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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Stansted parking costs

50 replies

honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:22

Need to park at Stansted airport next week for a day. Knew the parking wouldn’t be cheap but £74 for one day?!! The cheapest I can find is one you get a bus transfer to for £50, but then need to factor in that time on top.

Presuming some of their car parks are closed due to Covid, but even so. AIBU to think that’s a lot of money for one day??

(And if anyone knows of a cheaper car park please let me know Grin)

OP posts:
SomeCatsLikeCheese · 17/06/2021 07:25

That’s insane! Do you actually have to park at the actual airport? Could you bus or train in?

Have a look at websites like JustPark for local people renting out their driveways. Takeley would be a good option as there’s a bus from there.

Actually, what I’d do in your position is park at the station car park in Bishops Stortford (£11 for the whole day which I considered extortionate until I read your post) and get the train to Stansted Airport itself. Takes about ten minutes and there are a couple an hour, and more frequent buses.

Some of their car parks have been turned into the Covid test centre for the loca area but still….

Aprilx · 17/06/2021 07:26

Why don’t you park at one of the train stations in the Stansted Express line and take the last couple of stops by train.

Ginuwine · 17/06/2021 07:26

@honeyandbutterontoast

Need to park at Stansted airport next week for a day. Knew the parking wouldn’t be cheap but £74 for one day?!! The cheapest I can find is one you get a bus transfer to for £50, but then need to factor in that time on top.

Presuming some of their car parks are closed due to Covid, but even so. AIBU to think that’s a lot of money for one day??

(And if anyone knows of a cheaper car park please let me know Grin)

There are plenty of cheaper options. DYOR

Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:28

Will have a look at Bishops Stortford train station thanks.
Problem is we have to be at the airport for 6am so don’t really want to add extra time to the journey so early, but I also don’t want to pay that much money!!

OP posts:
Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:29

Actually I have done research! I hadn’t contemplated the train idea as that time in the morning the trains aren’t as frequent and it isn’t just me travelling so I was hoping to find an easy option but cut the cost.

OP posts:
Ginuwine · 17/06/2021 07:31

@honeyandbutterontoast

Will have a look at Bishops Stortford train station thanks. Problem is we have to be at the airport for 6am so don’t really want to add extra time to the journey so early, but I also don’t want to pay that much money!!

So you'd like a premium service with the convenience of proximity to airport, but don't like the associated price...

I don't mean to be unreasonable myself. But there's a known correlation between proximity to airport terminal, convenience for user, and price. If you want the parking space that's just a 4 min walk from departures etc then you are likely to be asked to pay a pretty strong price for the convenience.

If you can get up earlier...... then other PPs have given you some options. I did a quick Google (not sure why but there you are) and there's lots of park and ride, meet and greet options. Take your pick.

Herbie0987 · 17/06/2021 07:31

Look at staying at a hotel overnight with parking, we did this a few years ago and was cheaper.

Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:38

Costed out train tickets for us and with station car park it’s about £50. So about the price of transfer car park. Thank you for that idea. The trains aren’t super frequent that early but it may be doable.

Don’t really want the convenience of next to the airport parking, although for a one day trip it does save time. Was just shocked at the cost even of the ones with a transfer.

And the same car park I can get for 95 for a week so seems a bit of a rip for one day!

OP posts:
Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:41

pretty visitor
Thank you for the link. All my usual”go-to’s” - Holiday Extras etc hadn’t come up with anything that cheap. But that gives me £45 which is cheaper than the train. Thank you!

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 17/06/2021 07:43

In normal times I used to park at Manchester or Liverpool airports for the day and the price was typically £35-40 for official on airport, 5 mins walk to terminal or less. I agree that you don't want to be messing about with transfer buses if you can avoid it. I think £35 ish is about the least I could ever expect to pay, even searching all the discount sites etc.

I've just had a quick look on Holiday Extras through Moneysaving Expert for Stansted on Weds 23 for 6 am to 10 pm and got around £50 for short stay premium, so perhaps have a look there, it's coming down towards what I'd expect to pay.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-airport-parking/

Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 07:48

Hi it’s actually 24 hours as we fly home early the next morning, I think that is what bumps the cost up so much. But I’m sorry I still think it’s extortionate in comparison to what I’ve paid elsewhere.

And not to drip feed but trying to avoid any extra fuss in the morning is not laziness but taking a DC with autism with me and need to keep the journey as calm as possible.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 17/06/2021 07:55

That's what's probably bumping up the cost, you're parking for more than a day. And it's also high season and they do charge more in the summer and might also be using COVID as an excuse to increase their prices. Plus you (quite reasonably) want the most convenient option, which is more expensive.

In my experience, parking for any amount of time at all, more than an hour or two to do a drop off/pick up, is at the very least £35, I've paid that for 8 hours before for a day flight for a business meeting. Then you can get quite a lot more parking for not much more money.

In an extreme example DP once did an overseas work job where they didn't know how long it would take and they sent him off with a one way flight and 2 days hotel accommodation. We looked at the parking and any time between 2 days and 9 days was more or less the same price within about a tenner so we booked him 9 days parking as after that the price did start to go up again.

The job took about 8 days and he actually got back to the car less than 12 hours before the parking run out.

BarbaraofSeville · 17/06/2021 07:57

But all that the above will have been a bus ride away and at another airport, but you're right that it's very expensive for the first day, and then doesn't go up proportionally for the next week.

Ginuwine · 17/06/2021 08:11

@honeyandbutterontoast

Hi it’s actually 24 hours as we fly home early the next morning, I think that is what bumps the cost up so much. But I’m sorry I still think it’s extortionate in comparison to what I’ve paid elsewhere.

And not to drip feed but trying to avoid any extra fuss in the morning is not laziness but taking a DC with autism with me and need to keep the journey as calm as possible.

The drip feed here is the 24 hours part (which now explains the justified price).

Yesyesnonoyesyes · 17/06/2021 08:29

My neighbours would kill me for posting this but I live very close to stansted and there are no parking restrictions where we are. There is a bus that goes directly to the airport from here.
If I were you I would look up Takeley and Little Canfield for parking and then the bus timetables for routes 42a and 133. There are some restrictions in takeley closer to the airport but not all of the village, Canfield has none.

BarbaraofSeville · 17/06/2021 08:37

There you go OP. Park on Yesyes drive and go off on your trip.

Yesyes can start a parking thread and amuse Mumsnet until you come back. Everyone's happy.

Alternatively, there could be people in those villages renting out their driveways to airport users using parkonmydrive.com or justpark, so that might be an option?

raeroe · 17/06/2021 08:46

Possibly try local taxi firms for airport transfers. I'm nowhere near there but one of our local taxi firms does a £40 return trip to our nearest airport which is about an hour away.

motogogo · 17/06/2021 08:48

I found there's a compare the car park type site that offered much better prices than holiday extras. That said when I did stansted we just used the National express and arrived at 3.30am for the 6am flight

Original poster
honeyandbutterontoast · 17/06/2021 08:53

Taxi is £100 return. Also crazy money. I can be at Stansted in 30 mins that time of morning.

Thank you yesyes. Looking at Takeley now :)

OP posts:
FinallyFluid · 17/06/2021 09:00

@Yesyesnonoyesyes

My neighbours would kill me for posting this but I live very close to stansted and there are no parking restrictions where we are. There is a bus that goes directly to the airport from here. If I were you I would look up Takeley and Little Canfield for parking and then the bus timetables for routes 42a and 133. There are some restrictions in takeley closer to the airport but not all of the village, Canfield has none.
Why would you do that to your neighbours. ?
newnortherner111 · 17/06/2021 09:03

Are you 100% sure you can make the flights you are planning?

Menora · 17/06/2021 09:04

Please don’t be tempted to park on a street and get a cab there. It really makes all the residents so miserable. I live there and that’s awful! Why are you advertising it!!

Menora · 17/06/2021 09:05

@Yesyesnonoyesyes

Honestly can’t believe that! You know they park blocking people in and it’s hard enough to get round the slalom. 2 years ago some guy had all his tyres slashed and caused a huge commotion at 4am, it was crazy!

Menora · 17/06/2021 09:08

@honeyandbutterontoast

Pay to park in bishops Stortford town centre. Get the train direct to airport. You can keep topping up parking on your phone. It will cost you hardly anything. Don’t park on people’s streets