mcqueeney449

I'm torn between saving time and saving money so I'm hoping for info specific to our arrival time. We are staying at the Marriott/Magnificent Mile. We have a flight to Midway this Friday arriving at 6:45pm. From what I've read we could take the El (am I spelling that right?), with a transfer at the State/Lake station to the Red Line, ending at the Grand Ave station with a short walk to hotel ... and it will take about 45 minutes. The $1.75 is attractive but we will also be hungry and ready for dinner. So the question is ... at that time of day on a Friday ... how much faster is a cab likely to be? Thanks in advance!

placeu2

Minimally faster if at all. Maybe even slower. You are spelling it right. It is short for Elevated. Take it over the cab.

swalter518

I agree. Take the El as you could hit traffic going into the city on a Friday night...if you are totally starving you can always grab a snack at the airport when you land.

mcqueeney449

Thanks! One more question ... is it fairly easy to transfer from the Orange to the Red line at State/Lake? The CTA website didn't factor in much time for making the transfer (in their trip planner) and I'm wondering how realistic that is. I remember one "transfer" in NYC that felt like we walked further than we would have if we just skipped the subway and walked the whole way!

Thanks again for the info!

indytravel

If you decide you want a snack make sure you grab it at the food court while still inside security. There's precious little outside security where you claim your bags.

swalter518

No, it's a pretty easy transfer ... I think it's a 2 minute at best if you have to walk that far (can't picture where the orange line comes in at the moment...)

JJ5

It's easy, just did it. The Orange Line is MUCH faster than the other lines, newer and few stops. Do not take a Cab as it will take you longer because of traffic.

mcqueeney449

This is why I love this forum ... never would have guessed a cab could actually be longer based on what I read at other sites ... plus I would not have guessed traffic to be an issue at that time. Thanks again!

bri19sp

You don't want to transfer at State/Lake those stations are not actually connected. It will be easier to transfer at Roosevelt.

patg

Or get off at State and Lake and walk north to the river and east to Michigan Avenue- about 5-6 blocks, the last one downhill. It's a beautiful walk, a great introduction to Chicago.

weimer

From a veteran traveler - take the cab. There will be no traffic on a Friday at 7PM. Transit will be 25 minutes. I'm an El fan but seeing that you are shooting for a dinner out, it's not worth the extra time and stress.

Bandero accross from the hotel has good food!

mcqueeney449

Hmmmm ... The CTA Trip Planner is saying to transfer at State/Lake ... but looking at the map it does look like Roosevelt is easier? Anyone else have comments on that? Do most Red line trains stop at Roosevelt (I know in New York you have to pay close attention to which trains actually stop at a station). If it were earlier in the day we might walk from State ... maybe on the way home. Anyone else agree with weimer on the cab/traffic issue for a Friday night? I'm probably overthinking this but we would like to squeeze in a nice dinner ... so many restaurants to try, so little time!

JJ5

It just isn't difficult. There aren't that many choices in the el at those locations as there are in NYC subways.

Also you seem to want to take the cab, so take it. About traffic, there is always traffic around Midway on Friday night. But it is probably a wash timewise if there are no Expressway backups, so go with what you are more comfortable with, and you would have "to the door"- but for a whole lot more money. You are not going to save an immense amount of time either way.

bri19sp

The thing that makes the "L" so nice is that it is reliable. You know almost for a certain that you will arrive 45 mins after leaving Midway. 60% of the time a cab may be quicker, but there will be those nights that you could wait in traffic for hours. Its just your risk prefference, as with anything in life.

Roosevelt will be a quicker and easier transfer, this transfer tunnel was recently built within the past few years and may not be recognized in the trip planner as a transfer yet.

Curt

Take the EL.....easy and reliable. Unless you are lugging tons of luggage that is

tuckerdc

A couple posts up contains the caveat (pro taxi) of "IF there are no backups." But that is such a big 'if' and never something you can call....Chicago expressway traffic can (and often is) a nightmare. So do opt for the el...but instead of taking the time and schlep to make the train transfer, or if you are carrying too much luggage for the walk that was advised, why not make life easy at the end and take a cab from the Loop to the Marriott?

flamingomonkey

Take the EL. Traffic is always awful until at least 7, if not later. Also transfer at Roosevelt. It'll be a lot quicker and easier than making your way around the loop to Lake, and I know you're in a hurry so you can do your sightseeing later. I live on the SW side and do this all the time. When you exit the train, you'll see row houses on one side and a Jewel supermarket on the other. When the Jewel is on your right, you'll be facing north. Go to the stairwell that is as far north on the platform as you can go. Then just go downstairs and don't go through the turnstiles on your right. Just keep going north and there'll be another stairwell a hundred feet away which will take you underground. From there it should be self explanatory, though if you get lost there are CTA employees wandering around who can help you out. Also, don't worry about train schedules, they come every 10 to 15 minutes.

peck_man

At that time a cab will take about 30 minutes. The El will take you 40 minutes with a 5 minute walk. El costs $1.75 a person while a cab will cost about $26 for two, not including tip. So, is 15 minutes worth about $25?

If you take the El, it is easier to transfer at Roosevelt. State/Lake has no elevator, just stairs. It can be a pain if you have a lot of baggage. An alternative would be to take the El to Clark/Lake and grab a cab to the hotel. Clark/Lake is a more modern station and you don't have to haul your bags down the stairs. It should be about a $6 fare from there.

mcqueeney449

Hi all - Just wanted to say we took the El ... Orange to Roosevelt then Red to Grand. Transfer was easy, trains are clean ... definitely the way to go if you don't have to much luggage. Thanks again!