My wife takes a limo to/from the Chicago airports all the time. She uses Luxury Limo of Orland Park. Never a glitch, delay, or problem of any kind. Can't say that about some of their competitors. (708) 460-8388

Go with the L and save the money to spend at one of our fantastic restaurants :)

I used to always take a cab but started using the train on recent trips. I like the train because of cost. I dont know that I like all the stops and if there is no traffic then I think a cab is faster but I typically arrive for weekends in Chicago on Friday evening so the traffic is pretty bad, train works well in that case because you will pass by a lot of stopped traffic at that time. The cost savings makes for a nice dinner. I personally dont find the limo's that nice. They arent much better than a cab, of course they dont cost much more than a cab either but nothing special about the limo for me.

If you're staying downtown/River North/Gold Coast/Michigan Avenue, you should either get off at Clark and Lake OR Washington and then get a taxi. You're looking at less than $10 total for the El downtown and then the taxi. If you're adventurous, then by all means, plan it out with the RTA planner at http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/.

Hi,

My family , a party of five adults , are staying in Chicago from 5-9 january arriving and departing from ORD.

I'm wondering the best way to get to from the Club on Wacker Hotel downtown- am weighing up a towncar or similar or a taxivan.

We are going skiing after this so will be packing a fair bit of baggage.

I am not sure that one taxivan will carry all of us so may need to prebook a towncar or dread the thought a limo.

Am I on the right track . If the taxi is not the way to go , can you please recommend good value options for towncars etc.

Sorry.. another Aussie piggybacking a question here...:D

Flying into ORD... heading out on the California Zephyr...

Would the L serve for that?

Jackson Blue Line stop is within a few blocks from the Union Station in downtown Chicago. You can walk or take a cab from there.

You could take a Metra train from O'Hare directly to the Union Station: take inter-terminal train to economy parking, then a shuttle bus to Metra's North Central Service. The schedule is very limited though (http://bit.ly/igNOoB - no weekend service at all), and is not really worth it, IMHO.

Enjoy the Amtrak ride across the US!

A typical taxi sedan isn't large enough, but some taxi services have minivans, which should be large enough and don't cost extra. I don't know if city cabs can be pre-arranged (so that you could request a minivan), or if you just have to wait for a minivan in a general taxi line.

I am not sure a single towncar would fit all of you + gear either, and a stretch limo might cost more than two cabs. Another option is Airport Express http://www.airportexpress.com/, but that might cost almost as much as two cabs, too.

Clinton Blue Line (one more stop) is even closer. You'll come out of the subway on Clinton under the Expressway, walk north 2 blocks and you'll see the great hall.

Clinton is closer but Jackson is a much prettier walk.

I'd hate for a visitor to Chicago to see only ORD, the Kennedy, and that dreary walk along Clinton to Union Station.

;)

Hey, you forgot about the blue line stretch along Milwaukee!

You can probably book an SUV through various car services -- I've used a driver with an Escalade if you're interested too, just DM me. -- I think it's around $75, which is more than a $30 cab but only slightly more than two cabs...