Park, Sleep and Fly at Gatwick Airport

If you drive to Gatwick, the room and the parking space can be one purchase. A park, sleep and fly package pairs a night at an airport hotel with parking for the duration of your trip and a transfer to the terminal, which is usually cheaper than buying the two separately and always cheaper than turning up at the barrier.

The two shapes it takes

On-site parking. Your car stays in the hotel’s own car park for the whole trip and you take the hotel’s transfer or walk to the terminal. This is the relaxed version: nothing to move on the morning of the flight.

Park and ride. You sleep at the hotel, then drive to a secured car park in the morning and take its shuttle to the terminal, typically 10 to 15 minutes. Usually cheaper, with one more step at the worst possible hour.

Packages at Gatwick are widely sold through third-party parking specialists as well as by the hotels, and the terms move around. Confirm the parking duration, whether the car park is on-site or a shuttle ride away, and the cancellation policy before you pay.

Which hotels fit a car

Holiday Inn London Gatwick Airport is the natural park-and-fly base, five minutes from the terminals by road with its own car park and a paid 24-hour shuttle. Courtyard by Marriott London Gatwick Airport and Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport North Terminal also have their own parking and are five-minute walks from the South and North Terminals respectively.

The two properties inside the South Terminal, YOTELAIR and BLOC, have no car park of their own; drivers use the airport’s Short Stay car parks nearby or Long Stay with its free 24-hour shuttle. BLOC publishes discounted rates on the airport’s secure parking, with the car park within walking distance.

Doing the maths

The package wins when the trip is long enough that parking alone approaches the cost of parking plus a room. For most travellers that arrives at about a week. It also wins whenever the flight leaves before 07:00: pre-booking Gatwick’s own parking typically undercuts the gate price substantially, and you skip the pre-dawn motorway run.

Related guides

Compare room prices first in the budget guide. Travelling with children: family and pet-friendly hotels. Leaving the car at home: Gatwick to central London.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a park, sleep and fly package at Gatwick?

A single booking that combines a night at an airport hotel with parking for the length of your trip, plus a transfer to the terminal. Two shapes exist at Gatwick: on-site packages where the car stays in the hotel car park, and park-and-ride packages where you move it to a secured car park on the morning of the flight.

Is park, sleep and fly cheaper than airport parking alone?

Often, for trips of a week or more, because the packages are priced against long-stay parking rather than against a hotel night. Compare the package total with Gatwick's own pre-booked long-stay rate for your dates before deciding; gate prices are always the most expensive way to park.

Which Gatwick hotels suit arriving by car?

Those away from the terminal buildings work best, because they have their own car parks: Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Premier Inn North Terminal. The in-terminal properties, YOTELAIR and BLOC, rely on the airport's own Short Stay and Long Stay car parks instead.

Information last verified: August 5, 2026