Question on Chicago (Dixon, Rosemont, Dix: rental car, rental, hotels)

[jflores]

Well I will try to keep it short, I have a wedding to go to in iowa city over memorial day weekend, but I want to fly into chicago ohare fri morning, and spend the day in the Windy City, take the train system (Hopefully as good if not better than NYC MTA).

What should I expect on that ride out of Chi to make my way into Iowa City early that saturday morning??

My wife has concerns about traffic, so hopefully I can show her you guys responses and I can get her on board. She rather fly into St. Louis but cmon who really wants to go to St. Louis .

Thanks

[billiken]

It'll be a shorter drive from Chicago. There might be traffic as you are not going to be the only ones heading out of town for Memorial Day.

By the way, St Louis is a fine city. If you fly there instead, you'd have plenty to see on a day trip, and it also has public transit from the airport to the best of the city.

[jflores]

Originally Posted by billiken

It'll be a shorter drive from Chicago. There might be traffic as you are not going to be the only ones heading out of town for Memorial Day.

By the way, St Louis is a fine city. If you fly there instead, you'd have plenty to see on a day trip, and it also has public transit from the airport to the best of the city.

I will recant my statement on St Louis, but when I am sitting at home or at my desk, visiting St Louis never crosses my mind, I have always wanted to visit Chicago.

Thanks for the info, keep it coming folks.

[Thepreacherswife]

The public transit system is decent but can't really compare with New York just because of size and scale. However, there's plenty of things you can do to fill a day in Chicago and a lot of them are free. By Memorial Day it should be warmer (than it is right now, but don't bet on it being shorts and t-shirts weather).

For the drive out on Saturday, there might be traffic until you get to the Reagan (I-88). It's a toll road, so have plenty of change handy. The toll calculator says it's $6.20 from O'Hare to the end of the tollway just past Dixon.

Know that it does take about an hour from O'Hare into the city on the CTA.

[Dport7674]

I split my time between Davenport Iowa (east of Iowa City on I80) and Chicago.

Take I88 out of Chicago until it ends and connects up to 80 instead of taking 80 the whole way. 88 has tolls, but 5 times less traffic than 80.

I think the tolls add up to $5-$7 bucks maybe, but you can make much better time on 88 or at least a much more comfortable drive. I get in the left lane and just fly.

[jdiddy]

I'd recommend waiting until you're leaving on Sat to rent a car.

Take the CTA blue line from O'Hare to whatever hotel you're staying in downtown (assuming you're staying downtown). When you leave Saturday, just take the train back to the airport, and pick up your rental car then. You'll save $50-60 bucks on a rental car/parking that won't be used during your one day of sightseeing.

If you're leaving from O'Hare saturday morning, I wouldn't anticipate much traffic.

[jflores]

Yeah thats what google map shows me doing I284, I88, then I80 to Gods Country. I am trying to convince the warden. I never been to the Chi, as a kid growing up in NYC always wondered about Chi and the train system.

Looks like a nice city to visit.

[jflores]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

I'd recommend waiting until you're leaving on Sat to rent a car.

Take the CTA blue line from O'Hare to whatever hotel you're staying in downtown (assuming you're staying downtown). When you leave Saturday, just take the train back to the airport, and pick up your rental car then. You'll save $50-60 bucks on a rental car/parking that won't be used during your one day of sightseeing.

If you're leaving from O'Hare saturday morning, I wouldn't anticipate much traffic.

Actually plan on staying at a hotel near O'Hare, so my plan was to Fly into Ohare drop off our stuff at the hotel, take the train into downtown, eat and party a bit, take a cab back to the hotel, pick up the car saturday morning and then head on over to iowa. Sorry for the run on sentence.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by jflores

Actually plan on staying at a hotel near O'Hare, so my plan was to Fly into Ohare drop off our stuff at the hotel, take the train into downtown, eat and party a bit, take a cab back to the hotel, pick up the car saturday morning and then head on over to iowa. Sorry for the run on sentence.

That works too - although you have to be more selective as to which hotels are actually walkable to the blue line. Rosemont and Cumberland, the two stops where any O'Hare area hotels will be using, are basically suburban areas.