Chicago and Milwaukee are just two hours away from one another by car and it’s easy and cheap to travel between them. Inexpensive flight, bus, and train routes connect the two cities, with frequent service.
Milwaukee to Chicago
Flights
Delta, United, Southwest, American, Continental, and several other airlines offer frequent service from Milwaukee to Chicago. As always, prices go up around the holidays and peak travel times, but with an advance purchase, you can usually get cheap tickets to Chicago for under $150 per person, round trip.
Journey time: Around 30 minutes
Typical price: $80 to $150 round-trip per person
Trains
Amtrak connects Chicago to Milwaukee several times a day. The trip is quick and easy and the trains are comfortable and usually run on time. Tickets range from $60 to $120 per person, round-trip.
Journey time: About 2 hours.
Buses
Megabus operates multiple routes between Chicago and Milwaukee. The buses are double-deckers and offer free wi-fi on board. With an advance purchase, you can often get tickets for less than $10 per person, round trip.
Journey time: 2 hours.
Driving
The drive between Chicago and Milwaukee can take anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, depending on traffic. Traffic on weekdays from 7am to 9am and from 4pm to 7pm can be especially heavy.
Journey time: About 2hours.