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Chicago Water Taxi
Rating Details »
Neighborhoods: Magnificent Mile, Near North Side
400 N Michigan Ave
(at North Water St)
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-1446
400 N Michigan Ave
(at North Water St)
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-1446
- Nearest Transit:
-
Grand (Red)
State/Lake (Orange, Brown, Purple Express, Green, Pink)
16 reviews for Chicago Water Taxi
OK, honestly, how can you beat the $2 fare one-way from Chinatown to Madison (Union Station)? Quite simply, you can't. That's cheaper than the El and a heck of a lot cheaper than any cab will run you.
Additionally, being on the river offers a new perspective of our fair city. Whether you are a tourist or a native, if you aren't overcome by the view, you have no soul. Seriously.
The Water Taxi runs practically year-round (with a break for January and February, but you probably wouldn't want to be out on the water at that time of year anyway). Fall is the perfect time to take a ride - now that the Summer tourists have (mostly) cleared out, the Water Taxi is transformed into a private cruise. This past Sunday, Papa B and I had the boat entirely to ourselves. We sat right up front gleefully snapping photos like a pair of tourists.
This is the BEST value in Chicago, bar none, and one of those hidden gems that make this city ultra-cool.
First it's cheap - one way for $2? It's ultra cool, duh. It's useful - best way to get from Michigan to Madison STAT and cheaper than any taxi.
Something people may not think about - it's perfect for kids. You can ride it frequently 'cos of the small price, and it's a short ride to fit short attention spans.
Plus, to see a gleeful, water taxi obsessed kid sitting in the bow facing forward, doing the "I'm the king of the world!" number is definitely worth more than $2.
So you take your visitors to Millennium Park, you take a few creative shots at the bean, now what?
How about you take them on a boat ride down the Chicago river from the base of the Wrigley Building for $2. You can get off Madison stop and hit the West loop restaurants like Avec. Or if you're still feeling touristy, walk a few blocks and hit the Sears.
Even better: on the weekends you can propel down to Chinatown for $4. Do some research and narrate your own architecture tour.
And if you do a little searchin' you can find some 2 for 1 coupons. I can easily give you a link, but haven't I given enough of a hot tip?!
I've taken the Wendella Water Taxi a couple of times now to Chinatown, and it's a million times better than being stuck on the red line subway, if you've got some extra time. It's perfect for when you have guests in town, they get to see some of the best/most recognized buildings downtown, enjoy the sunshine, and relax on a boat. It's probably a 25 minute ride or so, but it really flies by. If you've gone on any of the architecture tour offerings along the river, you can fill in your friends on some of the stuff that you've learned about what you're seeing along the riverfront. The ride is $4 one way/$6 round-trip, which isn't so bad. The Chinatown trip only runs on the weekend, but that's practically the only time I take tourists to Chinatown anyway.
I think these are a brilliant concept. What a fun way to get from one part of the city to another, and for about 3-4 bucks (well that also depends on where you want to go; to my recollection it was 3 bucks to go from Michigan Avenue to Navy Pier, and then 7 bucks to go from Navy Pier to Sears Tower. This was definitely my favorite way to get around during this trip.
I am withholding a star because with construction it was a little hard for us to find the new dock point (for all 4 of us resident Chicagoans--so I can't imagine how difficult it would be for tourists to find). However, I had such a good time on it. The boat cruised pretty fast, we had a great time enjoying the view, and much to our delight, they have a beer and wine bar on board (you can get water and soda too). We bought the all day pass for $6 and left from Rush (normally would be the Michigan avenue stop) and went to Chinatown and then back.
So much quicker, cheaper and enjoyable than a land cab--I do hope to take the water taxi much more frequently now when it can get me where I need (or want) to be. I would even just do the cruise around and back for fun again. I can't believe I let 9 years go by in this town without using it!
$2 for a one-way trip, what isn't there to like, with departures approx every quarter hour during rush hour!
After a long day walking the city, my legs were beat and with great pleasure I hopped on the boat from Michigan back to Union station. Only 4 other passengers aboard, a friendly deck-mate, and an efficient captain. Provided a unique perspective on the city.
The best way to travel to Michigan Ave. in the summer, hands down! For 2 bucks, you receive a beautiful ride down the river to several destinations. For me, the water taxi drops me off within a few blocks of Fados...now what else can I ask for??
http://www.chicagowate.../
I enjoy the floating taxi, but it loses a star because the name is just wrong. I'm hasty and impatient and I can't hail it, nor can I get the shit scared out of me by a driver with zero regard for the intact human body. It should be more chaotic. Plus there's a line to get on, like at the bus stop.
It's a water BUS. But it's nice.
Suburbanites who bring tourist guests into the city for the day on the Metra commuter train: I recommend the $2 ride from just across the street from the station (by the Chicago River bridge) to Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile. It's a great introduction to the city because it passes several of Chicago's most beautiful buildings. The only caveat is that getting to and from the boat may be difficult for anyone who cannot negotiate stairs. The city or merchants should improve the experience for visitors by sprucing up the route from the boat dock up to Michigan Avenue.
A great deal for the price. For $2 one way for $3 round trip, you get a ride on a clean, quick "water taxi" boat. The staff is friendly, and if you get a seat up front, the view is great.
If you're traveling with a friend, print out a two-for-one coupon from the Chicago Tourism website: http://www.chicagooffi...
Taking the water taxi is a fun way to see the city from the river for $2/person vs $30 for a tour... though of course this is a quick and unguided ride.. ($2/each way, or they have a $4 all day pass)
There are two companies that do it. Wendella runs this one, Shoreline the other. They both also operate tours.
I see now that Wendella Water Taxi doesn'tt make the River East stop anymore (near Navy Pier), which was a fun stop to take if you had visitors insisting they needed to see Navy Pier. (I wonder why the eliminated this stop? was it competing with their sightseeing tour business too much? hmm.).
So as far as the two companies go, Shoreline has a lot more stops.. They go to the museum campus as well as Navy Pier. Though it's $6 to go from Sears Tower to Navy Pier, and $13 to go all the way to Museum Campus (a 2 day pass $28) on Shoreline.
Now they seem to also have a water taxi that actually LOOKS like a water taxi, checkered yellow.
Despite it's taxi name, like a lot of water taxis in other cities, it's scheduled service and you can't just call it up for a ride. And it's a shared ride. But still fun.
UPDATE:
Metra is running a deal where you can take the water taxi for free from presumably Union Station to Mag Mile. (Since tickets are taken on the train I assume there is no requirement to actually take the Metra to get this deal?)
http://metrarail.com/S...
"The quick, easy and FREE way to weekend shopping along Michigan Avenue this year is aboard the Chicago Water Taxi. Beginning November 17th for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival and continuing every weekend through December 23rd, the Chicago Water Taxi will take you to and from the Mag Mile for free."
UPDATE:
You can now go to Chinatown on the Water taxi! It goes to Ping Tom Park... it's $2 more each way, but if you buy the all day pass it's just $6 roundtrip.
Ever since my first ride on the Water Taxi a few days ago, I find myself back in the office (just off the Madison stop) inventing reasons why a coffeebreak on Michigan Ave isn't an unreasonable extravagance. It would be awesome if it weren't just $2 each way, but that just sweetens the deal. The "captain" (?) wouldn't accept a tip, so just have your $2 handy and enjoy the ride! I'll never take a cab or bus to that area again if I can help it.
A few years back I was a regular on the water taxi. Really a great way to decompress after work. The staff is great, the boats are clean and its relatively cheap. I get on at Madison and take it to Michigan ave take about 8 minutes and you get a great mini tour of downtown. Only issue I have is that at the Michigan Ave. stop the stairs up to the street level are closed and you either need to cross the bridge and head up the stairs on lower Wacker. Not the end of the world but it is a little bit of a detour..
Based on their phone service ALONE, I don't think I'll be patronizing them.
I called them this morning and despite pressing zero to speak with a "live human being" (as opposed to a dead one, I suppose, although that may have been interesting, too), it went directly to a voicemail, so I left a message inquiring the average time it would take to get from the Madison stop to the River East stop. A woman named Nancy called me back and left me a voicemail that was so fast I had to listen to it 5x to make out who the call was from. I called them back, and once again got the voicemail. Nancy then left me a voicemail as I was talking to my boss on the other line, this time speaking slowly, and sounding not a little bit perturbed that I didn't answer. I called them back again and got a human, who promptly put me on hold. Someone picked up and I asked for Nancy and they slammed me into hold again. Someone picked up, I asked if it was Nancy, she said no and put me on hold again. Then a third person picked me up and said Nancy was busy and asked if she could help me. I explained what I needed to know, and she interrupted me to tell me that they don't make the River East stop and that it states that on their website. Well, not everywhere, because the page I saw (http://www.chicagowate...) makes it look like it's up and running.
Everyone I talked to (or received a voice from, for that matter) was rude. The first person could have answered my question when leaving the first voicemail for me. Granted, playing phone tag can get to be a clusterphooey in a hurry, but having a good attitude makes it easier. Provided they were actually stopping in the neighborhood of where I needed to be, $2 is a small price to pay; but I can also walk a few blocks more to catch the 29, which probably gets there just as fast. I'll never know...
When I realized my morning commute was going to quadruple from the 20 minute bus ride I was used to I despaired! Now however, the water taxi is probably what I look forward to the most in my mornings. Calming and beautiful, I arrive to work relaxed after having been on a cruise! I'm glad I have this service and look forward to using daily.