Tampa Off Airport Parking: Does It Really Save Money?
This past weekend I gave Memorial Airport Parking a try. It’s one of the dozen or so off-airport parking lots I’ve tried at Tampa International Airport. Tampa really does have the best airport in any city I’ve lived in. It’s quick and easy to get to your terminal. Flights are usually on time and relatively cheap. There are good dining options. The attention to customer service is rare for airports. Most airports just seem to think – hey you need us, we don’t have to go out of our way. The one thing though that is always a decision for me is whether or not to use Tampa International Airport’s parking.
If I’m doing a long trip, I prefer to just take Uber. BUT the problem with Uber is, when you get back, you’re subject to whatever price hikes Uber might have in place. If it’s raining or your flight gets back to Tampa late at night, rates can skyrocket for Uber. So if I’m just heading out of town for a few days, I just prefer to drive.
It’s not terribly expensive to park at the airport, but rates have gone up from $10 to $12 a day for Economy Parking recently. The new shuttle gets you to the main building in a few minutes and there are always spaces. Plus you can just drive in and out and pay with SunPass. But can you save much money by parking at one of the off-airport lots? I’ve used a few – for my Memorial Day weekend trip, I tried Memorial Airport Parking. Did I save money? Sure. Was it worth it? Ehhhhh.
After a Google search, based on reviews I decided to give Memorial Airport Parking a try. It was a bit tricky to find so definitely rely on your GPS. The lots are located about 5-10 minutes from TPA but there are a lot of one-way roads in the area plus you want to avoid the Veterans tolls. The goal if you’re using off-airport parking is to save money right? When I arrived, you show your online reservation and you follow the shuttle to your parking spot. They got me to the terminal in about 15 minutes from the time I drove in.
When I got back to Tampa last night, the process was a lot slower. It was in the middle of a typical Florida downpour and lightning strikes were not far away. You don’t get picked up near baggage claim. You have to take the train to the bus stop area near the auto rental counters. I texted them that I have arrived around 8pm. No response. Texted again about 5 minutes later and got word they were dropping a customer off and would be by soon. The wait was about 20-30 minutes. Once in the shuttle van, I was in my car and heading home in about 10 minutes.
After $2 tips to the drivers, who deserved to be tipped – they were friendly and helpful, my cost was just under $50. Parking at the Economy Lot at TPA would have cost me $60. So yeah, I saved $10. Was it worth it? Honestly next time I’d probably just park at the airport. When you get out of baggage claim, you just want to get home. So my review of Memorial Airport Parking would probably be 3.5 out of 5 stars, which I think is what their rating on Google was. Not bad. But probably not worth the little money you save if your trip isn’t that long.
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