Hints and tips to save money in my chicago trip (Joliet: car rental, rental)

[spaniard]

Hello!

On Friday I am flying with my wife from Houston to Chicago for a long weekend and it will be our first time but NOT the last one (promisse). I know that what I should be doing is spending all my money there but unfortunately I am now unemployed and I am watching every cent .

The thing is that from what we have read in our little guide we should be looking for:

Navy Pier (fireworks on saturday at 10.15 pm)
Millenium Park and "the bean"
Sears (i believe they changed the name?)
The route 66 @ Adams
Downtown loop..
Boat ( to see city from outside) I dont know where.

I was wondering If any of you could tell me if its possible to park our car somewhere in downtown in a cheap car park and maybe walk to locations. Also if you could recommend any other - not in guides but still awesome places- in downtown like building where you can get in and take pictures from the roof etc. Also where to get the typical boat to see the city and take pictures (cheapest possible).

Ok. Now this might sound silly but we want to put a step in wisconsin, indiana and michigan also so we are driving there too. For Indiana we are for good seeing M. Jackson's Gary and Dunes but no idea for Wisconsin nor Michigan any beautiful little village in both frontiers? like maybe Kenosha (WI) New Buffalo (MI)?
thank you very much in advance.

ps. Please excuse my english as I am stilll learning.

[colinhayes]

good luck finding any place downtown to park your car for less than $50 a day...

You'd be best finding a spot in a neighborhood near an L stop and leaving your car there while you're here and just use the CTA and walk.

[chirack]

A smart move might be to not get the car until after you are done with downtown Chicago as you are both flying in. Downtown Chicago is very car unfriendly and there is lots of public transit downtown. Basically you don't want to pay $20+ a day for parking. Also hotels around O'Hare charge for parking.

Here is what I would do. From both O'Hare and Midway there are trains to take you downtown. I would fly in, either leave the luggage at a rental locker or at a nearby hotel and use public transit to downtown. I would tour downtown on Friday instead of Saturday. Navy pier has fireworks on Friday too.

If you want to save a bit more money via your car rental, you can take Metra to Kenosha and in Kenosha there is a trolley system that you can use to tour. You will need to check the scehdules but the Kenosha trolley system shuts down at 5:30 on Saturday/Sunday. Metra is a commuter rail road. The weekend service to Kenosha is a bit lacking but trains depart to Kenosha on Saturday at 06:35am , 10:35, 12:35 pm, 04:35, 05:45, 09:35, 12:35am(i.e. Sunday morning). Trains depart from Kenosha to downtown Chicago at 5:49am 06:49 08:49 06:49 pm 10:20pm.

There is slightly better coverage on friday but not sure you want to fly and take a couple of trains to get somewhere. Don't bother to do it on sunday unless you plan to drive because there are only three trains out!

A three day cta pass will cost $14 and a one day pass will cost $5.75. They will give unlimited rides on the cta busses and el system. Metra is different and will cost $5.00 for an unlimited weekend pass.

Indiana might be the only place where you may need the car. There is a train that goes into indiana(at both gary and the dunes), but not sure about how far the attractions are from the stations and this train's fare is seperate from Metra and the CTA.There is a weekend fair of 4:50(gary)5:50(dunes) one way. Scedule wise the southshore train is not too bad(about 9 trains in/out weekends). But unsure of how close the attractiosn are to the station. With kenosha the trolley system takes you to the metra station.

[scarletneon]

exactly.
two words: use transit.

also, in Michigan, it would be worth it just to drive up the coast to St. Joe, or South Haven if you're feeling ambitious. M-63/Blue Star Hwy is really neat.

[spaniard]

Firstly, thanks a lot for your help guys.

I am very used to use public transport as I am from Madrid (spain) and the whole city is covered in underground and bus services . It is not that I dont want to mix with the "common" is more like hey.. if we're two and we are moving all around are we going to have to pay all the time to move from A to B and B to C etc..? so maybe is cheaper to find a parking right in the middle of everywhere.

I have also considered the park and ride option. We are staying in a hotel very near O'hare what is the nearest/ best connected to my hotel by car park and ride near the loop? I have been to transitchicago.com but names mean nothing to me as I dont know the city.

Rail Line Station Cost and Time Limit Spaces
BLUE Rosemont  $5.00 for 14 hours 798
BLUE Cumberland  $4.00 for 12 hours** 1633
BLUE(O’HARE) Harlem  $4.00 daily 53
BLUE Forest Park  $5.00 for 15 hours** 1051
BROWN Kimball  $4.00 daily 73
BROWN Kedzie/Lawrence  $4.00 daily 56
GREEN Ashland/63rd  $4.00 daily 235
GREEN Garfield  $4.00 daily 117
ORANGE Midway  $4.00 for 12 hours 327
ORANGE Pulaski/51st  $4.00 daily 390
ORANGE Kedzie/48th  $4.00 daily 157
ORANGE Western/49th  $4.00 daily 200
ORANGE 35th/Archer  $4.00 daily 69
ORANGE Halsted/Archer  $4.00 daily 31
PINK 54th/Cermak  $4.00 daily 175
PURPLE Linden  $4.00 daily 328
RED Howard  $4.00 daily 592
YELLOW Skokie  $4.00 daily 441

BTW. Is it possible to walk from millenium to navy pier.. or from sears to millenium? I am so lost with distances there!

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by colinhayes

good luck finding any place downtown to park your car for less than $50 a day...

You'd be best finding a spot in a neighborhood near an L stop and leaving your car there while you're here and just use the CTA and walk.

One of the better options is to use the garage owned by Amtrak adjacent to Union Station: $20/day. While not crazy cheap, it is certainly much more affordable than other options.

Chicago Union Station :: Parking

[chirack]

Originally Posted by spaniard

Firstly, thanks a lot for your help guys.

I am very used to use public transport as I am from Madrid (spain) and the whole city is covered in underground and bus services . It is not that I dont want to mix with the "common" is more like hey.. if we're two and we are moving all around are we going to have to pay all the time to move from A to B and B to C etc..? so maybe is cheaper to find a parking right in the middle of everywhere.

Ah no, one and three days cta passes do not work like that. You and your wife get a one day pass for each for a total of $11.50(for 2 one day passes) OR $28(for 2 three day passes). You can then ride every cta bus and el train for either one or three days. You wont be charged per trip.

The cheapest parking downtown is the $20 union station and good luck finding a space. Most parking downtown cost $30-50. Not counting the cost of the rental and the fact that your hotel is likely to charge $30.

Having a car when touring chicago is costly. Save the haslte do not get the car until you are done with downtown.

Originally Posted by spaniard

I have also considered the park and ride option. We are staying in a hotel very near O'hare what is the nearest/ best connected to my hotel by car park and ride near the loop? I have been to transitchicago.com but names mean nothing to me as I dont know the city.

If your are near O'hare you are near the blue line. These three are your closest stations park and rides

Originally Posted by spaniard

BLUE Rosemont  $5.00 for 14 hours 798
BLUE Cumberland  $4.00 for 12 hours** 1633
BLUE(O’HARE) Harlem  $4.00 daily 53

Originally Posted by spaniard

BTW. Is it possible to walk from millenium to navy pier.. or from sears to millenium? I am so lost with distances there!

Yes, but thoose distances are enough to make one consider using a bus if say you are walking from sears tower to millenium park(and around it) and to navy pier.

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by spaniard

BTW. Is it possible to walk from millenium to navy pier.. or from sears to millenium? I am so lost with distances there!

You can always walk if you're taking your time and making a day out of it. But by the end of the afternoon you'll be tired.

If you eat cheap and do a lot of window shopping on Michigan Ave/various neighborhoods you won't have to spend a whole lot of money in Chicago.

If you're looking to go to nice restaurants and buying souvenirs/mementos on top of parking and hotel and transit, be prepared to spend some money.

Edit: I used to always try to stay downtown at a more expensive hotel rather than stay near O'hare because you save on transit and time, which can be worth more than the price difference in hotels. There is a River North Best Western which is pretty cheap(one of the cheaper parking rates too) and pretty close to a lot of touristy stuff like Hard Rock. Good Luck, Have Fun!!

[spaniard]

Thanks a lot!!...

I am just trying to think what is better.

We are definitely visiting chicago for one full day and one different night but when? thats the point.
Knowing that we want to go to Kenosha (Wi) Gary (In) and St. Joseph (Mi) + spot Route 66 @ Joliet or near... and we have saturday and sunday full day and monday until 3pm how to distribute them? hum.. this is turning me crazy! HELP!!!

If we arrive after 7 pm to chicago do we still need to pay parking?
Can anyone tell me about the famous boat to see lights at night

[jayp1188]

I agree with most of the stuff above about using the CTA in Downtown. Also, I would suggest to go to the top of the the Hancock Building instead of the Sears Tower. The view from the Hancock Building is much better. And be sure to try some good ol' Chicago deep dish pizza and a hot dog while here. The Shedd Aquarium is also very good, as is the Museum of Science and Industry if you are interested in those. The Lincoln Park Zoo is free, and it's right by Lake Michigan in a very cool neighborhood which some very interesting restaurants as well. If you guys are sports fans, you could go to Cubs game, or take a tour of the legendary Wrigley Field if there is no game going on. Also, definitely walk around Michigan Ave and the Riverwalk. Also if you rent a car, definitely go for a drive along Lakeshore drive and enjoy the gorgeous views of lakeside, the skyline, and Buckingham Fountain.

The Indiana dunes are cool. I've been to Kenosha, WI a couple times, and it has a pretty nice downtown area and a cool streetcar system and some interesting shops. Definitely grab a bite to eat at Frank's Diner downtown, it is cheap, delicious, and amazing. There is also a Jelly Belly factory in Kenosha that offers free tours that I hear is cool. Have a fun trip!