Chicago Travel / Airport Pick up Advice

pryncess527

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 26, 2013
I'm meeting my mom & sister for a weekend in Chicago.
I'm driving in, they are flying into O'Hare None of us have ever been to Chicago.

We have rented an apartment in the Lakeview area.

Their flight lands at 7:00pm on Thursday night. What are their/our best options for getting them from the airport to the apartment?

Since I'm driving, I'm capable of just picking them up from the airport, but is there a better option? A friend of my mom mentioned them taking a train from the airport to some other area, and me picking them up there, but my mom was fuzzy on the details.
 
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Sums up my feelings on airport pickups (I have a mug with that quote on it).

I don't know Chicago well enough to be really helpful, but I've taken the train to/from Midway and it was really easy (and I don't remember it being terribly long). But, I tend to gravitate to public transit to/from airports where it works.
 


^^ That was my hope too -- to get them to take public transit AWAY from the airport and have us meet up somewhere more reasonable.
 
If you don't feel comfortable picking them up, they can follow the signs for the CTA Blue Line - it's right in the airport. The Belmont stop looks like it's closest to Lake View. Or they can Uber from there to the apartment.

They can also Uber from O'Hare directly to the apartment.
 
Yeah, I may have them Uber. We'll see. I was just intrigued by my mom's friend saying there is a common station/park for people to do this. I figured if it was so common, someone here would know more details. My mom's friend may be nuts ;p
 


The Kiss and Fly pickup/drop off is currently closed (temporarily). That may be what you're thinking about.

O'Hare does have a cell phone lot. When you get your bags, you call your pickup person, tell them what door you're at, and they pick you up in the third lane outside of baggage claim.

It's busy, yes, and you might have to drive around again, but it's not as bad as everyone makes out. I just got the feeling from your initial post that you didn't want to drive to O'Hare.

Info is found here: http://www.flychicago.com/ohare/tofrom/dropoff/Pages/default.aspx
 
Yeah, I may have them Uber. We'll see. I was just intrigued by my mom's friend saying there is a common station/park for people to do this. I figured if it was so common, someone here would know more details. My mom's friend may be nuts ;p

I suspect your mom's friend is correct. I simply don't know the answer about what the good pickup point would be. I can guarantee the answer is not driving to the airport. The airport itself isn't the real issue, it's the getting there and back I'd want to avoid.
 
I would just have them Uber to the apartment.

If the choices are either fight traffic at OHare (which I honestly don't think is really that bad of a setup - tons of signs and not very confusing), or find somewhere in between the airport and your apartment, I would pick the airport. But then you still have to get everyone to the apartment. Traffic between Ohare and downtown is pretty much terrible no matter what time of day or night, plus there are really almost only bad neighborhoods on the route you would be taking, so there isn't really anywhere to meet up. (at least in my opinion! I wouldn't stop anywhere on that route!)

Uber would be the easiest, or a cab. I usually take American Taxi to/from my house to O'hare for a flat fee of $35.00, but I think they only drive the suburbs, not inside the city limits. But there are several other reputable cab companies in Chicago that will take you from the airport to a downtown destination for a flat fee.

Uber is hugely popular in Chicago so your friends shouldn't feel uncomfortable at all using it for fear of safety or not getting to their correct destination ;)

The blue line goes from Ohare to Downtown, and it's probably OK to take, but you'd have to look at a map of the CTA EL lines to see how close it'll get you to the apartment. And they will have to schlepp their luggage with them on the train and up/down the station steps. Not sure how keen they are to do that!
 
The Kiss and Fly pickup/drop off is currently closed (temporarily). That may be what you're thinking about.

O'Hare does have a cell phone lot. When you get your bags, you call your pickup person, tell them what door you're at, and they pick you up in the third lane outside of baggage claim.

It's busy, yes, and you might have to drive around again, but it's not as bad as everyone makes out. I just got the feeling from your initial post that you didn't want to drive to O'Hare.

Info is found here: http://www.flychicago.com/ohare/tofrom/dropoff/Pages/default.aspx

I drive to the ATL airport a lot, so I wasn't worried about the airport itself, per se. I was trying to avoid driving around Chicago more than necessary. I wouldn't be driving at all but we are going to Notre Dame for the UGA game so we needed a car anyway.

Thanks for the tips. I may encourage them to take Uber
 
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I would not chose the CTA at 7:00pm or later. Re Crime/Chicago It's one thing if you're a native. Tourists with any kind of baggage might as well have a target on their back. Sad reality!
Either you should pick them up or Uber/Lyft it.
 
Have them uber to the apartment. The pick up area at O'Hare is a special kind of hell and if you aren't from the area it can be darn near impossible to pick someone up.
 
Uber/Lyft. I found the Uber pickup to be a little tricky to find at O'Hare but they can ask for assistance if need be. I would NOT be comfortable taking the train with my luggage in an unfamiliar city at 7pm, but that's just me.
 
If they land at 7pm on a Thursday night, I'd probably pick them up. You're probably looking at a 7:30 pickup time after they get luggage and get to the pick up spot. Traffic shouldn't be that bad at that time on a Thursday night. If it was Friday night or the weekend, I'd go with Uber.
 
I just compared the Uber estimate to the cost of having them picked up by private car, and the private car was shocking affordable (as low as $51 I don't demand a luxury car). I may spring for that, mom can't complain I'm not picking them up if she's got a driver waiting for her ;p
 

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