I am traveling alone, one medium bag & a small carry-on. Taxi seems expensive. Is there train and/or bus transportation? The airport site suggests there is, but gives little other information. (like price...) I'll be staying at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago-Downtown, 40 East Grand Avenue. Suggestions on the best and most economical way to get there? Thank you all in advance!

When we were in Chicago we also stayed at the Homewood Suites.
One time we rode the subway-it is kinda complicated to come from the airport and the next time we just took the taxi. It is doable on the subway-just make sure you find out the exact train and stop.

Do you know if there is a place to get more info on the subway? I called the hotel and they gave me directions, but there is a change of train, which could be confusing.

You should have NO problem getting from Midway Airport to downtown Chicago. And, from there, getting to 40 East Grand should be a cinch.

There's only rail line at Midway: the Orange. Follow the signs (they'll be orange) to the transit stop. Buy a pass (several machines are there, and they take both cash and credit cards) for the amount of days you'll be in Chicago. Then ride the Orange Line (it only goes inbound from the Airport) to the "State" Exit. You're now downtown, four blocks from Grand Avenue. You can walk, take a cab (a LOT cheaper than from the airport), or use your pass to get on the Red Line. The latter transfer will be a little tricky, as the Orange Line is an elevated train and the Red Line is a subway. Just follow the signs.

You'll enter the Red Line at the "Lake" Stop. Head north towards Howard, and get off at the next stop, called Grand. You're now half a block from your lodging.

If you need a map of these train routes, check out

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets...tatrainmap.png

To expand on the above post. There are 2 types of vending machines at the MDW rail station. The tall chrome/blue machines sell pay-per-ride cards. The single fare is $2.25 for a train and $2.00 for a bus. You insert your money into the machine and it will put that value on the card. These machines accept only cash.

The shorter yellow machines sell 3-day passes. The passes are $14 and are good for 72-hours from the first use on all CTA buses and trains. The machine accepts only debit/credit cards.

If you're staying less than 3-days, you can purchase a 1-day pass (or 2 passes) at the currency exchange inside the airport for $5.75.

Follow the signs through the parking garage to the rail station. The trip to The Loop should take around 30-45 minutes.

Transfer at Roosevelt to the Red Line. This is a direct connection with elevators/escalators. If you transfer at State/Lake, you'll have to exit through the turnstile, walk down the stairs to the street, take another set of stairs to the subway and enter another turnstile.

The Grand station is under construction, so some stairways may be closed. Homewood Suites is one-block east. Bed Bath & Beyond is on the NW corner of Grand and State, so walk in the other direction toward the hotel.

If you want to get snacks or something to stash in your room, there is a Jewel Supermarket just north of the Bed Bath & Beyond in the same building.

CityLights is completely correct: ignore my advice about where to transfer and use CL's. It's been almost a year since I've used CTA (I only visit there), and I missed the most obvious transfer point.

I was just in Chicago and found the transit system very easy to navigate, and I am not a city girl. It just takes some advance planning. The folks here on Fodor's were extremely helpful and right on target. You can even go to the transit website and they have a link that allows you to type in your starting point and it will give you detailed directions to reach your destination on public transportation. We flew into O'Hare and took the Blue line to downtown. Then, we took a taxi from the station to our hotel. Since the taxi ride was not very far, it was less than $9.00.

Thank you all. I was just to Chicago and did this. The transit system was great and I did do the advanced planning on the transit website. The only problem - the stairs- getting to "the loop" was fine. However, the transfer at the loop which involved a lot of stairs and then getting up even more stairs to Grand Avenue was torture. I had a 35 pound bag - the elevators weren't working and it was quite an ordeal to drag my bag up the stairs while carrying a couple of other things! Someone later suggested to me taking a cab from "the loop"-- which might have been a better alternative. I made it, but I was wasn't sure I would! I was on my own, so a couple and/or someone who goes to the gym more than I do might find it OK!

Glad you enjoyed your trip Kathy, but where were the stairs when you transferred?

There will be an alternative to the stairs at Grand Avenue in about another year if you want to come back.

Hey! I know I am late into this conversation but this is exactly what I am planning on doing with my daughters in a couple of weeks. Can anyone tell me is it safe to just walk the 4 blocks to Grand Avenue? I will be traveling with my 6-yr old and 14-yr old daughters. I have not been to Chicago in years and while I am excitied, I am also hesitant. and is it then just a straight shot to the hotel? of which way do we go once on Grand Ave?

Yes, it's safe. As in any large city, you should always use common sense. There have been a couple high-profile robberies over the last few days where people lost electronics. So, your 14 y.o. shouldn't have her nose buried in her iPod or smartphone but should be aware of who and what is around her. If she has one, she would do best to keep it stowed out-of-sight.

The subway construction is ongoing, so some entrances to the station may be closed. When you reach the top of the stairs, Bed Bath & Beyond is on the NW corner and Weber Grill is on the NE corner of Grand and State. Homewood Suites is one block east of State.

Hi knitswithcoffee,
I work in the same building as this hotel - it's only 1.25 blocks from the Grand Station stop. Very lively, busy area, and generally quite, quite safe-feeling, but Citylights is correct: keep the electronics stowed. Seems to be what all the crooks are going after.

Once you come up from street level from the subway, look down at ground. At the top of the stairs, there's a tiled directional star pointing north, south, east and west. You want to walk east for that block.

If you have bags, and 3+ kids, I'd pop into a taxi from the loop (when you get off the Orange Line/Midway train), and taxi to the hotel. You can tell the driver "Grand and Wabash" and it'll likely only cost about $7-9 (maybe less).

You and the kids will love the area.

From both O'Hare and Midway, I always get off the train at the Lake/Clark Station as it has elevators and escalators which is helpful when you have luggage. It's aprt of State of Illinois complex and building. I would walk north to Grant myself but it is also a short taxi ride.

Thank you so much to all who replied! I feel better already. Can someone please tell me though is the State and Lake exit one in the same? Ride the orange line as far as she goes and get off at the last stop?

Yes - the State X Lake stop is the same/one stop - but it isn't the final stop. It's just one of the stops in the downtown loop. From Midway, take the Orange Line train "to the Loop." (This is the only train line at Midway.) Ride about 30-35 minutes from the airport to the city. This is an elevated train that will loop around the downtown area of Chicago. Get off at "State and Lake."
From here, you can either go down stairs/elevator/escalator to the street level (State Street), and go down to the subway and catch the Red Line train northbound "to Howard." And get off at Grand stop.
You can plan your trip here:
http://www.transitchicago.com/

Walking to your hotel is do-able if everyone's feeling energetic. It's a little under a mile - but a pretty walk over the river, past Trump Tower on Wabash. But if it's cool, rainy, dark - I'd pop into a taxi and just get there. You three can always walk from your hotel back across the bridge (gorgeous views here) to State Street later to explore the lovely Chicago Theatre, and State Street shopping.

There are two stops on Lake Street: State/Lake and Clark/Lake. They're referred-to by the compound names because lines meet while traveling in different directions. The Red Line travels along State and crosses Lake while the Orange, Brown and Green lines are traveling along Lake and cross State.

If you take the Orange Line to the last stop, you'll be back at Midway. The line begins at the airport and travels to the central city, then in a clockwise circle around downtown (The Loop), and returns to the airport.

The State/Lake stop has no elevators or escalators, so you'd have exit the turnstiles and carry your luggage down the stairs to street level. As a prior post says, if you don't want to transfer to the Red Line at Roosevelt, you'd do better to exit the at Clark/Lake which has escalators and hail a cab there.

Whoops! Listen to Citylights about the elevator vs. stairs! Sorry! They're both so close together, I mix them up.