Airports

Airport travel is stressful at the best of times. You can do plenty to reduce the stress - from checking the Travel News on Teletext to pre-booking parking and perhaps an Airport Hotel the night before. Often, these can go hand in hand as the Hotel may throw in free parking for the duration of your holiday.

Nowadays, the Airline lounges are not the exclusive domain of First and Business Class passengers. Lounge Pass for instance gives you access to 100 or so Airport VIP Lounges worldwide from just £12 per person. If you consider the cost of a Transatlantic flight and the time you need to leave between checking in and the flight then £12 for a few hours away from the Madding Crowd has to be a bargain. If you are a more regular traveller, then take a look at Priority Pass, which has different plans to suit different budgets - including an unlimited annual pass.

Airport Parking is a popular business with many Companies such as APH, BCP and Purple Parking competing for your vehicle. On-airport parking is pretty regulated and prices are much the same. If you can find a reputable off-airport operator, then you can save yourself a packet. The off-site ones will provide you a shuttle bus to and from the airport and will look after your car in a secure compound in the mean time - valeting it for you if you wish! There are cowboy operators in this business as there are elsewhere, so check out the credentials of any offsite operators. Third party consolidators such as Holiday Extras have a range of locations and prices both on and off-ariport.

Finally, Always book in advance. The airports are not likely to run out of parking spaces, but you will get significant discounts on the price compared to turning up on the day - 40 to 60% is not uncommon.