Manchester airport parking - easiest option?
Discussion
Yes I know, get the train or fly from Edinburgh... however Mrs Davie has booked flights from Manchester, proclaiming "It was much cheaper" however now it's a drive to Manchester, a hotel and car parking.
Travelling with two kids under 10, flight back bounces off the tarmac at 1am (I know, I know!) so I'd like an easy solution... no walking 23 miles or joining a queue of 800 to get on a 16 seater mini bus. And whilst my car already looks like it's been joy ridden, I'd rather it just stayed put... and came back with no new damage Other disclaimer here, we don't do flying off on holidays often... so my stress levels are already high!
Swaying towards Drop & Go via the airport itself, works out at £88 and the reviews seems more favourable then their Meet & Greet option? Though as with most online reviews, people do love a good whinge however if anybody has any real world experience / recommendations, I'd be grateful!
Stopping the night in a hotel locally, thus short drive in the next day... and it's a VW Transporter but will fit under a 6ft 6" barrier. Or at least it will after my wife has rammed the entire contents of the house into several suitcases and it's sat on the bumpstops.
Travelling with two kids under 10, flight back bounces off the tarmac at 1am (I know, I know!) so I'd like an easy solution... no walking 23 miles or joining a queue of 800 to get on a 16 seater mini bus. And whilst my car already looks like it's been joy ridden, I'd rather it just stayed put... and came back with no new damage Other disclaimer here, we don't do flying off on holidays often... so my stress levels are already high!
Swaying towards Drop & Go via the airport itself, works out at £88 and the reviews seems more favourable then their Meet & Greet option? Though as with most online reviews, people do love a good whinge however if anybody has any real world experience / recommendations, I'd be grateful!
Stopping the night in a hotel locally, thus short drive in the next day... and it's a VW Transporter but will fit under a 6ft 6" barrier. Or at least it will after my wife has rammed the entire contents of the house into several suitcases and it's sat on the bumpstops.
It varies by terminal, are you 2 or 3?
Like you, I’d rather keep hold of the keys, last time I was there I parked in the T3 mid stay, next time I’m going it’ll be the T2 multi storey, both booked via Holiday Extras. You can combine it with a hotel stay as well if you want to stay the night before in a Premier Inn or similar. Just beware the annoying marketing and multiple cash back and discount code options of dubious value.
Like you, I’d rather keep hold of the keys, last time I was there I parked in the T3 mid stay, next time I’m going it’ll be the T2 multi storey, both booked via Holiday Extras. You can combine it with a hotel stay as well if you want to stay the night before in a Premier Inn or similar. Just beware the annoying marketing and multiple cash back and discount code options of dubious value.
Ahhh, apologies... terminal 2 and flying out on a Saturday afternoon just to compound the stress! Booked a Premier Inn a few miles north, not sure if that was the best move but driving down from Scotland on the Friday evening so felt a bit easier. But I'm now debating if that's a good plan.
Basically a bit out my comfort zone and there seems to be a bewildering amount of options! I'm hoping the return leg will be quiter, flight gets in in the middle of the night... but will be contending with tired kids. Leaning towards me sleeping on the flight home, then land, car, straight back up the M6 and home.
Centre Parcs in Penrith would have been easier!
Basically a bit out my comfort zone and there seems to be a bewildering amount of options! I'm hoping the return leg will be quiter, flight gets in in the middle of the night... but will be contending with tired kids. Leaning towards me sleeping on the flight home, then land, car, straight back up the M6 and home.
Centre Parcs in Penrith would have been easier!
Edited by Davie on Monday 28th September 21:47
Edited by Davie on Monday 28th September 21:49
ETA (well, kind of, can’t be bothered fixing the formatting after using PH edit), having looked at the booking, I think the T2 multi I’m booked into might be the same as the T3 mid stay I used a couple of years ago. Bit of a trek from the terminal especially if you can’t locate an abandoned trolley for your bags and it seems most larger vehicles are now banned from it. The airport run meet & greet does get good reviews though the mid-stay folk traipse through that area with trolleys depending on where you’re parked.
The Holiday Extras point stands regardless of what you pick, you may find it’s cheaper to cancel your hotel & rebook as a package combining your preferred hotel with your preferred parking rather than booking separately.
The Holiday Extras point stands regardless of what you pick, you may find it’s cheaper to cancel your hotel & rebook as a package combining your preferred hotel with your preferred parking rather than booking separately.
Davie said:
Ahhh, apologies... terminal 2 and flying out on a Saturday afternoon just to compound the stress! Booked a Premier Inn a few miles north, not sure if that was the best move but driving down from Scotland on the Friday evening so felt a bit easier. But I'm now debating if that's a good plan.
Basically a bit out my comfort zone and there seems to be a bewildering amount of options!
It’s a decent move. I’m central Scotland as well and flew from there early evening the last time. Brought to a full stop just where the M61 meets the M60 at Worsley so a Highways England bloke with a brush could sweep up the remains of a rear-ending, luckily on the way quickly but that sort of incident can easily turn into a serious delay. Staying over avoids all that & I’ll be doing that next time for a mid-morning flight. I’ll let others advise on T2 (and see whether I should rebook myself!) but defo see if you can cancel your Premier Inn & rebook as a package with your preferred parking option.Basically a bit out my comfort zone and there seems to be a bewildering amount of options!
Flying next week from the new T2
Have booked 'meet and greet' which is far better value than Heathrow
Also is new now the PITA build has finished and allegedly your car is scanned on entry and exit to check for damage. Or something....
The regular car parks at Manchester are perfectly functional, Ive occasionally spent time looking for a space but its always been OK
My flight a week on Saturday gets in at 10pm, having the car waiting, not queuing for a bus, was a modest amount of extra cash well spent
Cheers
numtumfutunch said:
allegedly your car is scanned on entry and exit to check for damage. Or something....
You drive into a booth thing where the car is photographed all around. If your car is damaged they (and you) can compare the before and after photos to see if it arrived damaged or they did it.Try our best to avoid flying from Manchester as not a great track record flying from there with delays etc, but last few times we've made sure to park at the multi storeys on site at the terminals as it really feels like you save an hours either end.
Last time we used manchester we flew back in from Sweden early hours of morning and managed to be in the car within 30 mins of landing at t3!
Check on holiday extras, jetparks and manchester airport site etc and just go with cheapest offer. Well worth the premium over messing about getting a bus to a car park on outskirts of airport.
Last time we used manchester we flew back in from Sweden early hours of morning and managed to be in the car within 30 mins of landing at t3!
Check on holiday extras, jetparks and manchester airport site etc and just go with cheapest offer. Well worth the premium over messing about getting a bus to a car park on outskirts of airport.
T2 now much better since building work completed. Book the meet & greet, its dead easy. Car scanned on way in, walk over to the terminal building and drop keys. Coming back, its the reverse, no queues, dead easy.
Security is great, no removing laptops and liquids, dump your hand luggage in a tray, its scanned as are you and you are on your way.
We were back of economy on an A350 coming back and it was 35 mins from landing to in the car on our way home!
Security is great, no removing laptops and liquids, dump your hand luggage in a tray, its scanned as are you and you are on your way.
We were back of economy on an A350 coming back and it was 35 mins from landing to in the car on our way home!
Manchester has improved a lot.
If the meet and greet is sold up (which it often is with the notice I get to fly), I’ve used the “just” off site car park (rough surface) a few times and then a 10 min bus ride in.
It’s easier as straight off the motorway and bear left at the roundabout (pre book only) when heading from the North.
I use Manchester Airport Parking to book , if there’s someone better, that might be interesting to know….
If the meet and greet is sold up (which it often is with the notice I get to fly), I’ve used the “just” off site car park (rough surface) a few times and then a 10 min bus ride in.
It’s easier as straight off the motorway and bear left at the roundabout (pre book only) when heading from the North.
I use Manchester Airport Parking to book , if there’s someone better, that might be interesting to know….
I live 2 miles from Manchester Airport as the crow flies (10mins by road) but I always use Meet & Greet. It not hugely more expensive that the other 'on airport' options and my god it is just so much easier.
If that is booked up, drop and go is a close second, and for T2 it is a doddle to get straight into the terminal without going outside.
If that is booked up, drop and go is a close second, and for T2 it is a doddle to get straight into the terminal without going outside.
Thanks guys. I think I'd rather pay a bit of a premium for minimal hassle / transfer times so I think I'll look into the official meet & greet or drop & go as plan B. Though now just trying to confirm what the maximum dimensions are for the above but on the booking screen, it's accepted my VRN in both scenarios so hopefully all good.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
T2 multi storey - stupidly convenient.
It's good but so is the meet and greet I'll use whichever is cheaper, and sometimes it switches depending on stay length.For a while I used Toad off site but only when they were half the price, if it's only a bit cheaper I don't bother.
996Type said:
Manchester has improved a lot.
If the meet and greet is sold up (which it often is with the notice I get to fly), I ve used the just off site car park (rough surface) a few times and then a 10 min bus ride in.
It s easier as straight off the motorway and bear left at the roundabout (pre book only) when heading from the North.
I use Manchester Airport Parking to book , if there s someone better, that might be interesting to know .
If you look at Holiday Extras, add to your basket and don't check out you usually (but not always) get emailed a 20% off code. If the meet and greet is sold up (which it often is with the notice I get to fly), I ve used the just off site car park (rough surface) a few times and then a 10 min bus ride in.
It s easier as straight off the motorway and bear left at the roundabout (pre book only) when heading from the North.
I use Manchester Airport Parking to book , if there s someone better, that might be interesting to know .
To answer the OP, where possible I always use the multistory - super convenient. I once had a bad expereince with Meet and Greet where we were waiting over an hour.
fooman said:
For a while I used Toad off site but only when they were half the price, if it's only a bit cheaper I don't bother.
These guys were cheaper too: https://news.sky.com/story/manchester-airport-sham...Mate of mine had his FFRR comprehensively rifled through at one of the offsite/unofficial carparks when flying out of MAN.
alangla said:
He s driving a VW Transporter, he ll need to ensure it s not the one with the heavily restricted list of makes & models that it ll take.
I drive a VW Transporter - normally use the mid-stay parking out past T3 but in the summer I flew from Manchester - mate drove us there in his Transporter and we used T2 multi-storey.My wife has booked the holiday, hotel, ordered the kids passports, health cards, inflatable crocodile for the plane, arranged dinners, raided Primark for end of summer line bargains, had her nails done, arranged haircuts for the kids and probably dropped a dress size...
Meanwhile I'm having mental blocks and serious anxiety trying to park the car for a week. I'd pretty much gone "sod it" and was about to book T2 Meet & Greet at £109.9 and when I put my VRN in the booking firm, I get a green tick... so I assume it's fine...
But...
I've now convinced myself I read somewhere the maximum length permitted is 4.8m. But the van is 5.2m. I now have an irrational fear that I'll roll up and be refused entry.
Googling suggests it'll be fine...
Edit: Google lied. ChatGPT days 4.8m and 2.0m tall... and dildo says "Transit vans" are restricted. So is that all Transit vans or are they using Transit vans as a generic term, like me calling the Shark... the hoover.
I hasten to add, I can't find anything, anywhere in the booking blurb not in the terms and conditions that mentions any restrictions aside for the 2.0m maximum height.
So do I book and rock up and hope... bearing in mind, it's also got an extra 5" of towbar sticking out the back. But do they park it? Do you just arrive at the reception area, bail out and they then go and park it somewhere?
This is why I don't do holidays. Cities. Big car parks.
Meanwhile I'm having mental blocks and serious anxiety trying to park the car for a week. I'd pretty much gone "sod it" and was about to book T2 Meet & Greet at £109.9 and when I put my VRN in the booking firm, I get a green tick... so I assume it's fine...
But...
I've now convinced myself I read somewhere the maximum length permitted is 4.8m. But the van is 5.2m. I now have an irrational fear that I'll roll up and be refused entry.
Googling suggests it'll be fine...
Edit: Google lied. ChatGPT days 4.8m and 2.0m tall... and dildo says "Transit vans" are restricted. So is that all Transit vans or are they using Transit vans as a generic term, like me calling the Shark... the hoover.
I hasten to add, I can't find anything, anywhere in the booking blurb not in the terms and conditions that mentions any restrictions aside for the 2.0m maximum height.
So do I book and rock up and hope... bearing in mind, it's also got an extra 5" of towbar sticking out the back. But do they park it? Do you just arrive at the reception area, bail out and they then go and park it somewhere?
This is why I don't do holidays. Cities. Big car parks.
Edited by Davie on Wednesday 30th September 17:59
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