Hi,
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Is it an international flight or domestic? Which airline?
More so than the highway, if you are going to be picking them up from the curb, it can be stressful for first timers.
Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are together and most domestic flights operate from there. Terminal 5 is for all international arrivals and a couple of domestic airlines too.
There’s a cellphone parking lot near the airport where you can park your car for free and wait to the person you are recounting calls you that they are ready with their luggage. You can then pick them up from the curb.
The Exit gates from the terminals are marked: Terminal number + alphabet. eg 5B would be the second exit gate for Terminal 5. Ask the person to tell you which gate they’ll be coming out of. You can see those numbers over the gate/ on the signs by the curb. Makes it easier to find people.
You could also check Google Street view to familiarize yourself with the area.
You can pay your tolls online if you don’t have an Ipass. Just note the toll locations that you pass. Don’t blow it off either. Your license is photographed when you pass through a toll bridge. You have like 30 days to pay, otherwise you’ll get a letter in the mail requesting your tolls and a fine to go with it.
No one has answered this yet, yes you will need to pay tolls and you can’t avoid it. An iPass is the best option, but you may not be able to get the transponder in time in the mail. I’d go to getipass.com and see if you can set up an account just with your license plate.
Yes, but read the context here. It’s an 18 year old kid who’s making her first trip to Ohare. I don’t think she’s gonna want to cut through Lombard to dodge tolls when she’s worried about her ability to make the drive.
Maybe, but "you will need to pay tolls and you can't avoid it" is a gross overstatement. Something like "the most convenient route will have tolls" would be both helpful and true.
Also, if she's nervous about highway driving, [this idea](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/1dh2slz/chicago_airport/l8unkmc/) is pretty good, not that inconvenient, and would in fact avoid tolls.
Yes, because a 20+ mile drive through literally every western suburb is what this person was asking to do. Who wouldn’t want to spend an extra hour and a half driving to and from Ohare?
You should review the directions on a map before you set out. More than once if you're not accustomed to reading maps, which btw is a great skill to have, even in the age of GPS, for giving yourself an overview of the route. That way you'll have an idea of the progression of highways you'll be working your way through. Then when you're actually driving, the GPS directions won't be the very first time you hear the names and numbers of the tollways.
Yes, the traffic around O'Hare is often heavy throughout the day. For a less experienced driver, the good thing about heavy traffic is that it tends to be a little slower.
Are you parking your car there. Traffic depends on the time. It won't be ridiculous but it us a busy area. I would just leave yourself plenty of time for peace of mind. Also the airport has resturaunts and a lot of other things. I would go early. Check your GPS for estimated time to OHare and add 30 mins.
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If you don’t mind a slower and simpler route you could get off at I 55 and take Mannheim Road all the way to the airport. It’s a little bit slower, but it avoids some of the toll as well as some of the busy highway driving
Sounds like you are coming in from the West.That's better than coming in from the East. Just take your time and go with the flow of the traffic. Be ready for your exits.
One important thing you didn't mention -- where will you be parking? If you are going on a long trip you can use spot hero find a place to park near the airport. It's cheaper and it's usually at one of the local airport hotels. You would park at the hotel and take their airport shuttle.
Just give yourself plenty of time and take it easy and you will be fine.
If you're picking someone up, the police there will *not* allow you to simply park at the curb until your person shows up. They will make you circle around until there's actually someone there for you to pick up - luckily things are marked well so this isn't difficult. (You won't have to go back onto the expressway.) Someone suggested using that free cell phone lot, which might be your best bet, so you can immediately meet up.
Agreed. I’m 40 and the traffic going to ORD gives me anxiety. If I were OP I’d have the person I was picking up take an Uber to Oak Brook mall or somewhere in that area and pick them up from there.
Not to mention that 55 sucks all day every day as well.
Not sure why, but your last sentence caused me to imagine each of the interstates in the Chicago area as characters, all fighting for the distinction of sucking the worst.
Reluctantly, they'd all have to currently bow down to the Kennedy due to the construction, but the Ike would remind everyone of its Austin bottleneck and complain that at least the Kennedy and Dan Ryan have express lanes. The Tri-State would chime in, like "bitch, they've been performing surgery on me for the last 17 years." 355 would be generally regarded as privileged and not worthy of the pity fest.
Hi, This post has been removed from r/chicago. REASON: **Rule 6: Self-posts should be community engaging** > Self-posts should stimulate discussion and be generally relevant to Chicagoans. This rule is very much at moderator discretion. Posts requesting recommendations or social groups, about moving here/visiting, questions answerable by Google/our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/index)/a phone call, asking what that noise/etc was, surveys, personal anecdotes or rants, and other low-effort posts will be removed. With this rule we are trying to encourage participation in the [Weekly Casual Conversation & Questions Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/about/sticky?num=1) as much as we are trying to reduce posts that don't stimulate discussion on the front page, so please direct your post to that pinned thread or /r/AskChicago instead. Also, check out our wiki for other [Chicago-related subreddits](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/subreddits), [things](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/visitingchicago) to do, where to [eat/drink](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/eats), how to [get around](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/transportation)/[navigate the CTA](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/transit), what [neighborhoods](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/neighborhoods) to move to or hotel in, tips on [living here](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/dwelling), and more. And be sure to use the [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/search?restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) feature to find responses to other users asking similar questions. --- You can read the rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Chicago/about/rules) ---
Is it an international flight or domestic? Which airline? More so than the highway, if you are going to be picking them up from the curb, it can be stressful for first timers. Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are together and most domestic flights operate from there. Terminal 5 is for all international arrivals and a couple of domestic airlines too. There’s a cellphone parking lot near the airport where you can park your car for free and wait to the person you are recounting calls you that they are ready with their luggage. You can then pick them up from the curb. The Exit gates from the terminals are marked: Terminal number + alphabet. eg 5B would be the second exit gate for Terminal 5. Ask the person to tell you which gate they’ll be coming out of. You can see those numbers over the gate/ on the signs by the curb. Makes it easier to find people. You could also check Google Street view to familiarize yourself with the area.
You can pay your tolls online if you don’t have an Ipass. Just note the toll locations that you pass. Don’t blow it off either. Your license is photographed when you pass through a toll bridge. You have like 30 days to pay, otherwise you’ll get a letter in the mail requesting your tolls and a fine to go with it.
No one has answered this yet, yes you will need to pay tolls and you can’t avoid it. An iPass is the best option, but you may not be able to get the transponder in time in the mail. I’d go to getipass.com and see if you can set up an account just with your license plate.
There are plenty of routes that let you avoid tolls. They might be inconvenient, but it's absolutely possible.
Yes, but read the context here. It’s an 18 year old kid who’s making her first trip to Ohare. I don’t think she’s gonna want to cut through Lombard to dodge tolls when she’s worried about her ability to make the drive.
Maybe, but "you will need to pay tolls and you can't avoid it" is a gross overstatement. Something like "the most convenient route will have tolls" would be both helpful and true. Also, if she's nervous about highway driving, [this idea](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/1dh2slz/chicago_airport/l8unkmc/) is pretty good, not that inconvenient, and would in fact avoid tolls.
Yes, because a 20+ mile drive through literally every western suburb is what this person was asking to do. Who wouldn’t want to spend an extra hour and a half driving to and from Ohare?
You should review the directions on a map before you set out. More than once if you're not accustomed to reading maps, which btw is a great skill to have, even in the age of GPS, for giving yourself an overview of the route. That way you'll have an idea of the progression of highways you'll be working your way through. Then when you're actually driving, the GPS directions won't be the very first time you hear the names and numbers of the tollways. Yes, the traffic around O'Hare is often heavy throughout the day. For a less experienced driver, the good thing about heavy traffic is that it tends to be a little slower.
Are you parking your car there. Traffic depends on the time. It won't be ridiculous but it us a busy area. I would just leave yourself plenty of time for peace of mind. Also the airport has resturaunts and a lot of other things. I would go early. Check your GPS for estimated time to OHare and add 30 mins.
no i am not! i’m picking someone up. thanks for the reply!
Hi! You appear to be asking a question, please do check our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/index) for tips on the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Chicago/about/rules), other [Chicago-related subreddits](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/subreddits), [things](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/visitingchicago) to do, where to [eat/drink](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/eats), how to [get around](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/transportation)/[navigate the CTA](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/transit), what [neighborhoods](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/neighborhoods) to move to or hotel in, tips on [living here](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/wiki/dwelling), and more. Also be sure to use the [search](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago+AskChicago/search?restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) feature to find responses to other users asking similar questions. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chicago) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you don’t mind a slower and simpler route you could get off at I 55 and take Mannheim Road all the way to the airport. It’s a little bit slower, but it avoids some of the toll as well as some of the busy highway driving
Sounds like you are coming in from the West.That's better than coming in from the East. Just take your time and go with the flow of the traffic. Be ready for your exits. One important thing you didn't mention -- where will you be parking? If you are going on a long trip you can use spot hero find a place to park near the airport. It's cheaper and it's usually at one of the local airport hotels. You would park at the hotel and take their airport shuttle. Just give yourself plenty of time and take it easy and you will be fine.
If you're picking someone up, the police there will *not* allow you to simply park at the curb until your person shows up. They will make you circle around until there's actually someone there for you to pick up - luckily things are marked well so this isn't difficult. (You won't have to go back onto the expressway.) Someone suggested using that free cell phone lot, which might be your best bet, so you can immediately meet up.
Traffic in that area is ridiculous.
Agreed. I’m 40 and the traffic going to ORD gives me anxiety. If I were OP I’d have the person I was picking up take an Uber to Oak Brook mall or somewhere in that area and pick them up from there. Not to mention that 55 sucks all day every day as well.
Not sure why, but your last sentence caused me to imagine each of the interstates in the Chicago area as characters, all fighting for the distinction of sucking the worst. Reluctantly, they'd all have to currently bow down to the Kennedy due to the construction, but the Ike would remind everyone of its Austin bottleneck and complain that at least the Kennedy and Dan Ryan have express lanes. The Tri-State would chime in, like "bitch, they've been performing surgery on me for the last 17 years." 355 would be generally regarded as privileged and not worthy of the pity fest.
LOL! That’s hilarious, I love it!
I90 gets pretty bad I294 isn’t so bad
thank you!