Chicago Travel Forum

Hi. I am looking at a visit in early fall to Chicago. From the research I've done it seems hotels around O'Hare might be the most economical. Do you think it is feasible to use a airport hotel as a base and commute downtown each day? Or how about some of the other areas, like Midway airport? Or suburbs?


Thanks for any advice or recommendations.

Jim

If ya wanna save money that would be the best way... Its always nice to be on the stip in a big city but my girlfriend and I were payin 3 dollars a bus ride there and back so we had more money to spend downtown.. We did treat ourselves and stayed downtown our last night.. The suburbs are an option, the best way to get into town would be the train.. I can't remember exactly how much it costed if it costed ne thing at all.. Chicago is a great town and Fall is a really nice time to visit.. Hope this helped a bit. Safe travels

It's the classic time vs. money debate, expect a minimum of 45 minutes on the el each way plus whatever time it takes you to get to the el from your hotel if you stay at O'Hare, recently on the weekends I've heard of rides taking 2-3 hours because of track work so I'd highly recommend looking at the www.transitchicago.com website to see what is planned during your stay.

Midway hotels are perhaps better, it should only be about a 30 minute ride into the city plus the journey to the el station from the hotel. Suburban options include Oak Park and Evanston, both of which are connected by metra and by the el.

Dining and entertainment options are limited near both airports so factor that into your decision as well.

Personally, I'd recommend looking at one of the blind bidding sites, Priceline or Hotwire, if they are available to you, you'll save a bundle and be centrally located, check out www.biddingfortravel.com before bidding and remember that once your bid is accepted you can't change hotels nor can you cancel.