Dublin Airport car parking Q's?

Weyhey

Heading away for Christmas and we have decided to drive to the airport. I think we will be using the Short Term car park.

I am wondering do we really have to book ahead for the short term car park? Does it ever get full?
Is there any reason to pick Terminal 2 short term car park over Terminal 1 st? Our flight leaves from Terminal 2 but I believe it is only a 5 minute walk from Terminal 1 short term car park?

I have checked the cost of parking and rough quotes are:

€95 - Terminal 1 short term
€115 - Terminal 2 short term
€70 - long term car park
€50 - quickpark

As it is our first time travelling with our baby (and everything seems to take so long with babies/kids) and it is our first time driving to airport, along with having to check in around 9 am and also we possibly have at least a 90 min drive to the airport we think the short term car park would be best and leave the quickpark until a day we have an afternoon flight and have more time to experiment.

tatli_lokma

I believe that it is usually cheaper if you book in advance. Plus, you don't have to worry about tickets or paying at paystations when you leave. Also, I'm not sure what dates you are going, but I just checked from 21st Dec - 28th Dec and it was between €63 and €69 for the short term T2.
And play around with dates - sometimes you can get 2 weeks for the price of one, or 2 weeks for a set price. I was away in October for 10 days, but booked for 14 days as it was cheaper. Think it cost about €50.

Also, if you did decide to go with a further car park, I would recommend the DAA blue car park over quick park. Quick park is usually more expensive, and the blue park I just think is better facilities.

zagmund

Do not just roll up to the short term carpark and leave your car there for a couple of days without pre-booking. A friend did this once (stuck in traffic, almost missed flight, no choice but to use short term) and it cost an eye watering amount for a weekend.

We have pre-booked the short term and while it's not cheap, at least you know there's a reasonable cap on the charge. Correction - according to here - http://dublinairport.com/gns/to-from-the-airport/car-parking/short-term.aspx - the daily drive-up rate is €40 for the short term. Not entirely unreasonable. The hourly rate is €3, so that would make a theoretical charge of €72 for a 24h day without that cap.

How many days are you actually going for?

z

Weyhey

Thank you folks. I am going for 14/ 15 days so €95 doesn't seem so bad compared to the daily rate.

keithsfleet

Taxi?
Ring a few taxi companies, many of them are doing drop off and pick up services.
Could work out cheaper and it'd be a alot less hassle.

tatli_lokma

OP has a 90 min drive to the airport - doubt they would get a taxi for that kind of distance for less than the parking.

Fratton Fred

Terminal one car park is long and thin and will be busy, so you could end up with quite a long walk. It still isn't too bad though.

If you are getting back late, with a load of luggage and a baby, the extra ten minute walk might seem like forever, especially if it is raining.

bigar

Have you considered parking at a nearby hotel and use Park & Fly? I used it a few times. You park at a hotel and they drive you to the airport in their courtesy bus. Try parksmart.ie.

tinkerbell

OP, it would be insane to just rock up to the short term car park without pre-booking when you plan on staying for 2 weeks, it will cost you a fortune. You would be much better off booking it online. Also, go for the car park which is in the same terminal as you. The T1 car park is a bit of a trek from the T2 terminal, and vice versa.

Quick park is ages away, if going long term go with red - I think that's the closer one.

tan11ie

You're best to book before your trip, it will cost less. Why not use Quickpark? they are located at the back of the Airport (5 mins) on the shuttle bus which runs on time every 5 minutes.It should cost about €50 for the length of time you're leaving the car there.

I think it's the best option when you have kids in tow...if you park in the Airport you could be some distance from the car, and it's more expensive.

Jan Laco

Might be a stupid question but just want to make sure.
I booked online to enter the car park @5am but my flight is later than I thought. I can't modify the time. Do I have a certain grace time or can I enter any time after 5am....ie two hours later?

spurious

Time after your entry time they don't care about as it's time already paid for.