If you are planning to park at an airport for a few days or longer, it is advisable to check early what parking options there are at and around the airport from which you will be flying. Just like when booking a flight ticket and accommodation, it is essential to compare. Only then you will find out what the best parking space is at the airport. Here are five essential Parking Tips for travellers to help them find the right and cheap parking place at the airport!
1. Online reservation is Important
It is the most crucial tip for travellers who want to park at the airport as cheaply as possible: book a parking space online. Those who do not pay the more expensive entry fee and run the risk that the cheapest parking options are already full. Visitors to the official websites cannot ignore it either, the booking module for parking nowadays has a prominent place on the websites of Schiphol, Eindhoven and Rotterdam The Hague. Airports want travellers to book a parking space as early as possible.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Brussels Airport promise travellers a great deal when booking a parking space online. You can buy different price options ranging from $288.56 to $3,144.96 with a different set of options. Booking online makes parking a week / 8 days 40 euros cheaper at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, namely € 67.50 instead of € 107.50. Online reservation is even 54 euros cheaper at Brussels Airport, the price for a week / 8 days parking is € 59 instead of € 113 at the busiest airport in Belgium.
2. Payless in Germany
There are few differences between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany for weekend parking. With a week of parking, there is a definite advantage to be gained. Germany is the cheapest. 8 days parking at an airport in Germany, close to the Dutch border, costs on average only € 51. In the Netherlands, the price is € 7 higher, in Belgium travellers have to pay € 23 more. This makes the eastern neighbours financially the best choice for airport parking. Parking for a week is the most expensive at Antwerp Airport (€ 80), Ostend Bruges Airport (€ 82.50) and Liège Airport (€ 97) in Belgium.
3. Price is not everything
Often price plays a vital role in the choice of a parking space. However, it is essential to make a decision based on more factors. It makes a difference when the car is not inside a secure parking garage, but outside in an unsecured parking lot. Also, the distance to the terminal is essential, no traveller wants to be on the road for a long time from the parking area to the airport building. For a few euros extra per day, it is possible to park undercover a few minutes from the terminal. Reviews from previous parkers also play an increasingly important role in the final choice of parking. The rule to pay a little more = a little less stress certainly applies to airport parking.
4. Travel outside of school holidays
Travelling during the periods when most people go on vacation is expensive, this also applies to the park nowadays. The airports of Amsterdam Schiphol, Eindhoven and Cologne Bonn make use of ‘yield management’. This means that they can ask more for a parking space during busy periods, such as school holidays. By applying ‘flexible pricing’, consumers pay more during busy periods and less during quiet periods. Everything to use the available capacity as well as possible, or rather to achieve the highest possible turnover. Travellers who fly during school holidays can save money by keeping an eye on promotions and subscribing to newsletters from parking providers.
5. View alternatives
Years ago, everyone drove to the airport without a reservation, there was not much choice. Beside official parking options, there are now also many alternative parking options in the vicinity of the major airports in particular. In almost all cases parking is cheaper there than at a suitable parking place at the airport. A disadvantage is that the location is further from the airport, a ride with a shuttle bus is therefore necessary.
Free parking is even possible, for example, via the Turo parking service. Turo Parking service rent you a car in exchange for free parking and part of the proceeds. ParkFlyRent did the same at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Eindhoven Airport. Also, Park, Sleep & Fly is relatively inexpensive and ideal for an early flight. Travellers only pay for a night in a hotel room, the price for an arrangement is € 100 on average. For this, they get a parking space (Park), hotel stay (Sleep) and transport to and from the airport (Fly).
