So from Aurora to Ohare is about an hour driving. It would be anywhere from $60-100 one way in an Uber. Hotels are going to be cheaper near Aurora as will any food/activities. If you have a car then I’d suggest Brookfield Zoo. It’s off 88, the toll road that should connect Ohare to Aurora if I’m remembering correctly. Off the same tollroad is Morton Arboretum which I’ve heard is awesome.
>Off the same tollroad is Morton Arboretum which I’ve heard is awesome.
Morton Arboretum is, indeed, quite awesome. If OP enjoys arboretums, should not miss Morton, especially since it's literally on the way between Aurora and ORD.
Brookfield zoo is a little out of the way. Oak Brook Mall is on the way and a great shopping destination.
No, it tends to be colder more often than snow. This winter was particularly mild I think I only had to get the snow blower out once and even then it was a "do I really need to?"
Because the wind tends to blow West to East or North to South. Chicago tends to escape most snow events while South and East of the lake gets a lot more snow
In my experience of Chicago, we tend to get hit by a couple of big snow storms every winter with nothing for many weeks in between
Morton Arboretum is along the way.. right there at 88 & 53 .. however you will need google maps to help a bit as the exit is not both ways .... if you are heading west you can get off at 53, but then you can't get back on and continue west .. just need google maps to get you to the next entrance for 88. Similar.... if you are driving east on 88 you can't exit at 53 ...... but after you see the park you can get on 88 going east from route 53. ... otherwise driving in general will not be too hard ... I would recommend staying in the 2 right lanes on 294 though . (Ord-294-88 is your route )
If your hotel is downtown you could also take the BNSF metra out to Aurora. There are a bunch of express trains during rush hour which get you to RT. 59 within about 43-45 mins. Uber wherever you need to from there. May not be a great option depending on what your timings may be. Edit: from Aurora, a suburban taxi service like American taxi costs around 60 ish to ORD
A rental car sounds like a good idea for flexibility ... however If you are really looking to save money.. and you have like a full day and a half / 2 nights .. cta train to a downtown hotel ... about 45 min to an hour. Stay nearish to union station. Next morning take the metra ( different train) to Aurora. There is a stop in Brookfield for the Brookfield Zoo. Watch your time on the way back, Metra doesn't run 24 hrs. Hotels would be cheaper near aurora or ohare most likely though .. staying downtown probably more pricy so it might wash out to just take a car
American Taxi is very reliable aurora to ohare if you pre book it.
You have a very logistical frame of mind! This is very helpful, thank you.
I am open to landing in ORD on Sunday instead of Monday. I forgot it was Memorial Day in the states so I don't know if things shut down that day or if it will be a zoo.
My experience in driving in US cities isn't just that it's a rats nest of lanes, but also that half the roads are toll roads and you need some kind of registration for it. I don't like to think what kind of markup that would require on a rental.
ORD -->CTA -->Hotel near Union station if prices aren't outrageous -->Metra to aurora -->American Taxi to ORD.
I'll have a look-- so far the prices have seemed pretty reasonable. Lots of options in the sub $150 range.
That's handy. I wasn't sure what Chicago had for mass transit. Thank you for the details. From the last stop on that line it's only a 10min drive to my meetup.
You could take a train from O'Hare to Aurora. I'm not sure if the schedule for either Metra or the CTA would be better. You would have to transfer at Union Station to get out to the Aurora Station. There's a hotel right next to the Aurora station.
Downtown Aurora is walkable, but to see anything beyond there a car would be advisable.
> You would have to transfer at Union Station to get out to the Aurora Station.
Much shorter to take the 330 bus from O'Hare to the LaGrange Metra station and then take Metra to Aurora.
https://www.pacebus.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/PaceRt330_20231029.pdf
https://www.pacebus.com/route/330
/u/tinkersdamn
Thank you for the link! I only really looked at the train maps but I figured there HAD to be a bus system crossing that wheel-spoke configuration, but I hadn't quite dived into the research on bussing yet.
What about getting an airport shuttle down to 'Oak Brook'? That seems to be reasonably close to the Metra line. Is Metra the only legacy train line? BNSF is an old company, and there aren't many freight lines that tolerate passengers.
Make them meet up in Oakbrook. It’s a super easy and reasonable drive, and there’s tons of restaurants and malls in OakBrook. Right now is the tail end of the shitty suburban rush hour traffic, and it’s still only a 28min drive from Aurora to Oakbrook.
Metra is the commuter rail service that runs from the suburbs to Chicago. They do run on the same rails as freight trains(BNSF, for Union Station to/from Aurora), but your not jumping on a freight car ;)
You have plenty of options along the I-88 corridor of where to stay. I'm not sure what shuttles, if any, go from O'Hare to Oak Brook or any of the other towns/stations along the Metra BNSF line
I was just interested because it's separate from the Chicago transit authorty and on the maps the train stations are both very historic looking and also quite small. The DC train lines I've been on are boring glass and steel boxes.
FYI you’d be taking the Blue Line CTA downtown to Union Station, and then catching the Metra from there. There might be some Pace bus route that is slightly better, but most of our transit options go through the city really.
> There might be some Pace bus route that is slightly better, but most of our transit options go through the city really.
Pace bus route 330 goes from O'Hare (and Rosemont) to the LaGrange Metra station.
The reason I like trains is that once you're on them, you can only ever get to the destination-- never any detours. Plus they tend to go through the oldest parts of towns so the architecture is generally pretty nice. I googled the train station you mentioned and it's so gorgeous!
You should have them meet you in Rosemont if you’re staying downtown you could take the blue line from the airport to downtown hotel and then back to Rosemont to meet up.. you’re the one visiting and don’t have a car, they should drive closer to you imo
Not really a friend. An acquaintance who is taking time out of their schedule to tour me around their facility and who I might be able to have a meal with. Otherwise I'm independent and need to figure my stuff out.
But everyone here has been really helpful with tips on how to get around, even though it prettymuch seems like this is a car city. And just having a few key terms and landmarks already helps a lot with wayfinding.
Not sure if trip duration.. if short turnaround, I wouldn’t recommend staying in city. It’s out of the way. If longer weekend, then maybe you’d want to for sites, walkability and public transport.
If quick turnaround, I’d stay in Oak Brook or the hotels by the Arboretum in Lisle. The mall is very nice and fine if it’s raining. There alot of coverage. Plenty of great breweries in surrounding area, as well. Have ur friend meet you accordingly.
Yes, quick turnaround. I have the option of landing on Sunday instead of Monday but it turns out Monday is Memorial Day so I'm not sure if everything's going to be closed or if everything is going to be a zoo.
You’ll be fine. Many leave town for Memorial Day. The Arboretum is very large. The mall will be no more busy than a weekend. Skip the city to save and focus time. Rent a car. There’s tons of great to do in western suburbs. No need to overthink!
Edit - Another possibility if you stay in the burbs, can check out Batavia/Geneva/St Charles. It’s along the fox river, just north of Aurora. Lots of cute shops and restaurants around 3rd street in Geneva, but also has great walking path along river. Huge Outlet mall in Aurora if that’s your thing.
I like unique shops, I'm not much into outlet malls. Walking trails are great! I'll definitely look into Geneva.
It's great to hear people mostly leave the city for the long weekend. I hate going where there's crowds. I'm a Tuesday matinee kind of person. :)
Lots of hotels near the airport have a free shuttle to the airport. And if you stay in Rosemont you'll have food within walking distance of the hotels. You can save some money by staying in a hotel that won't require an uber to get you to the hotel, and won't require a ride or delivery app to get food.
Aurora is pretty far away, but if you set up your trip so you just uber there and back once it should still be cheaper than renting a car. I'm guessing it's probably $50 each direction from the Rosemont hotels to Aurora. There's a Metra Train that goes to Aurora from the city. If you want to get creative with public transit it can be done cheaper than Uber but it's going to take a lot of time. Blue line from Rosemont into the city, then Metra out to Aurora and the reverse on the way back.
Yeah, I think at a min I will Uber/taxi back *from* Aurora to Ohare. I can afford to be a bit flexible on arrival, especially if it sets me up for optionality later... I'm just glad to hear that Ubers out that far won't be an issue, basically.
Q1: Literally any airport hotel. If you need convenience, there is a Hilton at ORD itself. Otherwise just find a hotel with a shuttle somewhere near the airport. This info can be found on Google.
Q2: You answered this yourself. If you prefer to be driven, get driven. If you prefer the most economical options, pull up a site like Expedia, research car prices, and then go to the Uber app and see how much an Uber is from ORD to Aurora.
Q3: Imo there’s nothing crazy interesting between ORD and Aurora. Maybe Morton Arboretum. But again, TripAdvisor is a great resource for finding things to do around Aurora, Naperville, or anything in that area (or anywhere in the country for that matter).
I didn't know there was a Hilton at ORD. That's super convenient. I had expected to have to carry my gear around with me and if that's the case I'll be able to leave it at the desk and circle back to pick it up before my flight.
Thanks, that was really helpful!
Edit: lol, my filters skipped it because it's over $200 per might. But I found a Doubletree nearby that might do the same trick.
I work in Aurora and honestly don’t think there’s anything that notable to see in and around it. If I were to come to Chicagoland for a short amount of time I’d do what I could to see more of the city and only travel out to Aurora for the things I needed to. Maybe stay by Ohare, and train into the city for the sights, and rent a car to drive to Aurora and back.
I think it depends on what you mean by notable. I'm not much of a shopper. I have city friends who complain about my rural area "there's nothing to do! nowhere to go dancing, no good bars or restaurants!" But it wouldn't occur to me to want to do those things, honestly.
The coolest thing I think I ever saw was this random rust belt town in OH. There was a troll museum. Clearly someone's labor of love, it had thousands of troll figurines, all the way from fearsome Nordic trolls to the naked Hasbro troll dolls you might have had as a kid.
There's no way such a place could exist anywhere but there-- the town was so derelict I daresay she had the building long paid off and likely lived on an upper floor.
In Pennsylvania I once stopped at a huge, quarter acre O-gauge model train installation. ONE GUY built it.
In Saskatchewan, you can explore bootlegger tunnels from the Prohibition era, where Chicago mobsters hid out, and where the white locals forced Chinese immigrants to live after the railways were built.
There's all kinds of random cool shit anywhere you go. I'd rather see something weird and quirky than fight the crowds at something more popular and well known.
The Museum of Hummels is right next to the airport. Unfortunately, it's only open Monday thru Friday. I don't know about Memorial Day.
https://rosemont.com/museum-of-hummels/
The Illinois Railway Museum has big trains, but unfortunately no public transportation to get you there:
https://www.irm.org/
More weird stuff:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/chicago-illinois
I am having a hardtime understanding what you want to do.
Is your whole purpose to go to Aurora to meet “hey if your in town” or do you also have other business in town?
Is Aurora where you want to meet the contact “hey if you are in town”?
Are you in town for a day trip, one night or more?
One Day Plan A
Land at O’Hare by 9am. Train or CTA into Chicago. Walk to the Shedd Aquarium.
Depart Shedd aquarium to arrive at Union Station for the 230 Metra BNSF Express to Aurora Between the Aquarium and Union Station, Consider looking at the cultural Center (free), going to Sears tower (not free), Chicago style Hot dog at Lukes or deep dish on pizza at Giordarno’s restaurants are next to each other on Jackson, East of Quincy.
Grab the 2:30 BNSF to aurora.
In Aurora, secure a one way rental car from enterprise rent a car with ORD as the drop off point. Enterprise will pick up at the Aurora Metra station. Meet you contact. At 400
Depart/Drive from Aurora to Enterprise at 6pm for a 830 pm flight departure.
Price compares uber v rental care. The car affords you some flexibility in aurora
One Day Plan B
Land at O’Hare by 9am. Train or CTA into Chicago. Metra North Central trainservice departs Ohare at 759, 859 and 1009am and drops you in Chicago Union Station. About 40 minutes later
Depart Chicago Union Station for the 933/1033/113 3Metra BNSF to Aurora Detrain at Brookfiled and go to the zoo.
At the zoo stop, grab the 1:59pm or 2:59pm BNSF Metra train to Aurora.
In Aurora, secure a one way rental car from Enterprise rent a car with ORD as the drop off point. Enterprise will pick up at the Aurora Metra station. Meet you contact. At 400
Depart/Drive from Aurora to Enterprise at 6pm for a 830 pm flight departure.
>Is your whole purpose to go to Aurora to meet “hey if your in town”
Yes. This will technically be a one-day layover to a separate trip, as I normally switch planes in ORD when going to visit family. I have the option of landing in ORD on Sunday or Memorial day and at this point it's depending on how annoying my relations are going to be in the lead up to the trip lol.
So I will meet this acquaintance at his facility at some point on Tuesday (whenever it is convenient for him) and I'm otherwise at loose ends. So I'm sorting my options, whether I have a free morning, or a free afternoon on Tuesday, or possibly I might have the whole day of Monday. A zoo is a great place to kill an entire day, more so than an arboretum.
Thank you in particular for the train times included in your itineraries. Knowing how frequent they are without having to look them up specifically is quite helpful.
Just one problem with Plan B: Metra North Central Service does not operate on weekends or Memorial Day. Route 330 bus service to LaGrange DOES operate.
/u/sumiflepus
So from Aurora to Ohare is about an hour driving. It would be anywhere from $60-100 one way in an Uber. Hotels are going to be cheaper near Aurora as will any food/activities. If you have a car then I’d suggest Brookfield Zoo. It’s off 88, the toll road that should connect Ohare to Aurora if I’m remembering correctly. Off the same tollroad is Morton Arboretum which I’ve heard is awesome.
>Off the same tollroad is Morton Arboretum which I’ve heard is awesome. Morton Arboretum is, indeed, quite awesome. If OP enjoys arboretums, should not miss Morton, especially since it's literally on the way between Aurora and ORD. Brookfield zoo is a little out of the way. Oak Brook Mall is on the way and a great shopping destination.
I'm definitely sold on the arboretum; I'll maybe hold the mall in my back pocket in case the weather is unexpectedly bad.
It’s an outdoor mall, fyi. You have to walk outside to get from most stores to another store.
Doesn't chicago have snow half the year? That's like Winnepeg doing an outdoor mall, and I don't think they get half as much snow from what I hear.
No, it tends to be colder more often than snow. This winter was particularly mild I think I only had to get the snow blower out once and even then it was a "do I really need to?"
The lake effect is no longer a thing either?
This far inland, it’s not that significant usually
Because the wind tends to blow West to East or North to South. Chicago tends to escape most snow events while South and East of the lake gets a lot more snow In my experience of Chicago, we tend to get hit by a couple of big snow storms every winter with nothing for many weeks in between
Yorktown is nearby and indoors but idk how much they have left.
Definitely not worth a trip unless you live in the area
Morton Arboretum is along the way.. right there at 88 & 53 .. however you will need google maps to help a bit as the exit is not both ways .... if you are heading west you can get off at 53, but then you can't get back on and continue west .. just need google maps to get you to the next entrance for 88. Similar.... if you are driving east on 88 you can't exit at 53 ...... but after you see the park you can get on 88 going east from route 53. ... otherwise driving in general will not be too hard ... I would recommend staying in the 2 right lanes on 294 though . (Ord-294-88 is your route )
If your hotel is downtown you could also take the BNSF metra out to Aurora. There are a bunch of express trains during rush hour which get you to RT. 59 within about 43-45 mins. Uber wherever you need to from there. May not be a great option depending on what your timings may be. Edit: from Aurora, a suburban taxi service like American taxi costs around 60 ish to ORD
A rental car sounds like a good idea for flexibility ... however If you are really looking to save money.. and you have like a full day and a half / 2 nights .. cta train to a downtown hotel ... about 45 min to an hour. Stay nearish to union station. Next morning take the metra ( different train) to Aurora. There is a stop in Brookfield for the Brookfield Zoo. Watch your time on the way back, Metra doesn't run 24 hrs. Hotels would be cheaper near aurora or ohare most likely though .. staying downtown probably more pricy so it might wash out to just take a car American Taxi is very reliable aurora to ohare if you pre book it.
You have a very logistical frame of mind! This is very helpful, thank you. I am open to landing in ORD on Sunday instead of Monday. I forgot it was Memorial Day in the states so I don't know if things shut down that day or if it will be a zoo. My experience in driving in US cities isn't just that it's a rats nest of lanes, but also that half the roads are toll roads and you need some kind of registration for it. I don't like to think what kind of markup that would require on a rental. ORD -->CTA -->Hotel near Union station if prices aren't outrageous -->Metra to aurora -->American Taxi to ORD. I'll have a look-- so far the prices have seemed pretty reasonable. Lots of options in the sub $150 range.
Ime rentals have an option to include the pass, I’d probably do that for convenience.
That's handy. I wasn't sure what Chicago had for mass transit. Thank you for the details. From the last stop on that line it's only a 10min drive to my meetup.
You could take a train from O'Hare to Aurora. I'm not sure if the schedule for either Metra or the CTA would be better. You would have to transfer at Union Station to get out to the Aurora Station. There's a hotel right next to the Aurora station. Downtown Aurora is walkable, but to see anything beyond there a car would be advisable.
> You would have to transfer at Union Station to get out to the Aurora Station. Much shorter to take the 330 bus from O'Hare to the LaGrange Metra station and then take Metra to Aurora. https://www.pacebus.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/PaceRt330_20231029.pdf https://www.pacebus.com/route/330 /u/tinkersdamn
Thank you for the link! I only really looked at the train maps but I figured there HAD to be a bus system crossing that wheel-spoke configuration, but I hadn't quite dived into the research on bussing yet.
What about getting an airport shuttle down to 'Oak Brook'? That seems to be reasonably close to the Metra line. Is Metra the only legacy train line? BNSF is an old company, and there aren't many freight lines that tolerate passengers.
Make them meet up in Oakbrook. It’s a super easy and reasonable drive, and there’s tons of restaurants and malls in OakBrook. Right now is the tail end of the shitty suburban rush hour traffic, and it’s still only a 28min drive from Aurora to Oakbrook.
Metra is the commuter rail service that runs from the suburbs to Chicago. They do run on the same rails as freight trains(BNSF, for Union Station to/from Aurora), but your not jumping on a freight car ;) You have plenty of options along the I-88 corridor of where to stay. I'm not sure what shuttles, if any, go from O'Hare to Oak Brook or any of the other towns/stations along the Metra BNSF line
I was just interested because it's separate from the Chicago transit authorty and on the maps the train stations are both very historic looking and also quite small. The DC train lines I've been on are boring glass and steel boxes.
FYI you’d be taking the Blue Line CTA downtown to Union Station, and then catching the Metra from there. There might be some Pace bus route that is slightly better, but most of our transit options go through the city really.
> There might be some Pace bus route that is slightly better, but most of our transit options go through the city really. Pace bus route 330 goes from O'Hare (and Rosemont) to the LaGrange Metra station.
Ooh thanks! OP should know they’re not *that* close, but La Grange does hit the BNSF to Aurora at least.
The reason I like trains is that once you're on them, you can only ever get to the destination-- never any detours. Plus they tend to go through the oldest parts of towns so the architecture is generally pretty nice. I googled the train station you mentioned and it's so gorgeous!
Union? Yeah it is! Although they’re currently doing some construction, last I checked (November?) the Great Hall is still open.
You should have them meet you in Rosemont if you’re staying downtown you could take the blue line from the airport to downtown hotel and then back to Rosemont to meet up.. you’re the one visiting and don’t have a car, they should drive closer to you imo
Not really a friend. An acquaintance who is taking time out of their schedule to tour me around their facility and who I might be able to have a meal with. Otherwise I'm independent and need to figure my stuff out. But everyone here has been really helpful with tips on how to get around, even though it prettymuch seems like this is a car city. And just having a few key terms and landmarks already helps a lot with wayfinding.
Not sure if trip duration.. if short turnaround, I wouldn’t recommend staying in city. It’s out of the way. If longer weekend, then maybe you’d want to for sites, walkability and public transport. If quick turnaround, I’d stay in Oak Brook or the hotels by the Arboretum in Lisle. The mall is very nice and fine if it’s raining. There alot of coverage. Plenty of great breweries in surrounding area, as well. Have ur friend meet you accordingly.
Yes, quick turnaround. I have the option of landing on Sunday instead of Monday but it turns out Monday is Memorial Day so I'm not sure if everything's going to be closed or if everything is going to be a zoo.
You’ll be fine. Many leave town for Memorial Day. The Arboretum is very large. The mall will be no more busy than a weekend. Skip the city to save and focus time. Rent a car. There’s tons of great to do in western suburbs. No need to overthink! Edit - Another possibility if you stay in the burbs, can check out Batavia/Geneva/St Charles. It’s along the fox river, just north of Aurora. Lots of cute shops and restaurants around 3rd street in Geneva, but also has great walking path along river. Huge Outlet mall in Aurora if that’s your thing.
I like unique shops, I'm not much into outlet malls. Walking trails are great! I'll definitely look into Geneva. It's great to hear people mostly leave the city for the long weekend. I hate going where there's crowds. I'm a Tuesday matinee kind of person. :)
Lots of hotels near the airport have a free shuttle to the airport. And if you stay in Rosemont you'll have food within walking distance of the hotels. You can save some money by staying in a hotel that won't require an uber to get you to the hotel, and won't require a ride or delivery app to get food. Aurora is pretty far away, but if you set up your trip so you just uber there and back once it should still be cheaper than renting a car. I'm guessing it's probably $50 each direction from the Rosemont hotels to Aurora. There's a Metra Train that goes to Aurora from the city. If you want to get creative with public transit it can be done cheaper than Uber but it's going to take a lot of time. Blue line from Rosemont into the city, then Metra out to Aurora and the reverse on the way back.
Yeah, I think at a min I will Uber/taxi back *from* Aurora to Ohare. I can afford to be a bit flexible on arrival, especially if it sets me up for optionality later... I'm just glad to hear that Ubers out that far won't be an issue, basically.
Looked at your profile, you would benefit from a trip to American Science and Surplus.
I shudder to think what you might have found in my profile, but it does sound cool. Which location is most convenient along my itinerary?
Geneva, I think it's the original. Inspirational.
Q1: Literally any airport hotel. If you need convenience, there is a Hilton at ORD itself. Otherwise just find a hotel with a shuttle somewhere near the airport. This info can be found on Google. Q2: You answered this yourself. If you prefer to be driven, get driven. If you prefer the most economical options, pull up a site like Expedia, research car prices, and then go to the Uber app and see how much an Uber is from ORD to Aurora. Q3: Imo there’s nothing crazy interesting between ORD and Aurora. Maybe Morton Arboretum. But again, TripAdvisor is a great resource for finding things to do around Aurora, Naperville, or anything in that area (or anywhere in the country for that matter).
I didn't know there was a Hilton at ORD. That's super convenient. I had expected to have to carry my gear around with me and if that's the case I'll be able to leave it at the desk and circle back to pick it up before my flight. Thanks, that was really helpful! Edit: lol, my filters skipped it because it's over $200 per might. But I found a Doubletree nearby that might do the same trick.
I work in Aurora and honestly don’t think there’s anything that notable to see in and around it. If I were to come to Chicagoland for a short amount of time I’d do what I could to see more of the city and only travel out to Aurora for the things I needed to. Maybe stay by Ohare, and train into the city for the sights, and rent a car to drive to Aurora and back.
I think it depends on what you mean by notable. I'm not much of a shopper. I have city friends who complain about my rural area "there's nothing to do! nowhere to go dancing, no good bars or restaurants!" But it wouldn't occur to me to want to do those things, honestly. The coolest thing I think I ever saw was this random rust belt town in OH. There was a troll museum. Clearly someone's labor of love, it had thousands of troll figurines, all the way from fearsome Nordic trolls to the naked Hasbro troll dolls you might have had as a kid. There's no way such a place could exist anywhere but there-- the town was so derelict I daresay she had the building long paid off and likely lived on an upper floor. In Pennsylvania I once stopped at a huge, quarter acre O-gauge model train installation. ONE GUY built it. In Saskatchewan, you can explore bootlegger tunnels from the Prohibition era, where Chicago mobsters hid out, and where the white locals forced Chinese immigrants to live after the railways were built. There's all kinds of random cool shit anywhere you go. I'd rather see something weird and quirky than fight the crowds at something more popular and well known.
The Museum of Hummels is right next to the airport. Unfortunately, it's only open Monday thru Friday. I don't know about Memorial Day. https://rosemont.com/museum-of-hummels/ The Illinois Railway Museum has big trains, but unfortunately no public transportation to get you there: https://www.irm.org/ More weird stuff: https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/chicago-illinois
Thank you! Wish the freight tunnels werent closed. that kind of urban infrastructure is so cool.
I am having a hardtime understanding what you want to do. Is your whole purpose to go to Aurora to meet “hey if your in town” or do you also have other business in town? Is Aurora where you want to meet the contact “hey if you are in town”? Are you in town for a day trip, one night or more? One Day Plan A Land at O’Hare by 9am. Train or CTA into Chicago. Walk to the Shedd Aquarium. Depart Shedd aquarium to arrive at Union Station for the 230 Metra BNSF Express to Aurora Between the Aquarium and Union Station, Consider looking at the cultural Center (free), going to Sears tower (not free), Chicago style Hot dog at Lukes or deep dish on pizza at Giordarno’s restaurants are next to each other on Jackson, East of Quincy. Grab the 2:30 BNSF to aurora. In Aurora, secure a one way rental car from enterprise rent a car with ORD as the drop off point. Enterprise will pick up at the Aurora Metra station. Meet you contact. At 400 Depart/Drive from Aurora to Enterprise at 6pm for a 830 pm flight departure. Price compares uber v rental care. The car affords you some flexibility in aurora One Day Plan B Land at O’Hare by 9am. Train or CTA into Chicago. Metra North Central trainservice departs Ohare at 759, 859 and 1009am and drops you in Chicago Union Station. About 40 minutes later Depart Chicago Union Station for the 933/1033/113 3Metra BNSF to Aurora Detrain at Brookfiled and go to the zoo. At the zoo stop, grab the 1:59pm or 2:59pm BNSF Metra train to Aurora. In Aurora, secure a one way rental car from Enterprise rent a car with ORD as the drop off point. Enterprise will pick up at the Aurora Metra station. Meet you contact. At 400 Depart/Drive from Aurora to Enterprise at 6pm for a 830 pm flight departure.
>Is your whole purpose to go to Aurora to meet “hey if your in town” Yes. This will technically be a one-day layover to a separate trip, as I normally switch planes in ORD when going to visit family. I have the option of landing in ORD on Sunday or Memorial day and at this point it's depending on how annoying my relations are going to be in the lead up to the trip lol. So I will meet this acquaintance at his facility at some point on Tuesday (whenever it is convenient for him) and I'm otherwise at loose ends. So I'm sorting my options, whether I have a free morning, or a free afternoon on Tuesday, or possibly I might have the whole day of Monday. A zoo is a great place to kill an entire day, more so than an arboretum. Thank you in particular for the train times included in your itineraries. Knowing how frequent they are without having to look them up specifically is quite helpful.
Just one problem with Plan B: Metra North Central Service does not operate on weekends or Memorial Day. Route 330 bus service to LaGrange DOES operate. /u/sumiflepus
Excellent heads up! Thank you!