What we’re about
This meetup is dedicated to people who enjoy traveling both domestically and abroad, attending cultural events, and meeting others passionate about travel and culture! Our core purpose is to provide a place for travel lovers to get together and share their experiences as well as promote knowledge exchange, trip opportunities, etc. We’ll be planning a variety of activities and events including travel and culture themed trivia nights, travel tips and stories nights, destination talks, and dinners at ethnic restaurants. We will also add in some other great opportunities and events related to traveling, arts, and culture depending on feedback from our members and what you’d like to get from this meetup. We welcome anyone to our events whether you’re a long-time Omaha/Council Bluffs area resident, new in town, or just passing through. Our monthly meetups will typically be free but certain events might cost (such as when we have a dinner or a place charges admission). MeetUp does charge groups a subscription fee, so we would welcome, but don’t expect, any voluntary donations to contribute towards those fees. We promise to be transparent about how much money is donated, if any, and how we use it. We look forward to many fun outings with this group!
Let’s head to Chicago for our first Adventures in Culture and Travel trip! After the planning meeting, we have several details worked out. The group trip will be from Thursday October 2nd through Sunday October 5th, 2025. But for those that prefer spending more or less time there, that’s fine too and you can adjust your dates however you’d like. This is going to be a laid-back style of trip with a lot of flexibility rather than a chaperoned trip where everything is planned out all day every day. The idea is to make this like a fun friends’ trip with a lot of flexibility while also having options for group activities and meals. We’ll plan a group dinner each evening starting Thursday and at least a couple other group activities throughout the trip depending on what people want to do (possibilities include an architecture river cruise, guided tour of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Theatre Tour, Second City, etc). People will be able to opt in or out of any of the planned activities. Once we have numbers and ideas from the group as to what you want to do, we can start arranging group tours and activities.
Estimated Costs:
-Transportation: Flights currently looking to be between $177-$255 depending on your airline preference and time of day. Amtrak looks to be about $140 round trip. Carpooling is also an option (just note daily parking will be at least $40-50/day in downtown Chicago). My flight is the American Airlines flight leaving Omaha on the 2nd at 9:28am and departing Chicago on the 6th at 7:08am. If you want to be on the same one. I think Patrick is flying in Thursday evening. We can coordinate Ubers or Lyfts to get from the airport to the hotel.
-Hotel: We have some exciting news! We've secured a fantastic rate for everyone at just $199 per night (plus tax). For a 3-night stay, the total will come to approximately $700.88.
Additionally, between now and September 3rd, everyone (except Melissa and myself) who confirms their reservation will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary room upgrade to a suite!
To help us finalize our plans, we ask that everyone reserve their rooms by extended to September 14th to get the discounted rate. Reserving by this date will allow us to confirm the number of attendees for the trip.
Here is the booking link https://book.passkey.com/go/ACTOct02
Again, this is a flexible trip though so you are welcome to choose a hotel independently too if you don’t like the option selected. Then we’d just announce meeting points and times for any planned group activities.
UPDATE: people’s seem to prefer this City Pass Costco Chicago Go City Pass starting at $112
-Chicago CityPass: (currently around $150). The City Pass covers entry to 5 select sites (such as The Art Institute, Field Museum, Hancock Tower, Willis Tower, etc.). Chicago CityPass
-Getting around Chicago: Chicago is a very walkable city so we can get around easily on foot. But we’ll also be using the El (their elevated metro system), and uber/lyft, within Chicago when needed.
-The other primary costs would be food, drink, shopping, tickets beyond what’s included with the City Pass, trip insurance if you want it, and any other activities you want to do (like shows or tours).
The trip costs are each person’s own responsibility. The links are posted above where to go to make your reservations but the plan is for you to book and pay your own way for the transportation, the hotels, City Pass (if you choose that option), and whatever activities you opt in for. We’re not collecting any money from you or any payment for the trip, rather we’re just in it got a fun trip with you all. The only reason we would is if there’s anything group activity-wise that needs to be pre-paid up front as a group (like group tickets), then we will address that when/if needed.
Feel free to use the discussion board for this post to coordinate with others if you want to carpool or to update arrival times and what activities you prefer. We’ll meet again in a few weeks to discuss more.
I personally love Chicago and am really looking forward to this!
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Adventures in Chicago Group Trip!Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago (Downtown/River North), Chicago, IL
Let’s head to Chicago for our first Adventures in Culture and Travel trip! After the planning meeting, we have several details worked out. The group trip will be from Thursday October 2nd through Sunday October 5th, 2025. But for those that prefer spending more or less time there, that’s fine too and you can adjust your dates however you’d like. This is going to be a laid-back style of trip with a lot of flexibility rather than a chaperoned trip where everything is planned out all day every day. The idea is to make this like a fun friends’ trip with a lot of flexibility while also having options for group activities and meals. We’ll plan a group dinner each evening starting Thursday and at least a couple other group activities throughout the trip depending on what people want to do (possibilities include an architecture river cruise, guided tour of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Theatre Tour, Second City, etc). People will be able to opt in or out of any of the planned activities. Once we have numbers and ideas from the group as to what you want to do, we can start arranging group tours and activities.
Estimated Costs:
-Transportation: Flights currently looking to be between $177-$255 depending on your airline preference and time of day. Amtrak looks to be about $140 round trip. Carpooling is also an option (just note daily parking will be at least $40-50/day in downtown Chicago). My flight is the American Airlines flight leaving Omaha on the 2nd at 9:28am and departing Chicago on the 6th at 7:08am. If you want to be on the same one. I think Patrick is flying in Thursday evening. We can coordinate Ubers or Lyfts to get from the airport to the hotel.-Hotel: We have some exciting news! We've secured a fantastic rate for everyone at just $199 per night (plus tax). For a 3-night stay, the total will come to approximately $700.88.
Additionally, between now and September 3rd, everyone (except Melissa and myself) who confirms their reservation will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary room upgrade to a suite!
To help us finalize our plans, we ask that everyone reserve their rooms by extended to September 14th to get the discounted rate. Reserving by this date will allow us to confirm the number of attendees for the trip.
Here is the booking link https://book.passkey.com/go/ACTOct02Again, this is a flexible trip though so you are welcome to choose a hotel independently too if you don’t like the option selected. Then we’d just announce meeting points and times for any planned group activities.
UPDATE: people’s seem to prefer this City Pass Costco Chicago Go City Pass starting at $112
-Chicago CityPass: (currently around $150). The City Pass covers entry to 5 select sites (such as The Art Institute, Field Museum, Hancock Tower, Willis Tower, etc.). Chicago CityPass
-Getting around Chicago: Chicago is a very walkable city so we can get around easily on foot. But we’ll also be using the El (their elevated metro system), and uber/lyft, within Chicago when needed.
-The other primary costs would be food, drink, shopping, tickets beyond what’s included with the City Pass, trip insurance if you want it, and any other activities you want to do (like shows or tours).The trip costs are each person’s own responsibility. The links are posted above where to go to make your reservations but the plan is for you to book and pay your own way for the transportation, the hotels, City Pass (if you choose that option), and whatever activities you opt in for. We’re not collecting any money from you or any payment for the trip, rather we’re just in it got a fun trip with you all. The only reason we would is if there’s anything group activity-wise that needs to be pre-paid up front as a group (like group tickets), then we will address that when/if needed.
Feel free to use the discussion board for this post to coordinate with others if you want to carpool or to update arrival times and what activities you prefer. We’ll meet again in a few weeks to discuss more.
I personally love Chicago and am really looking forward to this!
