I bet you're a lot like me. When you go to the airport, you don't want much hassle. Get on your plane, get your destination, and finish your business. The last thing that you want to do, is worry about airport parking, and what's going to happen to your car while you are gone. During the last few years, the airport parking situation has gotten a lot better nationally. However, it still can be a bit annoying, and you can definitely get ripped off if you don't watch what you're doing carefully. Here are my three quick tips for getting the best value, you can out of airport parking.

1. Economy is your friend. Parking in the economy zone can be a great way to save a lot of money when you're traveling out of town. Where I live in Houston, there is an economy zone that allows you to park every day for a substantially discounted rate. Most other cities have economy zones for parking. It's usually a little bit, far away from the terminal, but it can really make a difference if you're going out of town for a number of days.

2. Compare prices. There is not a monopoly on airport parking. You can park in several different commercial lots in most cities and the prices will be very comparable. Shop around before you park, or even call around and try to find the best deal. Shopping for airport parking is not rocket science and it really shouldn't be that hard to find a good deal. No matter what city you are in. Also, check online. Many different airport parking companies have web sites where you can compare their prices.

3. Just because it's close doesn't mean it's cheap. The best airport parking generally is right across the street from the terminal. However, this is often the most expensive. It's usually by the hour parking, which gets very costly on a long-term trip. Find out the race before you park anywhere. If you don't do this, you could end up with a very large bill. Who knows how much this could end up costing you the long run. Believe me, you don't find out.

Overall airport parking is just another shopping experience. Do your homework, know what you're buying, and make sure you're not getting ripped off. And by the way, come check out our web site with lots of airport parking information.