use public transportation wherever practical — and in US cities east of the Mississippi and in Europe especially, it’s often VERY practical. These sites will help you do it.
World TaxiMeter
Want to know how much your cab ride will cost before you get in the cab? Enter your city, your starting point and destination into the World Taxi Meter and this site will calculate it for you. Covers 19 cities in North America, Europe and Asia.
World of Taxis
Did you know that St. Fiacre is the patron saint of taxi drivers? Neither did I. An in-depth look into a word you only think you know, much of it written by cabbies themselves. Of special interest to those black folks in New York City and elsewhere who magically seem to become invisible when trying to hail a cab, a black travel issue at home or abroad.
HopStop
In cities with good public transportation systems — a smooth, efficient net of subway trains and buses — I don’t even bother renting cars anymore. This site will help you find your way on the public conveyances in nine different systems. Four of the nine are in the New York/New Jersey area. One is the famed London Underground. The other four are San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Washington DC. includes maps and city guides. Customizable and connectible to your iPhone, SMS or PDA.
And all of them can get you to the airport.
The Subway Page
Apart from HopStop, check the Web site of the public transportation system in your destination city. Odds are, their maps, timetables and other useful info are downloadable to or accessible by your smartphone. The Subway Page makes this easier for you by putting together links to subways maps and other aids in cities around the world, organized alphabetically. The page design is dated, but the site itself remains as useful now to the independent traveler as when it opened in 1995.
Hitchsters
Want to hitch a ride to or from an airport, without using your thumb…and maybe risking a citation from an especially zealous cop? This site was created to connect people who need a ride with those willing to share one.
ZipCar
Don’t need a car all day? How about by the hour? These guys say they can hook you up the way some European cities rent bikes, in more than 50 cities in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Paris is in the process of creating a car-sharing network similar to their successful Velib bike-sharing program. Anyone with a subscription, or a credit card, as well as a valid driver’s license would be able to walk up and pick up an electric car for temporary use. More on this later.
very helpful! thankyou!