I'd never used anything other than a taxi to get to the airport, so the prospect of parking there was alien to me.
With a 30-minute journey to Manchester Airport from my house, I always expected a bill to park there would be much heftier than a taxi so never bothered looking into it.
Throw in the horror stories of some dodgy companies taking less than good care of vehicles left with them and a taxi ride felt like a no brainer.
This year however, I decided to price up a week's car park stay using the airport's official Meet and Greet and it was nowhere near as much as I thought it would be.
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Booking it was so simple - you can submit your details online and select which terminal you're leaving from, adding the date and time of your arrival, along with the date and time you're due back.
There's also free cancellation up to an hour before your booking.
On the day I simply followed signs for the T1 Meet and Greet and once the registration plate was recognised from the booking, the barrier lifted to allow me to drive in.
There staff directed me to a parking space in one of the rows and it was there I left it.
I then walked over to the nearby Meet and Greet Reception and used one of the self service kiosks to input the reg, get a label for the keys and a collection ticket needed to pick the car up on my return.
After almost walking off without my ticket, a friendly member of staff alerted me to my oversight, joking that he 'could have had that car'. No machine or AI can replace the job of a human in my book, not when you're as forgetful as me anyway.
With that, it was a case of dropping my keys into a specific slot, leaving strangers on the other side to do the rest. It was their job to move the car to a secure location on site and move it back to the car park I left it in upon our return.
After just a two-minute walk we were at the terminal, ready for the holiday to begin.
It had gone so smoothly I thought little about it while away, other than being comforted by the fact that when we arrived back at midnight, we could get straight in the car without having to faff about with a taxi.
The small print had told me the car park has CCTV, floodlights and fencing, so I was pretty confident it would be safe and secure.
Upon arrival a week later, we crossed the road from airport to car park to collect the key from the machines. When I was met by 'out of service' signs and some anxious looking passengers, I feared the worst. By this point my two children, aged 14 and 12, were beyond exhausted and the couple in front of me with a very tired toddler looked like their world had ended.
But after walking into the Reception I could see the back-up plan, all the keys were hung up in rows with a member of staff handing them out to drivers instead - quickly and efficiently. Good old humans saved the day again.
He told me where to find our car, basically a two-minute walk from Reception, where it had been neatly parked up ready for us pack the boot and go.
From exiting the airport to driving out of the car park, it was less than 10 minutes.
It might have cost a bit more than paying for a taxi, it might not have gone exactly to plan, but when it takes the stress out of a trip and saves so much hassle and time, it's a price worth paying for that peace of mind.
My seven days' parking cost £138 but would have been cheaper if booked further in advance. Prices start from £82.99 for an eight-day stay. There are various options to choose from, including cheaper parking if you use the bus transfer from car park to airport.
Meet and Greet car parks are not suitable for vehicles over two metres (6ft 6in). For more details, or to book, visit the website.
