Parking at Dulles
 

I am now doing a lot of flying out of Dulles (IAD). Have always ubered there but I have never parked there. I went online and saw that I could reserve in advance a particular lot but for this upcoming weekend only economy was available to reserve. One of my employees tells me he never reserves in advance and always gets a spot in the closest garage. My questions to you are:

• Are reservations really necessary for the garages or terminal lot?
• How long does it take to get from the economy lot to the terminal?

A lot of great info starting with this page flydulles.com - Parking Information and timing is estimated in the detailed FAQ: flydulles.com - Parking Frequently Asked Questions

It's a very busy travel weekend but you might get lucky with a drive up open space in a garage (so maybe reserve economy and try your luck with the garages?).

The frequency of Economy Lot shuttles has been increased from 10-15 minutes to 7-10 minutes with about 10-15 minutes of actual travel time - I would build 25 minutes in to your schedule so there are no surprises and low stress.

So Garage 2 seems to be 100% full for the last 6 months at least - is it just so busy or are they blocking space for works?

I havent been out there for quite a while so I dont know if there is construction in that lot limiting parking. However, travel is way up in the DC Metro region and garage 2 has always been the most popular lot (especially considering valet parking is still suspended) so I think it not surprising it is consistently full.

I prefer Garage 1 and usually just go there, but it just appears odd that there is never any open space.
I'm honestly surprised that Garage 2 is more popular - they way is not (significantly) shorter and i prefer the tunnel over the weird covered walkway any day.

I recently used the parking lot at the terminal and while by no means empty, there was a decent number of available spots. Remember even if there's only 20 free spaces, that's 19 more than you need.

You do save a little bit if you reserve your parking in advance. Garage parking drops to $15/day and economy is $10/day. Recently parked in economy for a 4 day trip and I highly recommend it. Build in some time for the shuttle bus though. The price of parking though was decently cheaper than just one Uber from the district.

I suspect garage 2 is more popular solely because it’s the first one you pass when driving through the airport.