Meet and greet at Cardiff
Cardiff's meet and greet is Express Park, run by the airport itself.
There is no independent valet company collecting cars from the forecourt. Instead, you drive to the Express Park shelter by the terminal, hand your keys in at reception, and airport staff park the car on airport land. It gives the convenience of meet and greet without the car leaving the airport.
Express Park price
Eight days, against the self-park options.
| Car park | Standard, 8 days | 8 days | Each day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Express Park | £98.00 | £68.60 | £8.58 |
| Official Car Park 1 | £88.00 | £61.60 | £7.70 |
| Official Car Park 2 | £78.00 | £54.60 | £6.83 |
Sample eight-day prices. Search at the top for your dates.
How it works
The process takes a few minutes at each end.
Follow the Express Park signs as you approach the terminal. Unload your bags and passengers at the shelter, then hand the keys in at reception. Staff drive the car about 200 yards to a secure area. Check-in is a short walk away. On return, collect the keys and staff point you to the car.
Where the car is kept
Your car stays on airport land throughout.
That is the main difference from off-airport meet and greet elsewhere in the UK, where cars are often driven miles to a compound. At Cardiff, the car is a short distance from the terminal, in an area run by the airport.
Who it suits
Express Park earns its price when the walk from a car park is the hard part of the trip.
Families with small children, passengers with reduced mobility, anyone with golf clubs, skis or a pushchair, and travellers on a tight schedule all benefit. For a solo traveller with a cabin bag, Car Park 1 is only a few minutes' walk and costs less.
Express Park or Car Park 1
Car Park 1 is the nearest self-park and costs less.
You find your own space and walk to departures in a few minutes. Express Park removes that walk and the search for a space. Both are official airport products. See Official Car Park 1.
Express Park or park and ride
Highwayman at Fonmon costs the same as Express Park on our sample prices.
At Highwayman, staff also park the car, but it is kept off the airport and you take a shuttle. Express Park keeps the car on the airport and skips the ride. See Highwayman Parking (APH Cardiff Park & Ride).
Keys and the handover
You hand your keys to airport staff, so a few precautions help.
Leave the spare key at home, take valuables out of the car, and mention anything unusual, such as a locking wheel nut key or an alarm quirk. Note the mileage and fuel level if you like to keep a record.
When the flight home is late
Delays on the way home are common.
Booking terms reported by resellers allow a discretionary grace period, then a daily charge. When your return date changes before you travel, amend the booking.
Early departures
Express Park helps most on a dawn flight.
At that hour, every minute counts. Pulling up by the terminal and handing over the keys saves the search for a space and the walk, which matters most with sleepy children.
Security
The car stays on airport land, and airport staff hold the keys.
We do not claim a Park Mark award, because the airport does not publish one on the pages we could check. Take valuables with you.
Our view
For a handover at Cardiff, Express Park is the only option, and a good one.
It is run by the airport, the car stays on site, and the walk to check-in is short. Book it when convenience matters more than the price gap to Car Park 1. We bring the options together on our Cardiff park and ride page.
Booking Express Park
Search your dates at the top of the page.
The code takes up to 30% off, and the lower price shows before you pay. Bookings made with us can be cancelled free within 24 hours of booking. Our Cardiff parking discount codes page shows how much the code takes off each car park.
Arriving at Express Park
Follow the Express Park signs as you approach the terminal.
Pull into the shelter, unload bags and passengers first, and then hand in the keys at reception. Keep the booking confirmation on your phone in case staff ask for the reference. The whole handover usually takes only a few minutes.
Coming home
After arrivals, go back to the reception where you left the keys.
Staff hand over the keys and point you to the car. Check the car before you drive away, and raise anything that concerns you with staff there and then, while they are on hand.
What Express Park is not
Express Park is not an off-airport valet with a driver meeting you on the forecourt.
That is a good thing: the car is not driven to a distant compound, and it stays with the airport. It also means you drive to the Express Park shelter yourself rather than stopping in the drop-off zone.
Heavy luggage and sports kit
Golf bags, ski bags and bikes in boxes are where a handover helps most.
Unload straight onto a trolley by the terminal instead of wheeling everything from a car park. For a big family trip with a roof box, check the car will fit a standard bay before you book.
Other ways to avoid the walk
For some travellers, a lift is simpler than any car park.
The drop-off zone is right by the doors, but it is charged by the ten minutes. Our drop-off and pick-up page covers the options, including the free short stop in Car Park 2.
Cardiff against larger airports
At big airports, meet and greet usually means an independent company.
Drivers meet you on a forecourt and take the car to a compound, sometimes miles away. Cardiff's version is simpler: the airport runs it, the handover is at a shelter by the terminal, and the car stays close by. For travellers used to the bigger airports, it is a pleasant surprise.
Changing your plans
Bookings made with us can be cancelled free within 24 hours of booking.
When a return flight moves, amend the booking before you travel. Late returns are charged at a daily rate under the terms reported by resellers, so an amendment is usually cheaper.
Before you leave home
A few minutes of preparation makes the handover quicker.
Clear the car of valuables, note anything staff should know, and keep the booking reference on your phone. Leave enough time for the handover on top of check-in, especially on a busy summer morning.
Meet and greet at Cardiff: common questions
Yes, in the form of Express Park, the airport's own handover service. You leave the car by the terminal and hand in the keys.
Staff move it a short distance to a secure area on airport land.
About three minutes from the handover point.
Yes. Express Park costs more than the self-park car parks on our sample prices.
Express Park takes standard cars. For a trailer, look at Highwayman park and ride, where a trailer takes two spaces.
Ready to book? The search at the top compares every Cardiff product we sell. Cancel free within 24 hours of booking. Pre-book now to pay up to 80% less than turning up on the day.