Gotta leave my van for 2 weeks while away, flying out of T5. LRH want the thick end of £200 for the privilege of leaving my van on a bit of tarmac.

Not sure I’m comfortable leaving it on a residential street in Hounslow for a couple of weeks (morally as much as anything). Any recommendations on other parking companies that aren’t going to rag my van around and leave it in a damp field? Or tips etc on getting cheaper parking?!

I’ve used MBW literally hundreds of times over the past few years, but their prices have gone up so I’ve used Maple Manor the last 5/6 times. 18 days from next Tuesday has just cost me £195 but book through TopCashback for 9.5% cash back.

Both companies I’ve never had a problem, MBW is slightly closer to departures/arrivals but sometimes a 10 minute wait for the car if you are fast through baggage/passport control etc, Maple Manor is a couple of minutes walk through the hotel and walkways but the car is always waiting on arrival.

Can you take the train? Elizabeth line is really nice.

Sadly train/public transport is going to be tricky – Bristol to LHR to Cambridge to York to Manchester to somewhere else, to Bristol, all over Xmas/NY etc.

Purple parking looks cheaper than official parks, but I’m not sure I want to be waiting around 30-odd mins for a 15-20min transfer after getting off a long flight 🙁

Convenience has a cost and they know it. Equating cost with a piece of tarmac is disingenuous. Quidco / TCB your best chance of getting a discount on official and unofficial parking.

Don’t forget congestion charge also now applies! I just realised when I booked in for next week. Only payable on the day you drive too and from the car park.

Don’t forget congestion charge also now applies!

Not correct.

Terminal 5 (the whole airport, including all official car parks, and most ‘off site’ car parks) are within the ULEZ zone, so check here if your van will be charged £12.50 on both the day you park it, and the day that you retrieve it.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/

If you drive up to the terminal buildings to use the drop off, you will also need to pay the ‘Terminal Drop-Off Charge’ of £5.

https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/terminal-drop-off-charge

In between the lines… doesn’t matter how between the lines, but if not, then it isn’t parked.

£200 for 2 weeks is pretty good, I think I’ve spent more than that on 4 days in pod parking before

Damn, yeah I forgot ULEZ…. Hmmm

Significant areas of Hounslow are now CPZ, a large part of the reason for this is inconsiderate airport parking.

I wouldn’t use a pick up/ return service they tend to be parked in random roads within a 20 mile radius and could be used for food deliveries.

check one night hotel + full trip parking via holiday extras.  weirdly Can be cheaper than just parking.  But pay attention to what parking you are getting.

I think I’d just stump up the £200 if the van had particular value to you (ie a campervan or particularly nice).

I was going to suggest going straight to Cambridge and train to LHR but it doesn’t seem to be a particularly quick journey so once you add the hassle and cost of the train it’s probably not worth it.

Park in Datchet and a £2 bus to T5 is the cheapest. Villages closer to LHR have much more controlled parking zones. The Heathrow end of Colnbrook is almost close enough to walk to T5  along Bath Road. You’ll walk past Maple parking, which is the old Saints lorry park. I would not leave a van unmoved for two weeks on the streets around here though!

I would not leave a van unmoved for two weeks on the streets around here though!

That’s exactly what I thought when I first read your comment about leaving the van in Datchet!

Try the Justpark app. You pay to park on someone’s drive. It will be much cheaper but you still have the issue of getting from there to the airport

When we did this in 2022 with our T5, it was cheaper to book a hotel room for 1 night and LHR parking for 8 days (as a package it was £160) than it was to book LHR parking alone. Worth checking!

Blimey, I got 2 weeks early Dec in Gatwick Longstay for £88. Thought that was quite reasonable.

What about a 1 way hire car in each direction?

It’s usually around £70 each way for me.  

£200 for 14 days, that’s £14/day, if I’m not mistaken, so that’s pretty cheap considering 12 hours in a JustPark in London can easily cost £20, if not a lot more, and I’d be very surprised if you could find one where you could park for two weeks.

I’d consider that a worthwhile investment, tbh, provided it’s a trustworthy company.

Don’t get to check in and suddenly realise that you’ve left the keys in the door….

Have used the Thistle hotel lots of times before an early flight, and added parking days with them – it’s been cheaper than on-site parking and they have access to the POD to get straight into the terminal. shame they want to charge you for the code to the gate to get into the POD though…

Thanks all, sounds like on balance I’ll just stump up! Work have agreed to pay for a chunk of it plus ULEZ (2 of my 14 days away are for work purposes), so I’ll play it safe! 🙏