The Pezzer tribe are off to Italy for a week in early April via Stanstead - is Pink Elephant the only option to park, or are there other/better options which dont involve too much messing about as it is an early morning flight?
P.S. Travelling from Southampton do I go clockwise or anti-clockwise on the M25 ?
Thanks folks
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I'd go anticlockwise, just to avoid the roadworks. As its an early morning flight you'll be through before the rush hour so its worth avoiding the 40mph limit from the M3 to the M4.
All I know of parking at Stanstead is that its all in a different county, or at least seems that way. Allow half an hour to park the car and get to the terminal.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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Clockwise round the M25 - its a long way the other way and includes the dartford crossing. Cut off the m3 at Junc 3 and go through bracknell to join the m4 cutting off the m25 roadworks.
BAA long term parking at Stanstead is quite close to the airport with good regular shuttle. Dont be tempted by medium term (nearer the airport) its very expensive.
Dont forget your two hour checking time and there is a long q through security into the departure lounge.
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Yep, clockwise will be quicker - using the A322? at jcn 3 M3 may or may not be quicker than just using the M25 through the roadworks though - you may be going 40mph through the roadworks but there's no roundabouts or traffic lights to negotiate. Early morning there will presumably be no traffic jams by the roadworks.
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its 18 extra miles going clockwise, I'll leave it to you to decide if its going to be quicker taking the longer route without the 40mph limit.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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I use Stanstead on occassion when going to Germany. If you are parking 7 days or more then you can get a discount by pre-booking on the Pink Elephant website. Put your credit card in the slot when entering and leaving the long stay car park and you get the discounted rate. Drop family and cases off at the terminal and then go and park the car and catch the shuttle back to the terminal (allow about half-hour for this). When coming home and several planes arrive close together there can be massive queues for the shuttle busses - I've queued for well over an hour! Still, its England and we love to queue, don't we?
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I've only parked at Stansted once and learned two things from the experience: firstly, the on-site car parks are miles from the terminal. Secondly if you miss your stop on the bus, stay on it and go round again. I made the mistake of thinking I could easily walk back to the previous stop when I missed mine. The car parks have letters but that doesn't necessarily indicate the order they're in when you're searching on foot. I became hopelessly lost and had to flag down one of the vehicles that patrol the site for assistance.
After telling me where to go, the driver said he'd take me to the correct car park but was busy helping an elderly man try to find his car. I think he'd forgotten which car park he'd used and was being driven round in the vain hope of recognising his car, or spotting something to jog his memory.
All this is a vivid memory as Stansted was the first long journey I made as a new driver.
If you book at Stansted through www.bcponline.co.uk/ you'll find yourself parking at Bishop's Stortford Football Club. I've no idea whether this is a good idea or not but if, as the web site claims, it really is only 10 minutes from the terminal, it's probably more convenient than the on-site parking.
By contrast, the railway station at Stansted is below the terminal building but the train may not be an option if you're approaching from Southampton.
If it's any consolation, once you've actually got there, Stansted is one of the pleasanter airports to use.
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Airports? Train every time. Southampton to Waterloo, easy taxi journey to Liverpool Street, train straight into the heart of the airport. Just think of avoiding all that driving stress at each end of what should be a relaxing experience.
All that said, I do appreciate that travel with family can bring a different perspective. On the other hand, the train can be fun for younger children if they don't do it very often.
But perhaps the flight is too early for the train to be practicable.
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You can see the stand at Bishops Stortford FC's ground from the M11 exit for Stansted and it's hardly Old Trafford sized. Ten minutes from the terminal is probably possible if the lights on the roundabout are in your favour, 15 mins if they're not.
An alternative is www.stanstedparkandfly.com/ I think that they're meet & greet option might be better because if they park your car near their registered office it's about 20 minutes from the airport and you'd have to drive past the airport to get there, only to retrace your metaphorical steps back to the airport once your car is parked. For a 2 day stay it seems cheaper than the mid stay carparks.
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Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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An alternative is www.stanstedparkandfly.com/ I think that they're meet & greet option might be better
The one time we flew from Stansted we used a meet and greet service, though I'm not sure it was this lot. We ended up using this because we didn't need the hassle of bussing a 3yr old + luggage from a remote car park at some unearthly hour. The hotel option seemed to incur more expense and no less hassle getting to/from the airport.
I have to say the service was first class. Drive right up to the front of the airport on arrival and have your bags lugged to your car in the short stay car park on your return. The cost, as I remember, was barely more than the long stay car park.
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Ah, good old Stansted. If it's an early am flight and you need to be there 2 hours prior to departure presumably you'll hit the M25 well before traffic and hence roadworks become a serious issue. I've done that trip from jcn 4 more often than I care to count and the only times I've had any problems have been when I've been on the motorway after 07.00 and these were due to serious roadworks at the M11 jcn. Earlier than that and I can't see roadworks or the Dartford Crossing posing any problems at all. Good luck.
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Did you consider the option of a hotel with extended parking? Saves the early morning start and any unforeseen traffic hazards.
Sorry I can't give you any names but my parents travel regularly out of Stanstead and this is how they always park the car.
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Volvoman, why would you want to arrive 2hrs before departure?
Maybe an hour if you had kids with you, at the most.
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There is a Hilton and I think a Raddison hotel at Stansted. We flew to Norway from Stansted a few weeks ago and stayed at the hilton with 15 days parking. It cost around £100.
I didn't want the hassle of driving at 4am in the morning to catch my 8am flight
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GF1 - Well I wouldn't want to ideally but in my experience it's better to be safe than sorry. The last time I took Mrs V to Stansted was a case in point - I allowed plenty of time as usual but due to roadworks we arrived only 35 minutes before departure. It could esily have been worse. Obviously if you're travelling a long way the risk of delays increases and you need to allow time for hold-ups etc. along the route. I allow plenty of time when I'm going to Stansted - on a good run I can do it in about an hour but a bad run could take 2-3 times that easily. Not knowing exacty what time the original poster is going to be travelling makes it difficult to give better advice also, if you only aim to arrive 1 hour prior to departure that doesn't leave much time to park, offload luggage, get the kids sorted, get to the terminal, find the check-in desk etc. in the 40 mins. you have prior to check-in being closed (c.20 mins before departure IIRC). I'd really rather not take the chance of missing a flight (especially with kids in tow) but "each to his own".
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>>or are there other/better options which dont involvetoo much messing about as it is an early morning flight?
have you looked at the option of one-way car rental?
avis used to do special deals for to/from airport one-way rentals.
P.S. Travelling from Southampton do I go clockwise or anti-clockwise on the M25 ?
i would go clockwise, on the route suggested by renault family.
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Two points to make:
1. Stansted's long-term park is at least a couple of miles from the terminal. It's actually by the M11. So allow plenty of time to park and take the transfer bus.
2. Why go all the way to Stansted when there are flights to Italy from Gatwick and Heathrow ? Alright, maybe the city you want isn't served from these airports but if it is then I can assure you that seasoned travellers (based south or west of London) are happy to pay a price premium for using Gatwick and Heathrow because of the hassle factor involved in reaching Stansted.
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Hi - I often use Stansted and it always takes longer than you think!
You need to arrive at the long term car park at least two hours before the plane leaves.
Pink Elephant long term is expensive but is close to the M11 and easy to find. I have never tried any alternatives.
If you are flying Ryanair, they work on a first come first on basis (unless you are disabled or have young children). It is difficult to get a family seated together if you are last on the plane!
M25 clockwise.
Have a good trip!
Regards DougB.
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I fly from Stansted to Sweden at least once a month, often more frequently than that, and have done so for six years now. I just got back, actually, and am off again on Wednesday.
The whole thing's down to a fine art now. Traditionally, I have even stuffed 'heavy' things like electric razor in to my coat pocket to manage without waiting for hold baggage: Everything for a two to four day business trip squeezes in my laptop bag, under the Ryanair cabin allowance. I say 'traditionally' because with new lightweight laptop and recent increase from 7Kg to 10Kg - or unlimited on the occasions that I fly elsewhere with EasyJet - it's no longer necessary.
The long term car park? Pah! No probs. I know all the back to back stops, and where to cut through to save a ten minute magical mystery tour on the bus. May be in six years and my many, many, times I've been lucky beyond the law of averages, but I've also never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus in either direction.
As already posted, the M25 is usually a breeze at sparrows or owls, and because these are the times of day that I'm driving, so the journey is usually a cruise controlled doddle. The one exception was when the M25/M11 junction was recently repaired, with the result that it was closed and I had not a clue where to go. All this at some ungodly hour after the only serious flight delay I've ever had! The result was a decision to buy my iPAQ/tomtom SatNav setup which has since saved me from a similar fate.
Hungry?
Try Pontis.
Surprisingly tasty breakfasts in a surprisingly clean and tidy environment.
The one thing I don't like is nothing to do with Stansted, but is the Ryanair cattle market. For the price of the ticket though, and the fact that it allows me to hold a Swedish project management job from the UK, I'm happy to ignore it. In fact, travelling alone, I can sit back, let everyone fight for a seat, and nine time out of ten still find one near the exit to be up and away at the other end.
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Wow, thanks folks for all the ideas and advice.
I particually like the meet and greet scheme - although I just hope I am not giving my car keys to a scrote who takes the car off and has a week's free transport or worse ... :-)
I think the concensus reckon that clockwise is the best if travelling early, that was my guess too !
Thanks again
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