Play at Parking: The Joy’s of Airport Parking

For several years I lived just outside of Dulles International Airport and every year I watched the parking situation get worse. The simple act of going to pick up a relative from the airport involved hours of planning and praying that a parking lot close to the terminal would have open spaces. There was never anything worse than hiking two or three miles to pick up a tired traveler and then making them hike back with me, luggage and small children in tow.

Even worse than picking up people at the airport was parking at the airport myself for a trip. Often I would end up paying over ten dollars a day to park in a covered lot and then I would have to hope that the parking lot closest to the terminal still had spaces. It was usually an expensive habit. Over time I decided to use the resources available to me.

I began listening to the AM radio station for the airport that told which parking lots were closed and opened. I also called parking customer service to see what the parking situation was before making the drive to the airport. Doing these two things saved me a lot of time and energy.

As the prices for parking slowly began to rise it became more affordable for me to pay to take a taxi to the airport or get a ride from friends or family. I would rather pay a taxi driver $20 one-way than pay close to $200 for parking on a two week trip. On occasions where I was only making a weekend trip it was more affordable for me to pay $20 or $30 to park on the weekend in a covered lot and save the hassle of waiting for a ride or giving a taxi driver directions.

When working out airport parking be sure the arrangements are most convenient for you. If you cannot afford to pay for daily parking at the airport arrange a ride or get a taxi to, and from. Parking at the airport can be stressful but with a little planning it is workable.