Best (Cheapest) Long Term Parking at San Jose International?

December 15, 2007 8:22 AM

Best (Cheapest) Long Term Parking at San Jose International?

I am flying out of San Jose International on Tuesday. I will be away in Mexico for two weeks.

Since I come back at 11:00pm on New Years Eve, I want to leave my car in a long term parking lot so I can just drive it home after I get off the plane.

Does anyone know a good, cheap long term parking lot around the San Jose airport (24 hour shuttles a requirement)?

The Airport's parking lot costs $12 a day (with a coupon), is this a good rate?

posted by chrisalbon to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

BonusFilter:

San Jose International's Long Term Parking website does not explicitly say they have 24 hour shuttle service, does anyone know if they do?
posted by chrisalbon at 8:27 AM on December 15, 2007

http://www.quikparksjc.com/ is about a mile (and a 5 minute shuttle ride) from SJC. Reserving on-line gets you a slightly lower rate ($9 vs $11), but I think they close for the night at 11pm.
posted by dws at 8:41 AM on December 15, 2007

I have found it is often cheaper to rent a car one way and leave it at the airport and then rent one on the return. Budget Car Rental allows these one way rentals and they don't charge a premium. I did this out of the Tampa airport and renting a car one way was about $35 (one day rental) plus gas. Budget was cheaper booking through the internet rather than calling the toll free number. The cost will really depend on how many cars they need/are stacked up where ever you are coming and going. I got a rental for $19 one Thanksgiving because they were desperate for cars at my drop off location. Renting a car one way was also cheaper and faster than scheduling a shuttle service. Depending on how close you are to the airport, you might find a shuttle is cheaper than renting a car. Check in to those before parking your car at the airport.
posted by 45moore45 at 1:41 PM on December 15, 2007

45moore45, the one thing I understand in your post is

Depending on how close you are to the airport, you might find a shuttle is cheaper

...which is generally true. In the case of SJC, I walk down to the VTA and take light rail to the Metro station, to catch the free bus which shuttles back and forth between the Santa Clara CalTrain station, SJC and the VTA Metro station (which is near First and the 101).

However, chrisalbon asked about airport parking, and arriving late-night, and a co-worker who lived in Phoenix said he'd found the off-site QuikPark to be the best option. No hassles the one time I used it (which was also late or early, when the VTA trolley wasn't running). I don't know if the airport's own long-term parking lot's shuttle buses run 24 hours, but they're certainly the most common bus you'll see making the rounds at the San Jose airport.
posted by Rash at 3:08 PM on December 16, 2007