Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nation's fragmented cellphone sys-
tem). It's a good bet that your phone
will work in a major city like Chicago,
but take a look at your wireless com-
pany's coverage map on its website
before heading out. If you need to stay
in touch at a destination where you
know your phone won't work,
rent
a
phone that does from
InTouch USA
(
&
800/872-7626;
www.intouch
global.com) or a rental car location,
but beware that you'll pay $1 a minute
or more for airtime.
If you're not from the U.S., you'll be
appalled at the poor reach of our
GSM
(Global System for Mobiles) wireless
network,
which is used by much of
the rest of the world (see below). Your
phone will probably work in Chicago;
it definitely won't work in many rural
areas. (To see where GSM phones
work in the U.S., check out www.
t-mobile.com/coverage/national_
popup.asp.) And you may or may not
be able to send SMS (text messaging)
home—something Americans tend
not to do anyway, for various cultural
and technological reasons. (Interna-
tional budget travelers like to send text
messages home because it's much
cheaper than making international
calls.) Assume nothing—call your
wireless provider and get the full
scoop. In a worst-case scenario, you
can always rent a phone; InTouch USA
delivers to hotels.
9 Getting There
BY PLANE
O'HARE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
Chicago's
O'Hare International Air-
port
(
&
773/686-2200
) has long bat-
tled with Atlanta's Hartsfield for the
title of the world's busiest airport.
O'Hare is located about 15 miles
northwest of the Loop, depending on
traffic, the drive to/from downtown
can take anywhere from 30 minutes to
more than an hour.
O'Hare has information booths in
all five terminals; most are located on
the baggage level. The multilingual
personnel, who are outfitted in red
jackets, can assist travelers with every-
thing from arranging ground trans-
portation to getting information
about local hotels. The booths also
offer a plethora of useful tourism
brochures. The booths, labeled “Air-
port Information,” are open daily
from 9am to 8pm.
Domestic carriers that fly regularly
to O'Hare include
America West
(
&
800/235-9292; www.americawest.
com),
American
(
&
800/433-7300;
www.aa.com),
Continental
(
&
800/
525-0280; www.continental.com),
Delta
(
&
800/221-1212; www.delta.
om),
Northwest
(
&
800/225-2525;
www.nwa.com),
United
(
&
800/241-
6522; www.united.com) and its new
discount airline
Ted
(
&
800/CALL-
TED; www.flyted.com), and
US Air-
ways
(
&
800/428-4322; www.us
airways.com). You'll have the most
flight options with American or
United, both of which have hubs in
Chicago. Commuter service is also
provided by several regional airlines.
O'Hare, Oh My
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport handles more passengers and air-
craft operations than any other airport in the world. Approximately
200,000 travelers pass through O'Hare each day, generating about
500,000 jobs for the region. O'Hare is completely self-supporting, requir-
ing no local taxpayer dollars to keep it going.
Fun Fact
