I’m writing this post just in case friends and family from Europe come and visit the US. A college friend with her daughter visited us last year. It was so much fun to connect again and show them around how we live here in the US! This was not a traditional “visit to the US” kind of thing, because, honestly, who would want to come and visit us in Iowa, right! But Destination Chicago, would definitely be a reason for Europeans to come and visit. Especially Dutch things you can do in Chicago or the Christkindl Market in Chicago or what to do if you bring your kids?

Chicago is one of our favorite cities in the US, not only because it is the closest to us, but it is also the 3rd biggest city in the US. That’s why you’ll find here more about “Destination Chicago”…Tahn-tahn-taaaa!

Chicago by Plane

Chicago’s O’Hare International airport is located about 18 miles north-west of Chicago downtown. It is a big airport, but the signs where to go are really clear at the airport. There are 5 terminals. Terminal 5 is the international one. From there you can choose to where you need to go. For example, if you need a hotel shuttle to your hotel, look for a dark red sign with Bus/Shuttle Center on it.

Rent a car

Maybe you reserved a car. It depends on the rental name, but these are easily to find too. You can rent a car online in advance. When you picked up your car, it can take you about 15-20 minutes by car to travel to downtown Chicago, but we are talking about Chicago here. Traffic jams can take up a lot of time, especially during rush hour. So, count on more than an hour.

Maybe you just drive to your hotel and have a good night rest, before exploring the US. And because Chicago is such a great city, explore Chicago first. Wait with the rental car, take the shuttle/bus to your hotel and take the subway down town the next day!

The Subway

The cheapest way to get into downtown is the subway, the Blue Line. There is a stop at the airport (see the end of the light blue line on the top left on the picture below).

The kids love to ride the CTA to downtown. There’s a lot to see.

You can buy a Ventra card, which you can use several times and load cash on the card to use. This is great if you’re going to stay more than 1 day and you don’t want to drive into the city.

A single card cost $3, which includes a $2.25 train fare + 25¢ (for up to 2 transfers within 2 hours) + 50¢ limited-use media fee.  Up to three children 44 inches tall and under ride for free on subways and local buses when accompanied by a fare paying adult.

I’m not so familiar with the bus system. We used it twice and I think you can use the Ventra card for the buses too.

Book a hotel.

We’ve noticed that a lot of nice hotels are cheaper near the airport than downtown. We use Hotwire a lot when we make hotel reservations.

Chicago by Train

The USA is a lot bigger than the Netherlands. In the Netherlands most train stations are always pretty close to where you live. The trains go about every 30 minutes. Where we live, here in the US, the train is luckily not that far away (20 min. drive). It is actually amazing if you think that that train is going from Chicago all the way to San Francisco, which is about a 3 day one way trip. So, the train comes once a day and is usually late;)

I think it is a convenient way to travel and not that expensive. Union Train Station is located downtown. BTW, if you are in Chicago in November or December, there is a German Christmas Market not too far from the train station.

It is not easy to travel from there to the airport or vice versa, but it can be done. The nearest Blue Line station to Union Station is “Clinton” ( I always hope we don’t have too much luggage with us. One time we came back from the Netherlands. I had the two oldest kids in a stroller and I was tagging along a carry-on bag as well. My husband took off is belt and tied 3 suitcases together). The “Clinton” Blue Line station is about 2 blocks away from Union Station.

If this is too much for you and your luggage, Lyft (download their app) or Uber are great options too. They can give you a ride within minutes and they’re less expensive than regular taxi cabs.

Chicago by Car

It is kinda scary to drive your car in downtown Chicago if you’re not used to busy streets, lots of people and honking taxi cabs. Fortunately Chicago doesn’t have a few thousand bicyclists, like Amsterdam!

If you have your own or rented car, the amount you need to pay for parking spaces can be scary. Recently someone told us to use the app “Spothero” to find cheap parking options. For example we looked on the map in “Spothero” where we wanted to go: for example “the Oak Street beach”. Then we clicked on the nearest and cheapest parking space. You can pay online and reserve a spot. You’ll receive a confirmation number by email or you can find it under reservations on the “Spothero” app and voila, DONE! It gives you directions and you show the confirmation number to the valet or park person and they’ll tell you what to do next.

Have fun in Chicago. Here you can find what you can do with kids in Chicago and here are Dutch things you can find in Chicago.

If you have some great tips and deals for traveling to and from Chicago, please let me know! It is always nice to travel comfortably…

Danielle

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.