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Easy Airport Parking Solutions at (SAN) San Diego Airport

ryan-frank | Aug 21, 2009 |

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San Diego International Airport (SAN), known also as Lindbergh Field, is the second busiest single-runway airport in the world, and the busiest single-runway airport in the United States, having served a total of 18.3 million passengers in 2007. The San Diego airport covers only 661 acres of land, and is the smallest major international airport in the country.

Parking at the San Diego Airport is much less hectic than parking at larger international airports like LAX. No reservations are ever really needed to park at the San Diego International, and only in peak time does it become difficult to find spaces.

There are three terminals and each has its own parking lot located just outside. Passengers can stay for a few minutes of for up to 30 days. They can pay cash or credit at either the automated Express Parking pay stations outside, or at the staffed pay booths on their way out. ATM machines are conveniently located outside each terminal.

The daily parking rates at the terminal parking lots are steep. $21 for the first 24-hours and $26 for every day after that. The best thing to do, as such, is to use the terminal lots for short-term parking only, like when you're seeing someone off or meeting someone who's arriving. Terminal parking is $1 for the first 20 minutes, $3 for the first hour, $7.50 for 2-3 hours, and $12 for 4-5 hours. Anything longer than that and it's best to look for alternative parking places.

An easy option is to use the remote San Diego airport parking lots owned and operated by the San Diego Airport itself. There are three such long-term, offsite lots, all of which offer free shuttles to the airport terminals from the parking lots and back. The lots are opened 24-hours a day and are relatively safe. The Park Harbor Drive lot has 800 spaces and costs $16 a day. The SAN Park NTC has 1,300 spaces and costs $16 a day. And the SAN Park Pacific Highway has 2,200 spaces and costs $10 per day.