You might like traveling by plane. It makes a lot more sense than driving if you have to travel across the country and don’t want to take hours or days getting to your destination.
You might not enjoy the high price of airport parking, though.
We’ll talk about how to pay less for airport parking right now.
You don’t have to accept the high price tag many airport parking lots demand.
Park at a Lot Close to the Airport
If you visit a major airport, you’ll likely notice that there are some other parking lots close by.
Most of them require that you pay for either short-term or long-term parking, but the cost is not usually as much as you’d pay for official airport parking.
The only real downside is that you have to walk farther when you get back from your trip or when you’re done picking someone up.
The ideal situation if you employ this strategy is to pick a parking lot that’s not all that far from the airport. Walking a quarter of a mile might be okay. Walking several miles doesn’t sound very good to the average traveler.
Park at Airport Hotels
Most airports also have a cluster of hotels around them. You might decide to park at one of those and walk over to the airport. An airport-adjacent Holiday Inn or Best Western becomes your unwitting accomplice in these moments.
There are a couple of possible issues with this technique, though. The first is that you can’t leave your car in a hotel parking lot if you’re going on a trip.
If you leave it there for days on end, the hotel staff is sure to notice, and they might tow the car.
You might also park the car there and pick someone up at the airport, but technically, the hotel staff won’t want you parking there if you’re not staying at the hotel.
You’re probably okay if you park the vehicle somewhere inconspicuous on the lot and don’t take very long meeting the individual or group that you’re picking up.
Get an Uber or Taxi
You might also avoid paying any money by getting a taxi or an Uber to the airport. If you do this, you pay nothing to park and leave the car.
You do have to pay for the taxi or Uber, but many travelers feel okay with this.
If you get an Uber or taxi, and you’re leaving for an early-morning flight, you’re probably half asleep. You might not want to drive at all.
You may prefer calling a taxi or a rideshare vehicle to pick you up at your house, so you can sit sleepily in the back until your morning coffee kicks in.
You have options if you’re traveling by plane. You don’t necessarily need to pay the high airport parking fees if you would prefer not to do so.
Any of the options we’ve suggested might work, so consider which one makes the most sense for you.