Chicago to Milwaukee?
My wife and I are flying to Chicago (1 week trip) from NC this July for a baseball/food tour we are making for ourselves. We recently added on a Brewers game for the trip since Milwaukee is only like 2 hours North of Chicago. The only thing we haven't figured out is how to get there and back. We weren't planning on getting a rental car at all for our entire trip, but might do it just for this one day. I was just wondering what others may recommend for the best/safest/cheapest way to get from N. Michigan Ave in Chicago to a Brewers game and back the same day (FYI the Brewers game is on a Thurs at 1:10p). Megabus? Rent a car for a day + pay for parking at the stadium? Train?
Also, if we rent a car, we'll probably have to pay an additional $30 to keep it at our Chicago hotel parking deck for 1 night (this is pretty crazy coming from NC).
Any recommendations/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
-Ron
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ken Lee (30/43) on
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Rental car... its the best way IMO. Done it a couple times, will be doing it again on April 21st with Chuck Booth and Bob DeVries. :)
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Permalink Reply by Ron Arslan on
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You've taken a rental car from Chicago to Milwaukee and back? Does Enterprise truly "pick you up"? Haha. That might save on having to take a cab to get there.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Choiniere on
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I took Amtrak 1 way when I went from Chicago to Milwaukee. But then picked up a rental car. Just to add another option.
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Permalink Reply by Paula Vaughnn on
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Have you looked at Amtrak?
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Hmm, I hadn't really thought about Amtrack.... Well I see that it can take you to the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Would I have to rent a car to get to the stadium or is there public transportation to the stadium? Meaning, is there a subway at the airport that would take us right up to the stadium (like for the Nationals or Yankees).
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You definitely need a car in Milwaukee. Everything is pretty scattered. I know Avis picks you up at the train station which is at the airport but not at the Terminals so you need transportation from the train station to where every you go.
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Good to know, thanks! I was looking at all of the routes and zooming in on the stadium with Google and I think we are just going to rent a car from Enterprise (which is just a few blocks from our hotel). We can just take a day trip and drop it off in their garage at night for no additional charge.
I appreciate all of the help everyone.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Logan on
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You may want to check with your hotel - often times they can take care of a one day car rental for you (hopefully that means you would avoid the overnight parking fee). We drove Chicago to Milwaukee for a game last summer and it was an easy drive. Enjoy! Cool park and friendly fans.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Wood (46 MLB) on
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Hi Ron,
This is the first time I've seen this message so hopefully you're still looking for ideas. Amtrak runs a line called the 'Hiawatha'; this runs exclusively between downtown Chicago and downtown Milwaukee several times througout the day. It's a two hour train ride, relaxing, and rather inexpensive for the convenience.
Union Station Chicago is about 2 blocks west of the Willits (Sears) Tower. It's either a cab ride away or a blue line/walk away. I'm 40 and in average health and the walk from the blue line is not a strenuous one.
Union Station Milwaukee is downtown but you will need to get a cab ride/bus ride out to Miller Park and back. There will be plenty of cabs available at Union Station and at Miller Park after the game. Most hotels in Milwaukee are downtown.
If you have any additional questions please let me know, and hopefully this will still be of help.
Jim
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I appreciate all of the feedback everyone. We had a blast in Chicago and Milwaukee! We decided to rent a car from Midway Airport and kept it for the final 2 days of our stay in Chicago. Our hotel actually had free parking (Best Western on Ohio St.) and we kept it at the hotel even after we checked out and walked around Chicago all day before finally driving to the airport for a late night flight home. The parking at the Brewers game was only around $10 if I remember right and it was a direct shot to the stadium. I highly recommend Sobelman's Pub & Grill just outside of the stadium. I saw it on Food Wars and decided to check it out. They have some pretty amazing burgers for sure!
I really enjoyed Miller Park but I wish it wasn't so hot. We were there during that crazy 4th of July heat wave week. I really imagined getting there and the dome would be closed with the A/C on. But apparently there is no A/C for the main area of the stadium, so the roof was wide open. I've never sweat so much in my life. Crazy. At least the stadium was beautiful and very up to date. Too bad there were only about 10,000 people at the afternoon game -- it would have been better if the fans got louder.
US Cellular Field and Wrigley were very fun as well. I don't know what was up with my Rangers getting swept by the Sox but it was still a great time and nice fireworks. *I do have a question about US Cellular Field though... Is there always an insane wait to get back going North on the red line after the game ends at night? I bet you the last people in line to board the train would have been there until the next morning. The line down to the trains went all the way up to the street. We eventually decided to hike it to the next line (green maybe?) and just took like 3 different lines back to the hotel. I think they were just having train issues that day as we also were stuck in one place for 45 min going south on the red line to get to the game. Ahhh the fun of public transportation.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Pritchard (29) on
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I went to The Cell during a Cubs/Sox game and had no problems with the trains at all. Best advice is to get a metro pass early. I bought a 3-day pass from CVS in the city and it cuts down on wait time. You can load your cards before you go into the game, but buying the day passes is a better discount and saves time. As for traveling to Milwaukee, I rented a car in the city and drove up, and I got free parking at my Milwaukee hotel. They shuttled us to the Brewers game, and the only place I paid to park was Discovery World. Chicago has higher rates for rental than some places, but it was cheaper than the airport and really convenient.
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There is a little bit of a logjam/wait to use the Red Line after the game. We usually wait around 30 minutes or so after the game and grab a bite to eat/drink so by then it dies down a little.
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