When I was living in Calgary, the international airport was 30 minutes from home. It was not a big deal to ask a friend to give us a ride or take a taxi to catch an airplane no matter what time the flight was.
But, since I moved to Digby, taking an airplane became serious work. It takes more than 2.5 hours to get to the international airport. Whether we go to Calgary or Japan, we have pretty much no choice but need to drive up there. It is not practical to ask someone for a ride thinking of the time and cost for the gas, or taking the public transportation forever with children and lots of luggage. Naturally I drove by myself and used a paid parking for a few weeks when I traveled to visit my family and friends.
This summer when I was planning a trip to Japan, my mother-in-law gave me wonderful information. Some hotels around the Halifax airport have free parking service for quite a long time period if you stay overnight. She didn’t know exactly how long they would let you park but suggested I might wanted to check around.
So I did. Depending on the hotel the condition varies, but the one I found offers 2 weeks free parking + $40/week if you want to park longer. Altogether it costs around $240 for 1 night stay and 23 nights parking including tax and one complementally breakfast for 3 of us.
The estimate I got for the paid parking was $237.99 for 23 nights including tax and after the coupon discount.
Less than $10 difference, my life became much easier – no need to rush in the early morning, an overnight break between 3 hour drive and 21 hour flight, and someone even feed us in the morning. What a bargain.
You may have already known such a thing. But if you didn’t know, and you travel for more than a week sometimes, you may want to check it out like I did.
Although it is not so convenient, I love Digby. The inconvenience actually makes me more grateful for little things. It seems like life is more exciting with less.