Itinerary Help

I think I have figured out a plan but would love feedback.

Day 1: arrive early, drive O%26#39;Hare to Beloit College for tour, stay overnight at Beloit Inn.

Day 2: depart Beloit early and drive to Univ. of Chicago for afternoon tour and Hyde Park sightseeing. Early evening, drive to O%26#39;Hare to return car. Overnight at Marriott Renaissance airport.

Day 3: Blue line into city for sightseeing all day. Overnight again at Marriott.

Day 4: depart via early morning airport shuttle.

I will save a lot of $$ by staying near the airport, plus have the convenience of the shuttle for our early morning flight home. Only disadvantage will be not staying on Mag Mile, in the heart of everything. With only one full day of sightseeing, I thought to include Hancock, and either Field or Contemp. Art, and some walking around nice shopping area. Any other ';must-sees';? Would a mini-bus or boat tour be a good use of time? Maybe an architectural tour? Thanks for ideas-- they are always helpful.

Itinerary Help

You may want to stop downtown after you%26#39;re done in Hyde Park on Day 2? You could park in Millineum Park garage and enjoy the park for a bit and perhaps grab a meal before continuing north to O%26#39;Hare to drop the car.

Then you could focus Day 3 on Mag Mile w/ Hancock, MCA, shopping, etc.

Itinerary Help

What do you plan to do the morning of Day 2? That would be a good time to see the downtown sights as the previous poster said.

The river architecture tours are great, but if you%26#39;re on a tight budget, they might not be a great idea. LP zoo is really nice and it%26#39;s free. That would be a bit of a hike from the Mag Mile area, but you could hop the 151 bus from Michigan Ave. to get there (will drop you at the entrance of the zoo). You can see some cool exhibits with just paying general admission to the Field Museum. A special exhibit is just starting (for extra fee) about Darwin. You might also want to check out Millennium Park- the Bean is really cool and the Crown Fountain is interesting to watch, too. Millennium Park would be a really easy walk from the Art Institute if you%26#39;re there or it%26#39;s a short trolley ride from the museum campus.

traveling321, I%26#39;m sure that you realize that the University of Chicago and Hyde Park are several miles south of the Loop in Chicago. Is there a particular reason why you don%26#39;t want to drive back to O%26#39;Hare from Beloit and return the car first - and then take the Blue Line into the Loop, transferring to the #10 SB CTA bus (on either Michigan Avenue or, better for your purposes, State Street). It takes you to the Museum of Science and Industry (which is in Hyde Park).

If you drove back to O%26#39;Hare in the early evening, you might still get caught in a lot of traffic congestion (depends what you consider early evening, though).

I would estimate an hour coming into the Loop on the Blue Line and another 20 minutes to the MSI after you board the #10 SB CTA bus on State Street (possibly about a 10-15 minute wait for it). Of course, it depends on the traffic at the time - if you are coming at the time a major festival is occurring, there will be much congestion on Lake Shore Drive and around Grant Park.

I think your plan sounds workable. (If you drop your car early on day two, you%26#39;ll also have to stop and drop off your luggage at your hotel, the colleges won%26#39;t allow you to store luggage). You should try to avoid rush hour on the Kennedy Expressway; this means any time from 3-7 P.M. The suggestion of stopping downtown for a few hours with the car is a good one. You could easily see Millennium park and Buckingham Fountain, If it%26#39;s Thursday or Friday evening, the Art Institute is open and FREE!

Good luck - it%26#39;s a very challenging year ahead of you!

- College trip veteran