What do you do with your parking tickets? Do you pay them or do you rip them off your windshield, tear them up and throw the pieces on the ground?
Be honest! You watch Parking Wars and usually cheer when an unsuspecting car owner gets the best of Garfield and Sherry by jumping in their car and driving away before they get the boot.
It’s not likely you’ll run into Team Garfield and Sherry on your next business trip (unless you visit Philadelphia) but anywhere you travel, parking is a huge challenge. Most people don’t deliberately break parking rules but sometimes it’s unavoidable especially when you’re in an unfamiliar city.
Don’t be that driver who ends up on the wrong side of the tow truck. Next time you travel try one of the popular apps for parking.
You’ll know where you can park, how much you’ll pay, and how close to your final destination you’ll be able to park.
Check our reviews of a few of the most popular apps. When you finish reading download your favorite and give it a try.
Airport Parking Reservations
Given a rating of Excellent by Trustpilot if you travel for business this app is essential for your travel toolbox.
The name says it all. If you’re looking for apps for parking specific for air travel, AirportParkingReservations helps travelers access airport parking in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. promising discounts of up to 70 percent at partner facilities.
The caveat is that while the app might list airport parking facility rates as a comparison tool, all parking is in off-airport parking facilities, referred to as Parking Partners. Most partners offer free airport shuttle service.
Download the app from the iTunes App Store. No app available yet for Android. According to the website using this app will save you up to 70% over parking on-site at the airport.
ParkSleepFly, the sister site, offers a hotel package with parking at the hotel, and in most cases, airport shuttle service.
BestParking to the Rescue
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Forbes, ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC have all featured BestParking as one of the best parking apps and one of the largest sites for general parking garages in the U.S. Looking for the best NYC city parking?
You may have found your parking hero!
Working in partnership with state-of-the-art parking system technology, the app locates every available parking space in your search area, allowing a quick cost comparison. When you travel to any of the 105 cities or 115 airports served by the app you’ll have access to facility details, price (sorted by cheapest to most expensive), and discounts up to 50% off prices posted at the lot or garage.
Save time when you need long-term parking. BestParking helps locate weekly and monthly parking options.
Driving an oversized vehicle? No worries! The app includes information about entrances and clearance limitations.
Boasting 850,000 monthly users and a slew of outstanding reviews, BestParking is available at the iTunes App Store or from the Google Play Store. In a hurry and no time for searching? Go to the app’s site and text yourself a download link.
ParkMe
Like every other parking location app, ParkMe locates parking in your immediate search area or anywhere you search on their map. You decide whether you want information on garage parking or street parking (if available). You can also filter for spaces closest to your location or by cost.
If you don’t feel like reading through every option, the app has an on-screen button that makes suggestions for the most economical space.
This app goes the extra step and tells you:
- Number of spaces available
- Directions to the entrance
- In-app timer
- In-app pin
No excuses for overstaying or forgetting where you parked.
What About Apps for Parking in Big Cities?
Parking in any big city can be a challenge even for the most experienced traveler. You fight traffic. You navigate unfamiliar streets. You aren’t familiar with city parking codes, so you risk illegal parking.
Getting a parking ticket while traveling can ruin the entire trip, especially if you’re in a city known for outrageous parking ticket fees.
SmoothParking stands out as the best NYC parking app for information on legal street parking spaces. The app also works in Milwaukee, Hoboken, and D.C.
Just enter the date and time and the app lets you know whether you can park legally on specific streets.
The interface includes a color-coded map:
- Red=No Parking
- Green=Parking Allowed
- Yellow=Parking Soon
- Blue=Metered Parking Available
The SmoothParking app sends alerts when a space in your area is soon to be available – for metered parking only.
Let this app make your visit less stressful and your parking like jazz – smooth jazz. It’s okay. No laughing required.
On a more serious note, when you use stress saving apps like SmoothParking, it gives you more time for checking up on what’s happening on the homefront.
Get the app free for iPhones and Android devices.
Wave at Other Wazers
Waze is the driving app for super-travelers who need a comprehensive view of life on the road. This app lets you keep up with current traffic, accidents and stalled cars on the side of the road.
When it’s time to get off the road, GPS navigation, directs you to the nearest parking lot.
Wave bases all information on live traffic data.
Since Wave also uses GPS, the app will know where your parking spot is and tells you when you’ll arrive. A great feature if you know how many spaces are available but don’t have a reservation.
Hint: Use Wave with one of the other parking specific apps that tell you how many spaces are currently available. Come on, you know you like stuffing your phone with the latest and greatest!
When you download Waze you join an entire community of drivers called Wazers. Wazers report to the community traffic, accidents, police traps, construction, weather conditions, and cheapest gas prices.
Is there anything this app doesn’t do? Well, it doesn’t include an in-app sobriety test.
You can thank a Wazer every time you get one of those “Watch out! Vehicle stopped on the shoulder ahead” alerts.
Waze is free at the App Store and at Google Play.
That About WrAPPS Things Up for Now
We hope our parking app reviews helps you feel find a great parking space and avoid parking wars on your next trip. Park apps can help you do everything from finding an alternative route to determining what the weather conditions are at your destination.
If you have questions for us regarding these apps for parking or any of the apps we review on our site, contact us anytime!
