Long-term parking in DCA: is it better to use off-airport parking?
This is one of the most unavoidable questions we face every time we have to go out of town and need to use the DCA parking lot. Is it better to use a taxi? If not, do we park on the airport site or use private off-airport parking facilities? Of course, using your own vehicle is more convenient, but there are also legitimate concerns about vehicle safety and parking costs. Let’s examine both options in detail.
DCA Parking Options
DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) is located in Arlington County in Virginia and is located just 3 miles from downtown Washington, DC and is one of the major airports serving the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area along with BWI and IAD. DCA had passenger traffic of over 20 million in 2014 and offers 3 types of parking options including short-term parking, terminal garages, and economy parking. Let’s take a look at what each option has to offer.
short term parking
This car park services all terminals and is within walking distance of all 3 terminals. However, you should only use this option if you intend to stay for a short time, say less than 2 hours. The hourly rate for parking in the DCA short-term parking lot is $6 per hour and a maximum of $36 per 24 hours. An important point worth noting here is that this parking lot does not accept cash and you can only pay by credit card.
Terminal Parking Garages
This parking lot also serves all terminals with an additional option for airport transportation. These garages serve all three terminals and have the same rate of $6 per hour as short-term parking. However, the 24-hour parking fee is relatively cheaper than short-term parking at $25 per day. This lot will accept cash and credit cards.
cheap parking
This car park also services all terminals, but is located some distance from the terminals. Passengers can reach their respective terminals via a free airport shuttle after parking their vehicles. This lot is primarily used for longer stays and has no hourly rate. The charge for parking your vehicle is $15 per day and it is the cheapest option of the three as its name indicates.
The best long-term option for parking in DCA
In addition to the parking lots physically located at the DCA airport, there are multiple parking options available at hotels and parking lots near the airport. Compared to airport parking fees, these lots offer very affordable rates, as low as $7 per day. If you compare that to the $15 cheap airport parking option, you’d be saving over 50% on each day.