[Wyatt]

In celebration of my 21st birthday this summer, I'm taking myself to Chicago so I can finally see my beloved (yet tortured) Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. It's been a dream of mine my whole life, and I've decided I'm just going to do it. The question I have is this--where can I find some good travel deals? I've found some good stuff on Travelocity, but I want to look around a bit more and I was wondering if there are some good sites I need to be checking out. If I go by myself, I don't really care if I'm just in a Holiday Inn (as long as it's a relatively safe part of town), but my girlfriend might be coming with me, and if she comes I won't settle for anything cheap like that (although I do still want to save money).

[SKMDC]

Stay in a nice place downtown for your birthday, travelocity should get you someplace real nice under 100$. Take the red line north to Wrigley, although to see the world champion White Sox play professional baseball unencumbered by the ineptitude of mother tribune you can take it south to the cell. (that was just for dmband )
If you stay anywhere else you'll spend all your stay on the interstate, plus if you stay downtown you can walk to the great Apple store on North Michigan Avenue and walk to Millennium Park, go to the Art Institute, go to Daley Plaza and see the Picasso, look at it from behind to see what Picasso really meant. Go to Grant Park where the whole world watched democracy in action in 1968.
it's a toddlin' town.
you don't want to take a car to wrigley.

[DMBand0026]

WTF SKMDC? That's low!

Absolutely stay downtown, it'll be much easier. The intestates are so clogged around here (not to mention needlessly complicated to navigate) that if you're not familiar with the area you'll find yourself lost and stuck in traffic, not just stuck in traffic. The El (elevated trains) is cheap and a very easy way to get around town, use public transportation as much as possible. Parking around Wrigley can't be had for under $20, so the El ride will be cheaper anyway. There are literally hundreds of bars within a few blocks of Wrigley (I'm being completely serious, last I heard there were close to 200 within 4 blocks of the Field) so if you drive, you won't be able to hit a bar for some seriously good food and a few drinks too.

Check out www.expedia.com, I've had good luck there before. Pretty much wherever you stay that's close to the loop will be good, and you can find some pretty good deals in safe parts of town, so don't worry about that. You'll probably be able to take a cab to the nearest El stop if you're unsure of where one is, but since you're coming during the summer, it might be nice to take a walk though the greatest city in the world.

[Wyatt]

SKMDC: Screw you and your White Sox, you dirty bastard

DMBand: Seeing as how I don't drink, I won't be needing any of the 200+ bars, although that is good incentive not to drive, since I just got a new car and I really don't want to get hit by some drunk bastard.

Anywho, thanks for the advice (both of you). I'll keep that in mind.

[Maciej]

I wouldn't directly buy anything through Expedia, or Travelocity. Its a much better idea to get a quick estimate of how much prices are, and then for airfare (etc..) go order tickets from the companies specific website.

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by fcgriz SKMDC: Screw you and your White Sox, you dirty bastard DMBand: Seeing as how I don't drink, I won't be needing any of the 200+ bars, although that is good incentive not to drive, since I just got a new car and I really don't want to get hit by some drunk bastard. Anywho, thanks for the advice (both of you). I'll keep that in mind.

I don't drink either (DMBand0026 = straight edge), but that doesn't mean I haven't had plenty of fun in the bars after Cubs games.

For the record, I don't think SKMDC is a Sox fan, he just likes pissing me off.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by fcgriz I've found some good stuff on Travelocity, but I want to look around a bit more and I was wondering if there are some good sites I need to be checking out. If I go by myself, I don't really care if I'm just in a Holiday Inn (as long as it's a relatively safe part of town), but my girlfriend might be coming with me, and if she comes I won't settle for anything cheap like that (although I do still want to save money).

After you find some specific places to stay, try checking them out at tripadvisor.com. IIRC, it's a site where ordinary travelers offer commentary/reviews on places they've stayed.

I found their remarks *really* helpful for a recent trip to Mexico. I wanted an extremely nice place with all possible amenities, luscious landscaping, stunning oceanfront views, excellent restaurant on site, and I wanted to be *away* from town.

The AAA guidebook and even in-person travel advisors at AAA gave me out-of-date information; but commentaries at the "tripadvisor" site were completely accurate and current. I am SO glad I checked out their remarks. Our place was truly stunning and superlative in every way. Well worth the money spent.

I'm sure your trip will be a wonderful birthday experience.

[torifile]

I always hit several sites when trying to book travel. expedia is usually where I start, go to travelocity, etc. When looking for tickets, I also use mobissimo which searches several big services at once.

For hotels, I use hotwire.com and priceline. There are some very specific tricks to honing your bid so you pay as little as possible while getting a good quality hotel. I can't remember the site that talks about these tricks but I'll post it if I can think of it.

edit: found it: biddingfortravel.com. Have a look there and see if you can figure out some of the tips. It'll save you some money.