chasechow

Was just looking at this as an option to get to the highlights of the city. Looks like a great alternative to cabs, buses, the El, etc.

What do you think?

FainaAgain

$5 daily pass on buses and el. $25 hop-on till 5pm only.

Did you see there a free trolley? So, free trolley + $5 pass IMO gives you more flexibility.

JJ5

The on/off trolley is free, but I must tell you that in summer peak it is crowded. But if you are not in a rush, you'll get there.

Once we caught one with a driver who gave us a running narration on the changes of things (businesses/buildings) we had passed. I liked that.

But they only can take so many people, and do know that they are crowded.

If you are going to stay LOOP/ Michigan Ave/ River North, I really wouldn't go for any $25 category. Most highlights for tourists ARE downtown.

The free trolley has a very limited range of stops, you know. Check out CTA for the entire City of Chicago.

lincasanova

i doubt you will even need the $5.00 passes.
with two buses a day, i would think you can cover most of the rest by foot.

the free trolley goes at least as far as the planetarium, in fact, i think it goes even further, and covers a good part of the downtown shopping area.

definitely not worth the $25 pass IMHO.

we never even stay in the city, and coming in from Oak Park, with a transfer from the "el" and one more bus ride we usually cover what we have decided to visit with no problem, but we DO walk a lot.

taxis didn't even seem that expensive .

chasechow

I'm sorry, I' didn't even realize that there was a free trolley. I was talking about this one

http://www.coachusa.com/chicagotroll...productId=1063

Supposedly, you can buy a pass and do the whole narrated tour or hop on/off at any of the designated areas.

chasechow

The downside as FainaAgain said, it only runs until 5, so then we would still be back to busing it, trains, etc., although we could arrange things so that we are in an area where we could hang out, catch some good food, listen to some good music or just walk around unitl we catch the Metra back to our hotel (we are staying in Deerfield)

jlm_mi

If the trolley tour interests you as a tour, then go for it. If you want it as transportation, you'll be wasting your money. As said, Chicago is a very walkable city, and public transport is easy to use and cheap. You can see just as much from a city bus as from a tour bus, just without the commentary.

chasechow

Thanks JLM. I've really been wondering about how walkable the city was. I know we want to go to the Field Musuem, the Mag Mile, the art museum and that water front.

It's just the city sounds SO SPREAD OUT, I was getting the impression from some posts that these areas were miles and miles apart from each other.

indytravel

I walked Chicago a lot in the early 90's. Of course Chicago is like any major city. It sprawls for miles.

However what you want to see isn't that bad. From the Field Museum to the very north end of the Mag Mile is a little over 2 miles. Grant Park with the aquarium, the Art Institute, the Loop, Navy Pier and all of the Mag Mile are in that 2 miles.

jlm_mi

I was just going to post the same thing as indytravel about distances. There is plenty to see outside of that 2 miles, but the tourism trolleys won't get you to those sites anyway.

The city's free trolley's are good for getting you to some out-lying areas if the walk is too far (Sears Tower, Navy Pier, Museum Campus, Lincoln Park Zoo), and it's definitely worth having a look ahead of time at the el/bus maps at www.transitchicago.com

lincasanova

just a warning about the free trolley.

you must tell the driver where you are going.
he will not be a tour guide.He will not comment on the buildings.

and he will not let foreigners ( or anyone else who doesn´t understand or answer his question correctly) on the bus when he asks "wher ya goin?", if they do not tell him a destination on his route.

he will then tell them "this is not a tour bus"..

an arab family last august did not quite understand this question and just did a "circle around" motion with their hands and were denied boarding.

I spoke up and got no support from other passengers and mumbled about it until i got off.
i was pretty embarrassed by this attitude.

so... decide where you are going next as this city service must have gotten grief from the hop on/off tours.

Carp

After reading the posts...what is your take on the trolley if travelling with 2 pregant girls (one with 2 broken toes), 9 year old and 62 year old with bad knees...Since I live here, I can see downtown anytime, but not sure the others will get back to visit. Would like to see the city and thinking a lot of walking will not work very well. Would the trolley be worth it? $22/per adult

FainaAgain

How can you get to a trolley stop to start your day? to get home or to the hotel from a trolley stop?

I still advise a daily pass, or a pass for the length of stay.

I had a 3-day pass, and used the underground only once - plan to use buses. 2 reasons: you don't want to see if there is an elevator, and you want to see the city out of a bus window at least!

lincasanova

carp.. maybe this is the time to splurge on a taxi ..a spin around downtown and then he drops you at hancock to go up and have a drink.

go to a few key places, and one day take the free trolley to the furthest place, and plan from there.