At Cardiff, book a close car park for a weekend and long stay for anything beyond about three nights. The airport is small, everything is near the terminal, and there is less to weigh up than almost anywhere else in the UK.
Compare what is available for your dates — the price spread is narrow, so the decision is usually quick.
What are the car parks like?
Close, and not very different from one another. The nearest sit a short walk from the terminal with no shuttle at all.
Short stay is priced by the hour for collections and drop-offs. Used across a holiday it becomes expensive quickly, which catches people out here because the walk is short enough to feel like the obvious choice.
Which suits a holiday?
Long stay, priced by the day with a short transfer. For anything beyond about three nights this is the sensible benchmark.
Allow around 20 minutes from parking your car to standing in the terminal. Cardiff's shuttle route is short, but the walk and the wait still take time.
Is off-airport worth it?
Less than at the larger airports, because the official car parks are already close and reasonably priced. Independent sites offer lower daily rates, and on a fortnight that saving is real.
On shorter trips the difference is often too small to justify the extra transfer. Compare totals rather than assuming off-airport wins as it usually does elsewhere.
What are the usual checks?
Park Mark accreditation — the police-backed car park security standard
Transfer frequency, and whether it runs overnight
Recent reviews rather than the lifetime average
Whether you keep your keys, since some sites are park and ride and others are not
How do I get there?
Cardiff sits west of the city near Barry, reached from the M4 and then a stretch of A-road. The approach is straightforward, but there is no motorway to the terminal door.
Allow a little more than the mileage suggests, particularly at rush hour. The final section is single carriageway through a rural area and it does not move quickly when something goes wrong.
What about meet and greet?
Meet and greet at Cardiff removes the car park entirely — you hand keys over at the terminal and walk in.
At an airport this compact the time saved is modest. It still helps with an early departure, young children, or arriving in poor weather with a lot of luggage.
Which should you book?
Collecting or dropping off — short stay
One or two nights — a close daily-rate car park
Three nights to a fortnight — long stay
Over a fortnight — off-airport, having compared totals
Early flight or young children — meet and greet
