lilaki

hi fodorites,

i need to get from the swissotel on wacker to ORD (terminal 2) for a sunday morning flight (8:30 am departure). as it's a flight to canada, i need to get to the airport by 7 am at the latest. FWIW, this is for sunday, july 5...not sure if the previous nights fesitivities will have any impact on this journey.

can someone guesstimate how long it would take to make this trip by taxi and how much it would cost?

my other alternative is to take a quick cab from the hotel to clark/lake and then hop on the blue line. i'd want to catch a train around 6 am so i'd need to leave the hotel by 5:45 am.

i'm thinking with a cab to the airport, i could leave the hotel at 6:30 am instead...

tks!

lilaki

djkbooks

Returning to ORD from a hotel downtown, we always have the bellman or front desk arrange a private car. Flat rate (same or less than taxi fare), drivers are much better, and cars (we've always had a Lincoln Town Car or similar) are cleaner and more comfortable.

Citylghts

Traffic at the hour would be minimal, so it would probably take around 40 minutes. A cab would be around $40 but I agree that a sedan would be a little nicer but I'm not sure of the cost.

lilaki

hi all,

tks for the responses i'll look into the private car service and we will chat with the concierge/front desk when we get there to determine the best way to get back to ORD...leaving at 6:15 by cab vs. 5:30 am by cab/L sounds very tempting!

lilaki

Citylghts

Forgot to mention. Be sure to check the CTA site for construction. On many weekends this summer there has been heavy maintenance on the Blue Line with shuttle buses replacing trains through the closed stations. It can significantly affect travel time.

Closures are usually announced on Wed or Thur for the weekends at www.transitchicago.com.

lilaki

hi citylights,

tks for the tip ... i was planning to check the website but i didn't know the closures were announced on wed/thurs ...

lilaki

simpsonc510

Yep, I second checking for construction closures. The last time I took the blue line we had to take a bus from one station to another. The trip in from OHare took about 30 minutes longer than I'd planned.

lilaki

eek...an extra 30 mins??? and the hassle of having to lug my bag off the train, onto a bus, and onto another train? forget it! i'll look into a shuttle upon arrival if the blue line is under construction/delayed.

tks!!!

Citylghts

The most recent construction zone has been between Western and Clark/Lake and involves six stations. There'd be only one transfer as you'd be boarding a bus at the Clark stop instead of a train and the bus would go to Western Avenue after stops at Grand, Chicago, Division and Damen. At Western, you'd transfer to the train. The station has elevators.

Citylghts

I hit submit before I added that it's entirely possible that the CTA would not perform construction on a holiday weekend when ridership would be much higher than normal. So, it may be wise to delay a decision until construction notices for that weekend are posted.

lilaki

hi citylights,

got it. i've bookmarked the transit site so i can figure out if there are any delays before i leave for chicago. and i'm also trying to figure out if i can get delay alerts sent to my blackberry. otherwise, we'll just check from the hotel's computers on saturday before we leave.

thanks!

taitai

One thing you should know is that Chicago does its fireworks on the 3rd of July, not the 4th. So all the real insane craziness will happen on Friday night, not Saturday.

lilaki

hi taitai,

yes - thank you. i'm aware of that and have built that into our itinerary.

tks!

dideo

Hi taitai

re your comments about fireworks: do u have any recommendations as to best location for viewing the fireworks. It is our first visit to Chicago and we are staying at Swissotel Water Tower.

lilaki

hi dideo,

check out citylights' response in this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...o-171717-2.cfm

also - have you requested a room with a view of grant park/millenium park? that might be one way of seeing the show from your room.

taitai

Wow. I have viewed them from all over. On a boat is fun but kind of crazy. We have viewed them from the yacht club which is fun. From Belmont beach. I would guess anywhere in Grant Park or close would be good. Just understand that it will be very crowded very early. Everyone will be in a good mood and it will be fun but it will be very crowded and crazy. Enjoy!