Dublin Airport Parking

Dublin Airport handled 36.4 million passengers in 2025, its busiest year on record, and a large share of them arrive by car. That puts real pressure on parking, and it means the choice you make matters. There are official car parks run by DAA, independent park and ride sites a few minutes away, an airport valet service, meet and greet operators and hotel packages. At Compareyourparkingdeals.co.uk, we compare them side by side so you can see which one fits your flight, your vehicle and your budget before you book.

The cheapest way to park at Dublin Airport for a stay of three days or more is usually to pre-book Holiday Blue or Park2Travel, with prices through us from €56.99 for a week at Holiday Blue. Express Red is the closest long-stay car park, with a shuttle of about five minutes. The Short Term car parks beside the terminals are the most convenient but only offer good value for stays of up to about four hours.

Booking in advance is cheaper than paying at the barrier, where long-stay rates are €25 per day at Express Red and €20 at Holiday Blue, and it is the only way to guarantee a space on the busiest travel dates.

Dublin Airport Parking Options Compared

DAA does not accept large commercial vehicles or vehicles with trailers in any of its car parks. Information checked against operators' published details on [DD Month YYYY].

What Is the Cheapest Parking at Dublin Airport?

Holiday Blue and Park2Travel are usually the cheapest long-stay car parks at Dublin Airport. Which one is cheaper depends on your dates, so compare both for your own trip.

In June 2025, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) published an analysis of Dublin Airport parking prices one year after it blocked DAA from buying the former QuickPark site. It compared two of DAA's long-term car parks with Park2Travel, which it considered comparable in offering and proximity to the airport. Park2Travel came out on average 21% cheaper than Express Red and 3.6% cheaper than Holiday Blue, which is about nine minutes further from the airport.

Our own price checks for 2026 and 2027 travel dates show how much this moves. On off-peak dates, DAA's Holiday Blue and Express Red were both cheaper than Park2Travel's own prices, and in peak summer Holiday Blue was still the cheapest of the three. Rankings change by date, so compare prices for your own travel dates rather than relying on any single study.

The regulator's reasoning explains why competition matters. Had the sale gone through, DAA would have owned over 90% of the public car parking spaces serving the airport. An independent competitor keeps prices in check, and for travellers that means two genuine budget options close to the terminals.

Two other factors affect the price you pay as much as the car park itself:

• When you book. Long-stay prices are demand-led, so they rise as car parks fill. DAA and Park2Travel both accept bookings up to 12 months ahead.
• When you travel. Summer, Irish school mid-term breaks, Christmas and bank holiday weekends are consistently the most expensive and the most likely to sell out.

For a detailed look at the trade-off between the two DAA car parks, read our Holiday Blue vs Express Red comparison, and for current offers, see our Dublin Airport parking discount codes.

How Much Does Parking at Dublin Airport Cost?

Short Term parking costs €4 for the first hour and €6 for each additional hour, up to a maximum of €50 a day. Without a booking, long-stay parking costs €25 per day at Express Red and €20 per day at Holiday Blue. Pre-booked through us, an 8-day stay starts from €64.99 at Holiday Blue and €75.99 at Express Red.

The Short Term tariff adds up quickly. Three hours costs €16, four hours costs €22 and five hours costs €28. By four hours you are paying more than a drive-up day at Holiday Blue, and by five hours more than a drive-up day at Express Red. For anything longer, a pre-booked long-stay space is the better choice.

Long-stay car parks use dynamic pricing, so there is no single fixed daily rate. These are our lowest year-round prices for typical stays:

Our lowest year-round price for each stay length. Prices vary by date and are higher during school holidays, Christmas and summer. Search your dates for the live price. All Dublin Airport car parks charge in euro; if you pay with a UK card, your card provider applies the exchange rate.

At the drive-up rates, the same 8 days would cost €160 at Holiday Blue and €200 at Express Red. Our guide to parking without a booking explains how drive-up entry and payment work.

Parking Beside Terminal 1 and Terminal 2

The Short Term car parks are the closest parking to departures. They suit drop-offs, collections and same-day returns.

Terminal 1 has Block A, a surface car park with 450 spaces opposite the terminal, which cannot be pre-booked; Block B, whose ground floor holds 56 accessible bays near the terminal entrance; and Block C, a 1,500-space multi-storey. Terminal 2 has its own 1,800-space multi-storey, linked to the terminal by a covered walkway of two to four minutes. DAA also sells the Terminal 2 Surface Car Park, an outdoor car park about five minutes' walk from both terminals.

All three Terminal 1 blocks have a 1.85 metre height limit and the Terminal 2 multi-storey has 2.1 metres, so drivers of vans, campervans or cars with roof boxes should use a long-stay car park. Full block-by-block detail is on our Dublin Airport short term parking page, with sections on Terminal 1 parking and Terminal 2 parking.

The Official Long-Stay Car Parks

DAA operates its long-stay car parks on the airport campus. The two largest, Express Red and Holiday Blue, each have about 8,000 spaces, 24-hour security and free wheelchair-accessible shuttle buses to both terminals.

Express Red is the closest long-stay car park. The shuttle takes around five minutes and runs every ten minutes, 24 hours a day. There is no height restriction, but trailers are not allowed, and the minimum pre-booked stay is 24 hours. On return, shuttles collect from Zone 9 of the Terminal 1 Bus Park and Zone 21 at Terminal 2. Read our full Express Red car park guide.

Holiday Blue is DAA's value car park. Shuttles run every 15 minutes and take around 15 minutes to reach the terminals, so allow extra time on departure. HGVs are not permitted. Drive-up spaces are limited, and if you enter without a booking, you must use the same card at the exit. Read our full Holiday Blue car park guide.

Premium car parks are reserved for members of The Airport Club, DAA's annual membership scheme, and are not available to the general public.

Our Dublin Airport long term parking guide covers how to choose between the long-stay options.

Drop & Go Valet Parking

Drop & Go is the airport's own valet service, with zones on Level 2 of Car Park C at Terminal 1 and Level 3 of the Terminal 2 Short Term car park. You drive in, pass through an automated damage scanner, hand over your keys and walk to departures. Trained staff move your car to a secure car park on the airport campus, and on your return you scan your receipt at a kiosk to collect your keys.

It suits travellers on early or tight schedules and families who would rather not carry luggage onto a shuttle. Your car must be road legal for the entire stay. Our Dublin Airport Drop and Go parking guide explains the full process and what happens if your flight is delayed.

Off-Airport Park and Ride

Independent car parks outside the airport boundary compete on price in exchange for a slightly longer journey.

Park2Travel is the largest. It occupies the former QuickPark site on Old Airport Road in Cloghran, which closed in 2020. After the CCPC blocked DAA's purchase of the site in March 2024, APCOA reopened it as Park2Travel on 10 March 2025. It has over 6,100 spaces and a free shuttle that runs 24 hours a day, every 12 minutes, taking about six minutes to reach the terminal. The entrance height is 4.40 metres. Some booking sites still show this car park under its old QuickPark name. Read our Park2Travel Dublin Airport review.

Other park and ride sites include Metro Park and Ride in Santry and Newpark Park and Fly in The Ward. Newpark's shuttle runs 24 hours a day every 30 minutes, and Metro's runs from about 04:00 to 23:45. Compare every independent site in our guide to off-airport parking at Dublin.

Hotel Park and Fly

If your flight leaves early and you live a long drive away, a hotel near the airport removes the risk of a pre-dawn journey. Most hotels sell parking bundled with a night's stay, and some also sell parking only.

• Maldron Hotel Dublin Airport: the closest hotel, about a five-minute walk from the terminals; parking is for hotel patrons only.
• Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport: about 1,500 spaces, sold to non-residents, with a free 24-hour shuttle to Zone 16 every 20 to 30 minutes.
• Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport: a secure multi-storey car park for over 300 cars with a 24-hour electric shuttle for hotel guests.
• Premier Inn and Metro Hotel: park and fly with daytime shuttles.

Compare packages in our Dublin Airport hotel parking guide.

Meet and Greet

With meet and greet, an independent operator's driver collects your car at the terminal, typically on Level 2 of Car Park A at Terminal 1 or in the Terminal 2 departures set-down area, and returns it when you land. Operators list a €5 airport levy for each handover, payable on top of the booking price. Standards vary, so check where your car will be kept and what insurance applies. Our Dublin Airport meet and greet guide compares operators and terms.

Which Dublin Airport Car Park Should You Choose?

Choose based on how long you are away, how much time you have and what you drive. For a long, budget-conscious trip, book Holiday Blue or Park2Travel. If time is tight, book Express Red or Drop & Go. For a stay of a few hours, use Short Term.