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Traveling to Chicago

'Clones Fan

'Clones Fan

Member
Nov 13, 2006
202
4
18
Minneapolis, MN
CF, I need your help!
I am driving to Chicago tomorrow and have to be downtown Chicago to my destination at 9:30 am on Thursday morning.

My plan was to drive to some Suburb, like Schaumburg and take the L Train downtown. I see that I have to get closer to O'Hare to make that happen.

Is this a good idea?
Any suggestions on another place to stop or get close to the train?
I have never taken the L train before, but have a lot of experience with the Metro in DC. Is it easy to figure out?

Thanks,
 
Inbound traffic on every expressway will be a mess. Going to Ohare and taking the blue line in is a good idea. Will save you a traffic headache and parking $. If you didn't want to go to Ohare, you can always park farther out in the suburbs (Joliet or Naperville) and take the Metra train in. It will cost a little more money than the L, but then you aren't dealing with the traffic around Ohare.
 
cyclonedave25 said:
Inbound traffic on every expressway will be a mess. Going to Ohare and taking the blue line in is a good idea. Will save you a traffic headache and parking $. If you didn't want to go to Ohare, you can always park farther out in the suburbs (Joliet or Naperville) and take the Metra train in. It will cost a little more money than the L, but then you aren't dealing with the traffic around Ohare.
Click to expand...

This is a far better option and there will be an exact time for departure, and you won't have to pay for parking I believe.
 
cyclonedave25 said:
Inbound traffic on every expressway will be a mess. Going to Ohare and taking the blue line in is a good idea. Will save you a traffic headache and parking $. If you didn't want to go to Ohare, you can always park farther out in the suburbs (Joliet or Naperville) and take the Metra train in. It will cost a little more money than the L, but then you aren't dealing with the traffic around Ohare.
Click to expand...

I was going to say this as well, staying in the far suburbs if you don't want to stay in the City. Naperville/Warnevile/Wheaton is a nice place to stay and has a lot of restaurants as well as hotels. Or you can stay a little further out and stay in Geneva (I think one or two stops form Naperville area), although I do not think there are any hotels within walking distance of the train station.

If you are real adventurous you can take the train from my childhood hometown of La Fox which is the stop before Geneva :smile:
 
'Clones Fan said:
CF, I need your help!
I am driving to Chicago tomorrow and have to be downtown Chicago to my destination at 9:30 am on Thursday morning.

My plan was to drive to some Suburb, like Schaumburg and take the L Train downtown. I see that I have to get closer to O'Hare to make that happen.

Is this a good idea?
Any suggestions on another place to stop or get close to the train?
I have never taken the L train before, but have a lot of experience with the Metro in DC. Is it easy to figure out?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
If you want to save money on a hotel, you can always park your SUV in the United Center parking lot. It should be a simple ride in a taxi or train from there.
 
cyclonedave25 said:
Inbound traffic on every expressway will be a mess. Going to Ohare and taking the blue line in is a good idea. Will save you a traffic headache and parking $. If you didn't want to go to Ohare, you can always park farther out in the suburbs (Joliet or Naperville) and take the Metra train in. It will cost a little more money than the L, but then you aren't dealing with the traffic around Ohare.
Click to expand...

I'd actually suggest parking at either Rosemont or Cumberland (the next stops down from O'Hare). Parking at those stops is $5 for 12 hours (http://www.transitchicago.com/parking/#blueline) and a lot easier to get to/from the station compared to O'hare.

OP - turn on the transit layer on google maps and check out where the Metra/L lines run. Some parts of downtown may be a good 20-25 minute walk from where you're headed, so be sure to give yourself extra time. Blue line trains during morning rush will run every ~5 minutes, so you won't really need to worry about the schedules.
 
'Clones Fan said:
CF, I need your help!
I am driving to Chicago tomorrow and have to be downtown Chicago to my destination at 9:30 am on Thursday morning.

My plan was to drive to some Suburb, like Schaumburg and take the L Train downtown. I see that I have to get closer to O'Hare to make that happen.

Is this a good idea?
Any suggestions on another place to stop or get close to the train?
I have never taken the L train before, but have a lot of experience with the Metro in DC. Is it easy to figure out?

Thanks,
Click to expand...


It is an okay plan if you don't need your car in the city. The CTA train system is comparable to the Metro in DC, just with parts that are very, very old. You will do fine on it.

Where to stay and what train to take may be determined by where you want to go downtown. Of course, you can get anywhere from any train, but it sounds like you are trying to keep it cheap and simple. Thus, you might want to keep the train routes in mind. For instance, the CTA train from O'Hare will go through the State Street subway. A suburban "Metra" train will be more comfortable and more expensive, but will probably take to you to a station west of downtown (for which you will have to find the right bus, take a decent walk, or pay for a cab). A train that goes around the downtown "loop" without a transfer will bring you pretty close to anything in the old downtown (but not N. Michigan Avenue or River North).

Let us know approximately where you are heading and we can give you more advice.
 
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There's a Metra station in Wooddale which is just west of O'Hare. You can eat at Christy's diner right next to the station. I don't think I have ever gotten a bad meal there.
 
Best to park at Cta blue line in Rosemont. 50 minute ride down.

All Metra stations are very hard to get parking in after 6:00 am.

Give yourself LOTS of extra time. Traffic has been beyond horrendous lately with summer tourism picking up. May is the worst traffic month of the year here.

I'd plan on getting downtown an hour early and find a coffee shop near your meeting and plan to hang out.
 
My step-father used mega bus to Chicago and back a couple months ago. No issues there, but on the way back, one of the struts failed causing the metal frame to fall on to the tire blowing it out along the interstate. Let's just say that in general the people who ride that bus, aren't exactly a who's who of people you want to hang out with.

The driver in vain attempted to keep everyone on the bus while they waited for another bus to show up. He was supposed to get home around 6pm and ended arriving shortly after midnight.

It's cheap and you can experience travel problems with any transportation, but for me, I'll drive myself.
 
I have taken Megabus to Omaha from Chicago and back, I never had a problem, (12 hours). I drive for a taxi by Berwyn, there are some cheaper motels in the area. It's a pretty safe area, with nearby stores and restaurants, with easy access to Metra, which takes you to Union Station in the Loop, (downtown).
 
Megabus was, no joke, the worst travel experience of my life. Others I know had ok experiences, but I would never recommend it to someone.
 
runbikeswim said:
Best to park at Cta blue line in Rosemont. 50 minute ride down.

All Metra stations are very hard to get parking in after 6:00 am.

Give yourself LOTS of extra time. Traffic has been beyond horrendous lately with summer tourism picking up. May is the worst traffic month of the year here.

I'd plan on getting downtown an hour early and find a coffee shop near your meeting and plan to hang out.
Click to expand...

CTA Blue Line was my first thought as well. If not, most of the burbs have a metra station available. I live in Schaumburg and that one takes you to Union Station and parking is cheap.
 
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