If you’re going on a trip, but you need to drive to the airport, you need a plan for your car.
Airport parking can feel a bit sketchy, especially if you’re going on a lengthy trip. If you don’t know the airport or the surrounding area very well, you could end up paying too much, or worse, being late for your flight because you’ve parked so far away.
In this post, we’re going to give you a hand by telling you some crucial airport parking tips. Follow these and you’ll get on your flight with plenty of time while saving yourself some money.
1. Always Reserve Early
Getting to the airport, parking, going through security, and getting to the gate on time are what make flying stressful. Instead of simply driving to the airport and looking for parking when you get there, save yourself the headache and book your parking ahead of time.
Doing this will get you parked and shuttled to the airport in a timely manner, then you just have to worry about the other variables mentioned above.
2. Finding Coupons Online
You don’t always have to book parking through the airport. Most larger airports will have private parking lots around them, run by companies that have better deals and can shuttle you directly to your terminal.
For example, vistaparking.com has great deals around the Newark airport. At the end of the day, you should be able to find a coupon from one of these companies that make parking much less costly.
3. Arrive Hours Before Your Flight
Depending on what time of day you’re flying out, you could run into traffic. Not just traffic from your house to the parking lot, but from the parking lot to the airport, even if it’s just a few miles away.
To mitigate the risk of missing your flight, it’s always better to budget lots of time to get yourself parked and to the airport on time. We’ve all had enough close calls that this should be a no-brainer, but it’s a recurring issue for many people.
4. Remove Valuables
Leaving your car in a private or official airport parking lot is usually about as safe as a parking lot can be, but if you’re leaving it for several days, it’s always better to be safe. Remove any valuables from your car before you leave and you won’t have to think about theft, even as unlikely as it is.
If you forget to remove something, at least hide it underneath a seat so it’s not visible to passersby.
5. Unplug Chargers
Lastly, with all of the plugs and USB ports in our cars now, there are numerous ways to drain your car battery. Always do multiple checks before you leave the car to ensure that you’ve unplugged devices and removed the cord from the charging port.
The last thing you want after getting back from a long trip is a car that won’t start. It’ll make your travel day much more strenuous.
Airport Parking Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
Finding airport parking doesn’t have to be hard if you take the time to book it ahead of time and arrive at the airport on time. Neither does it have to be expensive if you look outside of the official airport parking lots for coupons. Like anything else with airline travel, it’s all about preparation, so put the time in and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Did you find this post helpful? Come back again for more travel tips.
