It's worth being straight about this: if you're travelling alone or as a couple for two or three days, driving to Heathrow and parking is usually the cheaper option on paper. Long-stay parking booked well in advance is hard to beat on price alone.
The maths changes once you add the things that don't appear on the parking receipt. Fuel or charging for a 140-mile round trip. The transfer bus from the car park to the terminal, and the twenty minutes it takes. Wear and mileage on your own car. And if the trip runs longer than planned, parking charges keep accruing whether you're there or not.
For anything beyond a few days, or with more than two people, or when the return flight lands late at night, a pre-booked transfer generally comes out ahead — and the price is fixed at the point of booking, so a delayed flight doesn't cost you anything extra. We track arrivals and adjust pickup times automatically.
The honest summary: short solo trips favour parking, longer trips and groups favour transfers. Work out which you are before you book either.
Read the full 2026 cost breakdown: https://e-wave.co.uk/blog-airport-parking-vs-transfer-cost/