Park Your Cash In Your Wallet

Unless you're fortunate enough to have understanding relations who will happily drop you off and pick you up before and after your holiday, you're likely to find yourself with one more expense before you travel - airport parking.

In a time when cheap flights are standard, the simple task of parking a car remains extortionate. A day's stay at London Heathrow's short stay car park will set you back a whopping £45, while even stopping at Birmingham's long stay car park for eight days will see you fork out more than £60. So what's the solution?

Just as you can shop around for cheap flights, hotels, car hire and travel insurance online, cheap airport parking is available through a host of price comparison websites such as Holiday Extras, Purple Parking, Simply Parking, FHR and Airport Parking Shop. These comparators will offer quotes from a list of airport parking companies close to the airport you plan to travel from with many featuring meet and greet services, chauffeured parking and terminal drop-offs and pick-ups.

The savings that can be made are massive. For example, in November 2006 an eight-day stay paying at the parking meter at Heathrow terminals one-three could cost £119. However, through the price comparison website it costs a mere £55 - a saving of £63!

In addition, many of these comparison websites also offer airport hotels and parking as part of a dual service that often works out cheaper than booking parking alone. This can allow you to travel at a convenient time and avoid the morning rush hour or reliance on waking early to travel a long distance.

So what are you waiting for? Drive down your parking prices now!