One day in CHICAGO. What options do I have to move around? (Oak Park: rental car, rental)

[wheretogo]

We are plannig to spend a day in chicago before boarding Amtrak from Chicago Union station (CHI). Planning to come at ORD around noon and spend the day in Chicago until next noon.

With 2 kids (4 and 6) and may be 3-4 bags, I think the better option is to pick few spots that are nearby, fun and not tiring (than to accommodate everything and get exhausted) . Not particular about anything except willis tower. Thinking of doing some spots mentioned here


So, whats your advise on these three options. Are they crazy ? I miss something ?

(1) Pick-up a rental car from ORD and drop at CHI

The problem is, as a new comer to Chicago, it may be difficult and expensive to find a reasonable and nearby parking.
Also, does CHI have car drop-off ?

(2) Hotel within 4-5 blocks of CHI and hire a cab from ORD to hotel

With this, the problem is a decent (3* and up) hotel in that area cost about $225 per night. Also, hauling bags from hotel to CHI (even if its 5-6 blocks with kids is a concern).


(3) Hotel anywhere and pay for cab(s)

It seems 4* hotel cost about $75 in priceline, if you widen your location. Then Four cabs total. One from ORD to hotel, one from Hotel to ‘spot’ on day 1, one from ‘spot’ to hotel at the end of day 1 , the last one from hotel to CHI on day 2. Store luggage in the CHI lounge and walk over to Willis and anything nearby until boarding time. If $30 average for cab, the cab costs $120 total. (May be able to swap two cabs to public transportation ?). So, it evens out with option 2. But, don’t have to haul luggage thru the streets.

Will CHI allow us to store luggage there starting, say , 8am on the day of departure ?


Appreciate your thoughts.

[chet everett]

If I follow your plan it is

#1 Arrive O'Hare.

#2 Spend night in Chicago

#3 Leave Union Station via Amtrak

Assuming you arrive at a reasonably hour (basically anything other than late at night OR in the middle of rush hour..) you should have NO PROBLEM getting on the Blue Line at O'Hare and then WALKING to a decent hotel in the area from River North to the lake as far south as Grant Park. Even with a four year old, as long as you are not in a hurry there are PLENTY of places to walk a few block, stop for a soft serve cone, happy meal, potty break.

Once you get to hotel, check in, refresh etc you can easily WALK to Millennium Park or the attractions like Shedd Aquarium / Field Museum / Museum of Contemporary Art . Maybe catch a TROLLEY out to Navy Pier. Eat. Go back to hotel . Next day WALK to Union Station...

Really no need for cabs, though the cost vs time savings MIGHT be worth it if kids are not accustomed to walking along busier streets. I remember that my kids were fine with that, but then I worked in Loop and so did wife so we relatively often would take kids to Sox games via public transit and other stuff that some people just never bothered...

[jonnynonos]

Take the blue line; it will cost you about $10 for your whole family. If you decide to stay at a hotel further away from downtown (cheaper) just make sure it's also close to public transit and in a safe neighborhood.

Renting a car and then trying to drive to all the big attractions is certifiably crazy. The car won't do you any good unless you're willing to drop $20 for a new parking space at each attraction.

Or just take cabs everywhere if you have money, it will still be far cheaper than renting a car and then trying to park near Navy Pier, Millinnium Park, etc.

[linicx]

Walking with four bags, a wife and two children in an area of 10M people on streets you are not familiar with? I would not do it for any amount of money.

I would take a cab to the hotel. If you are downtown you can walk to the Hancock Center (Willet). Go online to see if you can find a free pass to the 95th floor. Tourist venues in Chicago are expensive for any family. Many hotels have a room safe or a hotel safe. Leave your iPhone, iPad, laptop, jewelry, where it is secured. Chicago is not called "Windy" for nothing. It is easy enough to lose a hat.

Free venues.
Lincoln Park Zoo
Millennium Park and "The Bean" sculpture
Buckingham Fountain
Chinatown
Eli's Cheesecake Factory Tour / free samples at end of tour
Walking on Michigan Avenue
The Picasso (statue ) at Daley Plaza
Oak Park architectural walking tour

Not free:
Shedd Aquarium
Navy Pier
Skywalk (I would not take a 4 year old)
Willet Tower 95th floor is an view from inside the building
Museum of Science & Industry.
Ball games
Mass transit
City Trolley or Bus tours
Lake cruise

Venue parking can cost from $12 up. Downtown parking is, well, you can spend $200 per 5 day week downtown for secure parking.

You might be better served to spend the rental and parking fees on a taxi. Many better hotels offer complimentary transportation to Union Station or the airport. Some have service from the airport to the hotel, too.

Another thing to be aware of the Express Elevator drops from the 95th floor to 40th before it stops. It may have changed since I was on it, or it may not descend at the same rate during the day. No other elevators were open the night I was there. My 4 year old was terrified and had nightmares for a month from the rapid descent.

[marothisu]

As some others have pointed out...the blue line. Personally, I'd either take the blue line train or a cab if you're going to be staying downtown. It all depends on a few things of course like budget.

Here's a hotel deal for downtown at the W for a better price.
Chicago Hotels: $179 -- Chicago 4-Star Lakefront Hotel w/Upgrade in Summer | Travelzoo


CTA trains are cheap, while cabs will be expensive. Last time I took a cab from the airport to downtown (where I live), it ended up costing me $45 after a tip. That was just me and one bag/carry on sized bag. However, keep in mind this was at almost midnight, so the charge is a little extra for late-night.

If you were to take a cab to the above hotel from ORD, just one person would be over $40 after tax. Add three others and it's easily over $50 or $55. The other option if you were to stay at that hotel (this is all hypothetical), would be to take the blue line from ORD to the Jackson stop (in the Loop), then you transfer to the red line train (it's as easy as going down some stairs on the platform, walking through a tunnel, and re-emerging on the other end to the red line. You would then get off at the Grand stop. That hotel is like 5 blocks away, so easiest thing to do would be to hail a cab. The fare would probably be around $10 after tip (because of 4 people and bags). You could get CTA pass for $10 for everyone. So probably $20 total in a situation like that (maybe $22) versus probably $50-$60. The train ride total would take probably close to an hour though. With taking a cab, you never know. It depends on what's going on that day and/or how hot it is (people coming in from the burbs to go to the beaches for example or just hang out). The cab ride would take anywhere from probably 25 minutes in light traffic, to who knows if there is actually traffic.

The thing is that if you were to stay near ORD, you save money on the hotel, but you get less time in the city. You would check in at ORD, take the cab/train/drive down to downtown, do whatever, but then you'd have to pay extra to go back to ORD at the end of the day. Then the next day, you'd have to spend even more money to go downtown again to Union Station. So really, you save money on the
hotel, but you might have already made up for total cost by taking transportation.

The cost difference will come in the hotel, but if you stay downtown, you'll be maximizing your time in the city. If you stay near ORD, you won't be because you'll have to leave earlier to get to bed at the same time than if you were already downtown. Not to mention, you'd have to travel the distance from ORD -> downtown again versus already being here. Of course, if you wanted to stay at O'Hare and take cabs to/from downtown instead of trains, you'd easily surpass the price of staying downtown.

[wheretogo]

Thanks to each of you for your posts. Learned something from each of them.

Adding some more info, travel fro ORD to hotel should be around 12 noon..and also the Amtrak depature from CHI is also around that time.

linicix, your list of free vs paid is pretty useful. I beleive the zoo is also free. 'Lake Cruise' : is it same as the architecte tour ? Appreciate more info on that as that may bw a quicker way to see the city. They all begin from Wringleys building only?

[jahk]

On what days is the trip happening?
If it's during the NATO summit (May 19-21), all bets are off as transit and attractions will be limited.

[wheretogo]

Originally Posted by jahk

On what days is the trip happening?
If it's during the NATO summit (May 19-21), all bets are off as transit and attractions will be limited.

In July/August

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by wheretogo

linicix, your list of free vs paid is pretty useful. I beleive the zoo is also free. 'Lake Cruise' : is it same as the architecte tour ? Appreciate more info on that as that may bw a quicker way to see the city. They all begin from Wringleys building only?

Yep, the zoo is free (unless you have a car and need to park it..then the parking is not free).

As far as the lake cruise thing goes, Wendella does a river/lake cruise for the same price, I believe, as just a river cruise (because the river-only tour might go on the south AND north branches of the river while the lake one goes maybe on the south only and then the lake). I took my parents on the one that goes out into the lake and it's cool. If you like skylines and architecture, history, etc then I recommend the tour. It's $24/person for adults and $12 per child for a 90 minute tour. There are a few more companies (i.e. Chicago Architecture Foundation and Shoreline) that do these tours, and each are slightly different in where they go (north branch vs. south branch vs lake), but you can't go wrong with any of those. CAF's are a little more expensive, and Shoreline and Wendella are about the same prices. Scroll a little down on the following page for the "Combined Lake and River Tour" part.

https://secure4.gatewayticketing.com....aspx?CG=1&C=2

[linicx]

The Lincoln Park Zoo has never charged admission. Brookfield Zoo does. I will add some links at the bottom

A lake tour, I think, is a lake tour/cruise. The difference is the Architectural water tour is specific to seeing the city architecture from the water. If you only see one thing, the Chicago skyline by night is spectacular.

Chinatown is a complete community with bank, druggist, grocer, doctor, baker, church, restaurants and many shops. The food is very good, but on the other hand it is hard to find bad food anywhere in Chicago.

Chicago is famous for its Chicago hot dog and pizza. I don't know where you find it downtown, though.

Oak Park is 8 miles west of Chicago. The walking tour I mentioned is the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright designs in the world.

Click on the walking tour:
Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park, Illinois (1889-1909)
Architectural Cruises -- Chicago Line Cruises
Historical Cruises -- Chicago Line Cruises
Click on the Water Taxi Tour (click on Information and About us)
http://www.chicagowatertaxi.com/
Lincoln Park Zoo | Free and open to all, 365 days a year!
Learn More About Chicago's Picasso
This is more than just water: Buckingham Fountain, Chicago
Millennium Park | Explore Chicago
the bean: The Bean Chicago
Welcome to Chicago-Chinatown.com

The Shedd Aquarium seems to have 6-7 venues. As near as I can tell the tickets for 2 adults and 2 children is $120 plus taxes. A better deal is with CityPass that includes VIP entrance, 5 venues (choice of two). It cost about $200 for your family plus taxes.

When you bring your family for a week. These are three of the venues included in the CityPass.
Shedd Aquarium - Chicago | Contact Us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adler_Planetarium
John Hancock Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by wheretogo

Thanks to each of you for your posts. Learned something from each of them.

Adding some more info, travel fro ORD to hotel should be around 12 noon..and also the Amtrak depature from CHI is also around that time

linicix, your list of free vs paid is pretty useful. I beleive the zoo is also free. 'Lake Cruise' : is it same as the architecte tour ? Appreciate more info on that as that may bw a quicker way to see the city.