Money for the Rest of Us

This is the ninth post of the series “15 Tips for Cheap Travel.” You can navigate the rest of the series by going to the 15 Tips for Cheap Travel Index.

Getting to the airport can be a huge expense, especially if you live far from it. Plan in advance and compare all the prices. While these options are all pretty much common sense, it really is important to calculate the total cost of the trip.

• Ask a Friend/Family Member to drive you to the airport
• Drive and Park in the Airport’s parking lot
• Drive and Park in Private parking lots (you can find some at this website, also try to phone book. Usually these companies have names like “Park ‘n Fly” and “Preflight Parking”)
• Super Shuttle These are the blue shuttle vans that pick you up from your house and take you to the airport.
• Taxicab
• Public Transportation Most major cities have buses, light-rail, or subways to take you to the airport)
• Other Private Transportation Companies (some cities have private bus companies that are different from the Super Shuttle to take you to the Airport)

I recently flew out of Dulles International Airport which is about 40 miles outside of Washington DC. (I usually fly out of Washington Reagen which is close to downtown and easily accessible by public transportation for a few dollars.) To find out the cheapest way to get to Dulles I compared all my options to take the two of us to the airport. The difference in pricing was extremely surprising.

Friend/Family: We were flying out at 3pm on a weekday and no one could take us.
Drive and Park in Airport: $9/day x 11 days= $99 +tax (and gas)
Drive and Park in Private Lot: There aren’t any near Dulles. (Which was a huge shock to me.)
Supershuttle: $35 for two people ($25 for just one person)
Taxi: About $54 (plus tip)
Metro + Public Bus: $3.45 x 2 people = $6.90
Metro + Private Bus (Washington Flyer): ($1.85 +$9) x 2 = $21.7

It was clearly the cheapest to take the public transportation system. But what about getting home? Let’s double all of the costs to get a round trip cost:

Drive and Park in Airport: $99 +tax (and gas)
Supershuttle: $70 for two people
Taxi: About $108 (plus tip)
Metro + Public Bus: $13.80
Metro + Private Bus (Washington Flyer): $43.40

You could also choose a combination of these options (e.g. Taxi to airport, Supershuttle home). As you can see, if you were considering the Supershuttle for round trip, it might be worth the extra $30 to you to drive your own car and not have to wait for the shuttle. Or, if you have a lot of luggage, you may not want to take public transportation. In addition to factoring in the cost, you should factor in the time, space, and hassle. It’s all about asking yourself: What’s it Worth to Me?

In the end, we took the Metro/public bus to the Airport and got picked up by a friend on the way home. We tried to pay the friend, but she refused money (so we bought her beer and dinner instead for a total cost of $20.)