How To Get To Manchester Airport

When we were planning this year's holiday, one of the things we had to consider was how to get to Manchester airport, where we were flying from. Unfortunately our flights were at pretty inconvenient times so asking for a lift from family wasn't an option. It is also quite hard work to get a taxi with two children, four suitcases, two pushchairs and two fraught parents. The only option for us was to drive and park.

Mr H travels a lot for work so is quite familiar with the process, however when you throw the rest of the family into the mix and given that our return flight wasn't due to land until midnight, I wanted to try and find the easiest option we could. That is where APH Parking came in. They offer two services - Park & Ride where they drop you off at the terminal in a bus and a Meet and Greet Service, where you drop your car at the terminal and they do the rest. We opted for Park & Ride on the way out and Meet & Greet on our return as we really didn't want to be messing about catching buses at that time of the night.

On our way out it was a pretty simple process. The sat nav took us straight to their car park where you drive into the bay, unload your car, hand in the keys and then catch a bus to the terminal two minutes away. The staff were friendly and helpful and the bus driver gave Mr H a hand unloading at the airport whilst I stood with the children.

APH offer reassurance whilst you are away, stating "we’ll be looking after your car in our fully manned undercover compound, with its 24-hour security patrols, comprehensive CCTV, and entry and exit barriers. It's also a recipient of the police-backed Park Mark® Safer Parking Award and in 2014 was proud to receive a Certificate of Achievement recognising 10 years' commitment to the Safer Parking Scheme"

For the return we were provided with number to ring once we got through security and the car would be delivered to the terminal. Unfortunately our flight was delayed by an hour but when we called the office this didn't seem to be a problem. We did have to wait about fifteen minutes for the car to arrive and the children were half asleep and not ready for the British chill, so it would have been nice if they'd checked our flight time to meet us as we came out of the terminal.

However it was brilliant not to have to mess about loading cases and tired children on and off a bus, we simply filled up the car with our belongings and were on our way. The guy who handed our car back helped Mr H figure out the arrangement of cases in the car, as it was a bit of a squeeze, and was very patient with us.

Overall I would definitely use APH again, in fact next time I'd book Meet and Greet each way as it really does save a lot of hassle. Travelling can be stressful enough, especially with children, so anything that eases that at all is worth it in my book. For more information you can visit the APH website.