The holidays—and the corresponding busiest travel days of the year—are coming. As such, you may find yourself hopping a flight to or from Boston's Logan Airport, and the age-old question of where to park while you're traveling crops up. While I always advocate taking the T to Logan, both for reasons of time and money, in some cases it may not be practical.

Here's what you need to know for parking at Logan Airport.

Parking at Logan

If you want to park right at the airport, you have several options. Naturally, the parking garages with direct access to the terminals are going to have the highest fees; if you're willing to park farther away and take a shuttle, you'll be able to save. Regardless of which on-airport parking option you choose, be sure to hang on to your ticket; lost tickets get a surcharge of $5 in addition to your parking fee.

Central Parking Garage

Massport's Central Parking Garage is the on-airport option for access to terminals A, B, C, and E. Rates start at $3 for the first half hour and go up incrementally to $29 for 24 hours and $58 for 48 hours.

Terminal B Garage

If you need easy access to Terminal B at Logan, the Terminal B Garage is the one for you. Rates are the same as the Central Parking Garage. Note that if you park here, your car will be searched for security purposes, including the trunk.

Terminal E Lots

Traveling out of Terminal E? Go for the Terminal E parking lot, which also offers the same fees as the Central Parking and Terminal B garages.

During busy times, expect to see a parking attendant directing traffic here, as the second lot for Terminal E is used for overflow from Logan's other parking areas.

Economy Parking Lot

If you're pinching pennies and don't mind parking a little farther away from the terminals, choose Logan's Economy Parking lot. Rates start at $3 for the first half hour and go up incrementally to $20 for 24 hours and $40 for 48 hours. This is also the only option for weekly parking at Logan, available for $120. Complimentary shuttles pick up from the Economy Parking Lot every 15-20 minutes, 24/7. 

Cell Phone Lot

If you're just picking someone up at the airport, avoid the pricey garages and lots and just go straight to the cell phone lot, located at the Hotel Drive and Service Road intersection. I always recommend travelers head here, as the Massport traffic cops don't have much patience for those picking up at terminals – if your traveler isn't right at the curb when you get there, the police officers will move you along immediately. (Space is at a premium, and traffic can back up fast.)  You can wait up to 30 minutes at the lot, so have your friends or family go through baggage claim before heading to the terminal to get them.

Know Before You Go

If you're debating over where to park at Logan, you can check parking conditions in real-time on the Massport website and by signing up for parking alerts via email. En route, you can also tune in to Logan Radio 1650 AM for constantly updated parking info.

Off-Airport Parking Options

Of course, there are plenty of local companies with off-airport parking and shuttle service options, most based in Chelsea and Revere. If you're just looking for the best price, save time with an online off-airport parking search tool such as AirportParkingReservations.com, BestParking.com, or ParkRideFlyUSA: Enter your dates once, and see all the quotes from local companies in one easy-to-compare list. You may also want to check Groupon or another local deals site before making a parking reservation; at press time, a local off-airport lot had a deal saving 50 percent off typical parking rates.

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