Hey!

Any of you IAD regulars know of a cheap long-term parking lot @ Dulles that takes reservations? I'm flying out of IAD the day before Thanksgiving & the last thing I want to deal with is trying to find a parking space on the busiest travel day of the year! Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!

What I typically do when I fly out from Dulles is stay at a hotel the night before and leave my car there. I stay at the Courtyard Marriott Chantilly (on Rt. 50) but Wingate Inn and Hilton also have fly/drive packages. It might make things less stressful for you.

internetwiz:

Thanks, but I have to work that day, so it's not an option.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Check out http://www.parksleepfly.com/. At the very minimum, it'll give you an idea of some hotels to call. Sometimes you can pay them to park in their lot and use their shuttle service. It's worth a shot since parking will be a hassle. The other option is to take the Washington Flyer, or whatever the service is that leaves from West Falls Church metro and not have to deal with parking at all.

I don't know if you live in the DC area but another option (which we've done), is to park at a friends house in Reston or Herndon and take a cab to and from the airport.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, but I live in Baltimore, so Metro isn't convenient.

Will check out parksleepfly, but my suspicion is that most hotels won't want to deal with parking unless you're a guest.

Anyone else have any suggestions??

Thanks!

You are under the misconception that there are a few "private" parking lots around Dulles are around BWI..ones that can be reserved, etc.

Sorry, you're wrong about that. At IAD you either park it in the airport's long-term lot or you find a hotel where you can leave it.

topman:

Ugh. Thanks! It's been a while since I've used Dulles, & I thought with all of the growth out there that this situation might have changed.

Just how miserable is it going to be to try & find L/T parking that day? I know the L/T parking @ BWI is horrendous around holidays . . .

Hi LT,
I don't think long-term parking at Dulles is as scarce as it is at BWI. I know I have read articles about the problems at BWI, but am not aware that it is a problem at Dulles. I have parked there over many holidays and always found a spot. It sometimes took a while -- driving up and down the aisles -- so leave plenty of time, but I always eventually find a spot. By the way, as you drive into the airport, you want to follow the signs that say "economy parking" -- that's what they call it there.

Parking is no problem at Dulles even on the worst day of the year. You might have to look a bit, but there are always spots. Been there, parked that.

Steve
Maryla

I must be really out of the loop as I've never heard of a parking lot that takes reservations. I suppose if a place did that, you'd have to prepay or they couldn't stay in business. I park at IAD several times a year, and have parked on holidays, and have never been unable to find a place at all. I've flown out of there on Thanksgiving day itself and found a spot, so all the folks that fly out day before would have already parked. Now that they have the purple and gold lots, I don't know that they ever have no places available at all. Dulles LT parking isn't that cheap any more, that's my complaint -- they raised rates a while back and I think they are the highest of any airport in this area.

You don't have to actually sleep at the hotel. Just pay for the night and park your car there.

You shouldn't have a huge problem. I would recommend heading for the "Green Parking Lot." As you enter the Green lot, you'll go through a ticket booth where you pick up your parking pass. Go to the first intersection (about 20 yards from the ticket kiosk) and take a right, which will be the road cutting through the middle of the green parking lot. Keep going down this road until you get near the end of the Green Lot and then take a right down one of the last parking lanes. For whatever reason, in my experience the right side of the lot is less crowded than the left.

Lt, You and I have the same problem. 14 days in long term is $126. Staying at the cheapest hotel, Comfort inn Herndon is $134 with tax and park for 14 days. The Dulles purple lot is best on busy days.
The off-sites longterm web sites do not have service yet at Dulles.
Let me know how it goes.

THANKS again to all who replied.

I guess I'm just going to have to take my chances & hope that everything will work out! Sounds like the Purple or Green lots are my best (and, seemingly, only) options.

One other thing -- what about getting through security? I've seen random postings on here that getting through security @ Dulles can take a while . . . How does it compare to BWI? How long do you think it'll take the day before Thanksgiving? My flight leaves @ 8:30p. . . .

Thanks!

I've flown through Dulles a lot lately and haven't encountered long lines.

That said, even though I am a "don't want to wait around in an airport" type, I would probably try to get there by 7

this is posted too late to be useful to you, but for others, if you are checking baggage, you MUST check in at least 60 minutes before takeoff. I was denied boarding when I arrived 50 minutes before. Also, give yourself a good 90 minutes before flight time, as when it is busy, due to construction, the lines to get through security can be very long and then you have to get on the old shuttle buses to midfield (though there is a new walkway to B terminal). GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME AT DULLES WITH CHECKED BAGS!