kswl

We are off on a college visit with our son over his spring break. I checked the flights between Cincinnati and Chicago and was surprised at how expensive they are, particularly in relation to the bargain fares we're getting on other legs of this trip. (Atlanta to Pittsburgh to Boston to Cincinnati to Chicago to Atlanta and yes, I know we're backtracking and it can't be helped because of the different schools' admission events, sessions, tours, etc.)

We looked into renting a car, which we still may end up doing, but there is a hefty charge for dropping it off at a different airport and the trip is more than five hours. We would be leaving very late in the afternoon (probably around 6pm or at rush hour) after spending the day at a school.

Any suggestions for a different air carrier? A different mode of transportation entirely? Would driving be best, after all?

Thanks in advance for your help.

AAFrequentFlyer

Amtrak does have service between the 2 cities. It's only once a day so I'm not sure if the times would be convenient.

kswl

Thanks, AAFF, I actually looked that up early this morning and the duration of the trip is over 10 hours! And the one time that day that it runs is at 1 am of the morning of the day we need to BE in Cincinnati for the interview and tour. But thanks anyway... I am afraid we'll have to suck it up and pay for these airline tickets

rkkwan

CVG has long have the most expensive airfares in the country because of the domination of DL/Comair there. For going to Chicago, not many choices. Look into connections, and/or flying out of Lexington or Dayton. Also, what dates and what fares are you seeing? A roundtrip can be cheaper than one-way. Just throw away the return.

clevelandbrown

My son lives in Kentucky, south of Lexington, and both he and his company (who pays for travel and his time) feel that driving is the best option. For you, driving to Lexington might be a viable option. I wouldn't consider driving only to Dayton or Indianapolis to fly, as you would already be halfway there and may as well drive the whole way. Have you looked at many car rental agencies; I think there might be some that have no drop off charge, or at least one you could live with.

Amtrak has an overnight trip for about $40, and many would just sleep on the train, saving one night of hotel costs.

You don't say where precisely you will be visiting, but Chicago in particular is huge and you may have an hour or two of city traffic between either airport, or the train station, and the school. So I would suggest including the leglet of your trip from your transportation terminus and where you actually want to end up. I know I attended a school nominally in Chicago (actually in a suburb well north of the city, so we had to drive through metropolitan traffic from Gary through Chicago and on to the school; after the first trip, my parents told me to take a bus.

rkkwan

I agree, it's not worth the trouble going far to take a plane. And I doubt there is a DAY-ORD/MDW non-stop anyways.

But from downtown Cincinnati, DAY is closer than LEX.

BTW, there's always Greyhound.

kswl

Greyhound! This trip is going to stressful enough without that

We'll arrive in Cincinnati on 4/1 and spend the day looking at the school and taking the generic UofC tour. The next day, 4/2, he will be meeting with people from his major area at the conservatory, taking a tour, looking in on classes, etc. I anticipate all this will be over by around 4 pm on 4/2. We will be staying at the Conference Center on campus, and it is a very short trip to the airport, where we would either pick up a car or take a flight.

The train leaves at 1:10 am for a 10 hour trip to Chicago.
We are due at Northwestern at 9:15 on 4/3 and obviously wouldn't make it by train.

The car issues are: drop off fee in Chicago (ranges from $128 to over $240) checking between all the usual suspects (Avis, Hertz, Dollar, Budget, Enterprise, etc. and through cars.com). Another worry is the weather---a spring snowstorm for someone inexperienced in winter driving.

I had thought to rent a car in Chicago regardless because we will be visiting DePaul's BFA program on 4/4 and then leaving late that night to fly home. DS2 needs at least one day to decompress before going back to school on Monday.

The entire schedule:

3/26 Fly to Pittsburgh
3/27 Tour CMU campus
3/28 Tour of Drama program CMU
3/29 fly to Boston
3/29 Emerson student performance in Boston
3/30 Emerson tour, info session, drama school roundtable
3/31 BU tour, info session, etc.
3/31 night fly to Cincinnati
4/1 General tour of UC
4/2 Meet with drama dept. UC
4/2 fly/drive/teleport to Chicago
4/3 Northwestern
4/4 DePaul
4/4 fly home

Because of the drop-off charges, the flight will only be about $50 more than the car rental. Renting a car in Chicago for the weekend is very inexpensive and we'd do it to shuttle between the hotel and two campuses. Right now I am at the point where I just want to do the absolute EASIEST thing. We are going to be whipped by 4/2---correction, <b>I </b> am going to be whipped by 4/2.

kswl

Sorry, that's CarRentals.com...

kswl

rkwan, I've just looked at fares from CVG to Las Vegas, NY, Kansas City, etc. that change planes in Chicago, and just can't seem to do better than $180. I don't know if I should go ahead and book the flights from CVS to ORD now or wait for a sale.

EmilyMB

CVG's airfare is incredibly up and down right now- a lot of the big companies here started requiring employees to fly out of other airports, which has spurred some pretty hefty price slashes. Not sure if it will go down in the next month for you, but it may.

We just did a one way rental using Alamo/National for $108/day with no other charges. Not sure if they came up on your search.

Personally, since the drive is THE most boring drive ever, I like the bus from Cincy-Chicago. MegaBus is nicer than Greyhound.

Enjoy your visit to UC- we live right near campus and are affiliated with CCM. Great school!

smalltowntraveler

Have you tried Megabus? I have taken it both ways - is about the same as driving and you can get a ticket for $10 if you book early.
Also you might want to look up smalltowngems.com for some small town ideas during your trip.

kswl

I am definitely going to look at megabus. Thanks, Emily and smalltowntraveler!

Emily, I really didn't know anything about UC until it became clear that our son was interested in conservatory training in musical theater. We had no idea that CCM at CU was such a powerhouse. He and I have been pouring over websites and material about all the different programs, and we've actually visited five already. So Far I am IN LOVE with the CCM website----it has more actual helpful information about the audition process than anything written anywhere. It is beautifully written and witty, we laughed while going over it and read it several times. The school provides plain answers to important questions and that's invaluable for parents who don't know the first thing about this process. And this may sound ridiculous, but the kids in the CCM website photos look happy... not onstage trying to look angular or indifferent or cool or trying to impress, they all just look like real kids having the time of their lives. It looks like the kind of place that would be life-changing and I hope it lives up to the website! The only other school that gave out that vibe---to DS, anyway---is Juilliard, but for different reasons.

SMT, will check out the "gems," also. Thanks!

andrews98682

I've heard good things about Megabus. If you're looking for another alternative to CVG, Columbus could work although it's a bit of a hike (about 90 minutes -- maybe more -- from Cincy). Also, you don't need a car in Chicago. It's easy to get to DePaul and Northwestern on the train.

rkkwan

What are the drop off fees if you drop off the car at CMH, SDF or IND? Southwest's one-way to MDW on 4/2 are $59.60 from either CMH or IND, and $58.10 from SDF. Yes, you're driving basically 1/3 of the way or more, but if you can return the car cheap at any of those airports, it may still make sense.

EmilyMB

I'm so glad UC sends those vibes just through the brochures! CCM is a very tight-knit community, students from all over with incredible backgrounds and great faculty. I've had season subscriptions to the musical theater productions before and have been very impressed. It's changed a lot since I was applying for college- 15 years ago- when outside of a couple of specialties like CCM, it was a more commuter school. It's a lot more competitive now and draws students from all over. I work out at the UC gym and see the tour groups come through sometimes.

Back to your travel plans... regarding the Columbus suggestions- that's a good two hours driving away since UC is more in the city, and CMH is on the eastern part of Columbus. The drive from UC (Clifton) to Chicago central is generally around 5 hours, and Columbus takes you further east out of the way.

I've flown for work before- loathe flying into O'Hare- and think it is about the same time as driving when you average in security, flying, O'Hare time/baggage, getting in to city, and your average delay. The other closest airport to UC- outside of CVG- is Dayton (DAY), about 60 miles due north, and there are non-stops from Dayton to Chicago.

dutyfree

Check out the Milwaukee Airport to see if there are any deals between the two cities-I use to fly between MKE and CVG as it was easier and sometimes cheaper than ORD. Its just another 40 minutes or less over the Wisconsin line. good luck!

smalltowntraveler

My oldest graduated from DePaul and the youngest from UC. Both schools were good to us and answered all questions throughout their stays. BTW that is why I used Megabus - it was actually about as fast as flying when you consider the drive to airport, parking, waiting the hour or more for the plane, and transit from the airport.
Any questions you have about either college could be answered by my sons through this site.

kybourbon

Indytravel uses Megabus often between Cincy, Indianapolis and Chicago.

Check Delta's website for specials from Cincy as they've been promoting discounts for the airport the last month or so. Dayton is a good option too.

kswl

Thanks, smalltowntraveler! I'm sure he'll have LOTS of questions after the visit.... we are really looking forward to Cincinnati. I hope it live up to our expectations. I was just so surprised that DS2 did not jump all over a few of the NYC schools I thought he would really like, that now I have taken off my Karnak hat and am out of the business of predicting how a teenage boy will react.

I'm still checking, kybourbon, I am on Delta's watchlist (That sounds like I am a criminal, lol) If I don't see something great soon I'll just book the megabus.

clevelandbrown

I'm starting to think that you don't have enough time between your last function in Cincinnati and your first at Northwestern to be very choosy. My son visited UC a decade ago and immediately struck it off his list as the campus was not very attractive (its strange what kids base their decisions on). I hope it has improved, as there was a lot of construction at the time. But it was in the city, and I suspect it will take some time to get from there to whatever terminus you select.

I think if you do not stay right at Northwestern, you may be fighting some heavy traffic to get to your early appointment.

I know a millenium ago, Northwestern had shuttle services between the airports, for example, and the campus.

My suggestion would be that you call that section of the admissions office that handles visitations at each school, explain your situation, and ask their advice. I'm sure they are familiar with the options, and have handled similar situations, and will be eager to offer assistance to impress a prospect. Their advice would certainly be more current than mine, and probably more suited to your situation than you would be likely to get on a forum focused on tourism, not that I wouldn't value the advice that has been posted here. When my son spent his Semester in Finland, the best advice he got was from the school office that handled such student activities.