Chicago - Newbie wanting to go from downtown to O'Hare

Daughter just moved to Chicago so won't be able to help me with this. We are driving to my daughter's downtown apartment. The next morning (Monday approx 6am) our family of four will need to travel to O'Hare for a 9am international flight. We are going on a 7 day Alaskan cruise and then landtour so will have lots of heavy luggage. What will be the easiest way to get to O'Hare? I don't want to start our vacation off with my husband being stressed with getting there in time with tons of luggage. What's the fastest less stressful way at that time of morning on a Monday? Thanks so much.

The Blue Line takes abuot 45 minutes from downtown to O'Hare, but you will have to deal with the luggage. A cab is the next best option to avoid dragging the luggae across the parking lots/shuttle at ORD. 6 AM should not be too bad for traffic on the Kennedy, though I would not leave any later as traffic will get continually worse, I might even leave at 5:30, you can probably make it in 30 minutes at that time of day and give yourself plenty of time to relax at the airport.

Forgot to mention......we will have our car there. We can park it in a garage connected to daughter's apartment building for $22 per day. Should we try to drive it ourselves or get a cab? We're from a small town so I'm worried all the traffic and commotion might be a little too much for us.

What time do you want to arrive at O'Hare? (I'd personally arrive at 8 am, but not everyone likes to cut it that close.)

Where downtown does your daughter live?

There are 5 obvious ways to O'Hare:
El
Cab
Drive
Airport shuttle
Limo/car service

Comments on each:
1. El: In all likelihood, your daughter's apartment is not within walking distance of the El, so you'll probably have to take a cab to the El. The El itself is fast, but if you have a lot of luggage, you may have to struggle a bit with stairs, a long walk from the O'Hare El station to your terminal, etc.
2. Cab: If you have that much luggage, you may need 2 cabs and/or a minivan/SUV cab. You may want to call for such a cab, since you may otherwise have to wait a while to spot one on the street. Response times can vary when you call a cab, particularly when you're requesting a particular type of vehicle. Speed will vary on any car/limo/shuttle/cab depending on your exact departure time. Travel times from downtown should range from 40 minutes to ~70 minutes depending on whether you encounter rush-hour traffic.
3. Drive: I wouldn't recommend because of the stress factor. You'll still have to struggle with luggage between the point at which you park & the airport terminal. See notes above re. speed.
4. Shuttle: Slower than a cab/limo because it may make stops elsewhere downtown, but you won't have to worry about luggage capacity. See notes above re. speed.
5. Limo: Might be fastest door to door during periods of lighter traffic because you can schedule the exact time at which the limo arrives at your daughter's door. But see notes above re. speed.

Forgot to mention......we will have our car there. We can park it in a garage connected to daughter's apartment building for $22 per day. Should we try to drive it ourselves or get a cab? We're from a small town so I'm worried all the traffic and commotion might be a little too much for us.

O'Hare airport parking rates vary from about $8 a day (offsite) to $45 a day (short-term). Your other option is to book a room at one of the hotels near O'Hare, many of which offer free parking while you're on vacation. Then you won't have to worry about traffic, etc., before leaving on vacation.

What's the fastest less stressful way at that time of morning on a Monday? Thanks so much.

Drive to ORD Sunday night. Stay at the Hilton or similar./. Priceline is your friend.

$45 a day is only if you do the valet parking. Normal short-term parking is $31 (or $32?) a day.

Just take a cab. Leave by 5:45 and you'll be at the airport by 6:20, with lots of time to relax and amble through security. And if there is traffic (there won't really be traffic until about 6:15), then you'll have plenty of time. From the loop a cab to O'Hare is about $45 with tip. Call the night before and tell them you want a minivan cab. They always arrive about 5-10 mins before you tell them to.

I personally would choose to arrive at the airport at about 7:45 for a 9am flight if I didn't have status or access to priority security lines. In that case, I'd definitely take the train because traffic will be awful at that hour. But if you can't all carry your bags then don't take the train. In fact, if you can't carry your bags, you're over packing.

Daughter lives right in the business district on LasSalle. There is a train station right by her building but can't tell you which lines go from there.

My husband, youngest daughter and I will pack as conservatively as possible. The 25 yr old daughter doesn't know the meaning of the word. She will have to take care of it herself and if she goes over the weight limit she will have to pay it (yeah right).

Right now leaning toward calling the night before and ordering a mini van for 6am. Is there a certain company that I should use?

Thanks everyone for being so helpful.

Daughter lives right in the business district on LasSalle. There is a train station right by her building but can't tell you which lines go from there.

My husband, youngest daughter and I will pack as conservatively as possible. The 25 yr old daughter doesn't know the meaning of the word. She will have to take care of it herself and if she goes over the weight limit she will have to pay it (yeah right).

Right now leaning toward calling the night before and ordering a mini van for 6am. Is there a certain company that I should use?

Thanks everyone for being so helpful.

All the el lines go through that area.

You *should* be ok at 6am...worst case is it'll take an hour to get to the airport instead of 30 mins. Any of the cab companies is fine...Yellow, Checker, etc. On the rare occasions I call a cab (usually just flag them down at any hour), I call 312-TAXI-CAB. I think it's Yellow.

6 am, is just around rush hour (the "reverse commute" is actually worse than the commute into the city. Leaving any later will take more time. Personally I'd leave at 5:30 - that extra 30 minutes helps.

Your daughter lives in/near the Loop, so cabs are pretty much available 24-7.

For the $45 (remember you will pay $1.00 for first extra person and $.050 each for the others plus the $0.50 fuel surcharge and the $1.00 ORD fee), I would do that. Since there are four of you, you can (I give it a >90 delta) get by with one cab.

6 am, is just around rush hour (the "reverse commute" is actually worse than the commute into the city. Leaving any later will take more time. Personally I'd leave at 5:30 - that extra 30 minutes helps.


I'd concur the cab is the best option however IMO leaving at 6AM from downtown you're not going to hit hardly any traffic. Even if it takes 1:15 that puts you in to ORD at 7.15 which is more than enough time to check luggage and make your way through security.

Which airline are you departing on? You say "international", and some airlines use the domestic terminals for INTL departures, and some use the international terminal (T5). This makes a difference since to get from the Blue line to T5 involves another ride on the airport shuttle train (ATS), whereas you can walk to T1/2/3 from the CTA Blue Line station. If you're departing from T5 I'd absolutely opt for the cab since you'd need to add extra time (and transit with heavy bags), from Domestic I'd normally take the Blue Line, but at 5:30 or 6:00am ish the trains aren't as frequent as they are mid-day and can feel a little deserted and uncomfortable for those not used to the joys of the CTA.

What is the approximate cross street for LaSalle?? In the true central business district there are Blue Line stops for O'Hare that cross LaSalle (or come close) at LaSalle/Congress as well as Clark/Lake. As you go further North across the river you're talking about a transfer, which would also eat up lots of time.

The stations at LaSalle can be confusing since there is also a Metra (commuter rail) station there. The Metra station is UP and inside the CBOT building. The CTA Blue line station (the one you need for ORD) is DOWN and the entrances are actually on Congress and closer to Clark St. than LaSalle, one entrance on each side of Congress. There are only steps from the street, although there is then an escalator to the actual platform. You're looking at about 25 steps down. The station at Clark/Lake is a central transfer point and much larger and has elevators/escalators. In all cases the line you want is marked "O'Hare" since that is the end of the line in that direction.

My opinion? 6:00am, four people, outbound - take a cab. The other option would be the GO shuttle, which will pick you up at your door in the central business area, but with four people you'd pay as much or more than you'd pay for a cab.

Park and Fly rates seem like the best idea if your on a 7day expidition, you can also get a goods nights rest and not have to worry much about traffic on the way into ORD.

We are flying to Vancouver Canada via American Airlines. I think we've decided to take a cab. It will be a lot less stressful on my husband. Thanks everyone for all the great advice.

We are flying to Vancouver Canada via American Airlines. I think we've decided to take a cab. It will be a lot less stressful on my husband. Thanks everyone for all the great advice.

Your flight to Vancouver on AA will depart from Terminal 3 and your checkin and departure will feel like a domestic trip - no passport or border contral (expect a possible passport check as you board or when you check your luggage). Have a great trip!