Trip for 18th birthday

I am contemplating taking my daughter (and 2-3 friends) to chicago for her 18th birthday. We will likely travel to chicago from detroit via the megabus and am looking for reasonably priced hotels accessable by public tranportation from Union Station. Also any suggestions as to activities for teenage girls would be appreciated! (and yes I may have lost my mind to plan on spending that many days with a gaggle of teenage girls!)

Trip for 18th birthday

';Reasonably priced'; is different for everyone. A specific budget will help us help you. Hotel rates here run all over the place as Chicago is a convention city. Keep an eye on - http://hotels.travelzoo.com/chicago-hotels/ - for deals.

www.explorechicago.org is a good site to do some research. Also check out www.metromix.com for ideas. www.chicagoreader.com for dining searches and entertainment ideas.

www.transitchicago.com for public transit information. A CTA visitor pass might come in handy for your visit.

Trip for 18th birthday

You will probably need two hotel rooms for a group of five, so keep that in mind.

Public transportation from Union Station is pretty good. There are buses from the station or 1 block east on Wacker, or even the water taxi (also from Wacker). You can also walk from there to any Loop hotel or the many hotels near Michigan Avenue and the river. Use a hotel map like the one on this site or on hotels.com and then look for deals. This area will also serve you well for entertaining your ';gaggle';. If you let us know their interests and the dates you are considering, we can be of more help.

A good activity for teenagers is a kayak trip through KayakChicago.com. They have several tour options or you can rent a 1 or 2 person kayak by the hour and go off on your own. Notably, they offer a firework cruise, where the group will kayak out to near Navy Pier and watch the fireworks from the river. The trip goes from 8pm to 11:30pm so it%26#39;s a good night time activity.

It%26#39;s not exactly near any public transportation, but it would be a short, 15 min.-ish cab ride from the Union Station area.

There is also a company that operates food tours, where you will walk around various parts of the city and sample food from different restaurants.

Both of these options are a little on the pricey side ($40-$50) but they are different than the usual ';going to museums, Millenium Park, ect.'; which may not interest 18 year old girls.

You can also check out www.HotTix.org for discounted or half price theater tickets. You won%26#39;t really see the big name shows (Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins) on here, but you will get to see some excellent smaller productions. See what%26#39;s under the ';Comedy'; section, all those shows tend to interest for 18 year olds.

One last though, check out Second City, the famous improv comedy theater. It%26#39;s a walkable distance from N. Michigan Ave, or you can take the el train. There%26#39;s a restaurant across the street called ';Flat Top Grill'; which is a make your own stir-fry place. It%26#39;s pretty cheap for the area, $12 for a bowl, $15 for all you can eat.

I highly recommend an architectural boat cruise on the Chicago River/Lake Michigan if your budget permits it. I haven%26#39;t taken one in a few years, but I believe it%26#39;s still around $25 per person. It%26#39;s a wonderful way to see the city (great photo ops!), and you%26#39;ll learn some history about Chicago%26#39;s skyscrapers.

http://www.wendellaboats.com/

http://www.cruisechicago.com/

What time of year would this be? If it%26#39;s in the summer, you could bring them to the beach -- either Oak Street or North Avenue. I like North Avenue -- it%26#39;s bigger and has a place for food (Beachstro), bike rentals, etc. There are volleyball games going on and lots of people watching. I think a bunch of 18 year old girls would really enjoy it. If they enjoy running, an early morning run along the lakefront is terrific. (OK, %26#39;early morning%26#39; and %26#39;18 years old%26#39; might not go together...)

I bet they would also enjoy a Sea Dog cruise at Navy Pier. Fast and fun!

You have to go out for pizza, of course. Lots of great options. Some of my favorites are Pizzeria Uno, Giordano%26#39;s, and Baccinos.

If your wallet is getting tapped out, Lincoln Park Zoo has beautiful grounds and is free. You can get there from the loop via bus. Once there, you can walk a few blocks to some cool boutique shopping along Armitage Ave.

I suggest taking the red line to Belmont (just a few stops away from downtown). Have breakfast at Ann Sather%26#39;s (great swedish diner, incredible cinnamon rolls). There%26#39;s some fun boutique-y shopping for teens up and down Belmont (pink frog, never mind, ragstock). Some fun alternative shops. And it%26#39;s a little cheaper than what you%26#39;ll find on michigan avenue. Then you can go to Blue Man Group, which is just a few blocks away for a show. There are tons of restaurants in the area...there%26#39;s a giordano%26#39;s for pizza near by. Jack%26#39;s on Halsted is very good for dinner. Mia Francesca%26#39;s is on Clark, a little north. And El Jardin cafe has great basic cheap mexican food (don%26#39;t go the restaurant, go to the cafe).

Wow what an awesome response. Thanks to everyone for all of the ideas, I suspect I%26#39;ll be spending a lot of time on the computer checking out your suggestions. Hope all of chicago is as friendly as this one-line group.

Another fun trip on the water would be taking the water taxi to Chinatown. http://www.chicagowatertaxi.com/

Just like to say thankyou to you as I am visiting Chicago 24-30/10/09 with my daughter who will just have celebrated her 18th birthday. Suggestions given to you I shall now research to make it a memorable trip for her.