What are some cheap and fun things to do during family vacations to Chicago? Anyone who has been to Chicago during the winter months knows that taking a Chicago vacation requires bundling up with warm winter clothes to offset the cold, blustery, freezing temperatures and winds from the Windy City. There are a lot of fun and cheap things to do in and outside of Chicago, indoors and outdoors, including things to do in the suburbs for families, kids and adults of all ages.

Looking for fun things to do in Chicago during the summer or winter? Chicago has a lot to offer tourists and vacationers throughout the year with favorite places including museums, parks, indoor and outdoor swimming, golf courses and mini-golf courses, family entertainment centers, live theater, ice skating, comedy clubs, festivals, art galleries, restaurants, working farms and orchards, amongst thousands of other Chicago attractions.

Whether you take a vacation to Chicago in the spring, summer, fall or winter months, make sure you plan your itinerary to include the popular places in downtown Chicago and in the suburbs north, west, east and south of the city. Coupons, discount tickets and pass cards like the Go Card help a lot to reduce the overall costs of a vacation trip and tours around Chicago, or anywhere else you want to go.

The Go Chicago Card provides unlimited, FREE admission to 30 top tourist attractions, activities, tours and museums with the card, with a savings of up to 55% compared to the cost of purchasing individual tickets. See as many of the best attractions as you want for the number of days chosen for a very low price. Go Cards are available in single and multi-day increments and come with a full-color, pocket-size guidebook included. Vacations to Chicago don’t have to break the bank!

Things to Do in Chicago and Surrounding Chicago Suburbs

There are thousands upon thousands of children and family activities to do in downtown Chicago, in the suburbs and outskirts of the city, but a list of some ideas of the most popular destinations will help complete your vacation itinerary.

Haunted Trails in Joliet
1423 North Broadway (Rt. 53) in Joliet, IL – (815) 722-7800
This open year-round family entertainment center features go-karts, laser tag, rides, games, miniature golf, batting cages, restaurant and a picnic grove. Birthday parties and group package options for up to 2,000 guests are available.

Haunted Trails Family Entertainment Centers
7759 South Harlem Avenue in Burbank, IL 60459 – (708) 598-8580
This open year-round family entertainment center features 100s of games, rides, award-winning miniature golf, Go Karts & Batting Cages, Restaurant/Party room featuring karaoke. October Haunted House information can be found at (www.frightmarehauntedhouse.com). Birthday party and group packages are also available.

Hollywood Park, Crestwood Family Entertainment Centers
5051 Cal Sag Road in Crestwood, IL 60445 (708) 389-7275
Award-winner! Features miniature golf, Hollywood Speedway go-kart track, arcade games, indoor bumper cars, indoor children’s playland, rock wall & Hollywood Memorabilia on display, Café-Pizzeria.

Kidswork Children’s Museum
11 South White Street in Frankfort, IL 60423 (815) 469-1199
KidsWork is a fun, interactive educational experience for kids ages 0-8, with two floors of exhibits including theater, art room, tot spot, pet vet and more.

Odyssey Fun World
Located at 19111 South Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park, IL 60477 (708) 429-3800
Games, Laser Tag, Batting Cages, Soft Playland, Miniature Golf, Go-Karts, Bumper Boats, Inflatable Park and much more.

Chicago Indoor Racing – Addison
Located at 2381 W. Army Trail Road, Addison, IL 60101 (847) 941-9400
Chicagoland’s most exciting indoor European Kart Racing and entertainment facility with 105,000 s/f of space, featuring CyberSport, Clark’s Café, meeting & event space for groups of up to 800 guests, and a multitude of alternative entertainment options.

CyberSport at Chicago Indoor Racing
Address is 2381 W. Army Trail Road, Addison, IL 60101 (847) 941-9400
Located inside Chicago Indoor Racing, CyberSport is a multiplayer game that blends bumper cars, lacrosse and basketball into an alternative to racing for groups of 10 to 400.

Enchanted Castle Restaurant & Entertainment Complex
1103 S. Main Street, Lombard, IL 60148 (630) 953-7860
Premier entertainment complex with 60,000 square feet of fun! Indoor go karts, laser tag, bumper cars, games, mini golf, Kid’s Quest Softplay, future Sir Bounce-A-Lot Jumpland, special events, and 625-seat restaurant with karaoke.

Safari Land
701 W. North Avenue in Villa Park, IL 60181 (630) 530-4649
Family entertainment center featuring Illinois’ largest indoor roller coaster, Kiddie go-karts, bumper cars, Tilt-A-Whirl, Monkey Jump, Merry-Go-Round, and hundreds of video & redemption games. Activity-based fees apply.

Wagner Farm
1510 Wagner Road in Glenview, IL (847) 657-1506
Historic Wagner Farm in Glenview is am 18.6 acres farm and a popular destination for locals and tourists. Families, adults and children alike learn about a real working farm. The farm is open to the public, offering educational programs for all ages, and special events throughout the year.  Public hours are Monday – Saturday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Admission is free on those days (unless there is a special event) and a farm story time is featured at 4:00 pm each Thursday.

The Mitchell Museum
3001 Central Street in Evanston IL (847) 475-1030
The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian portrays the Native American cultures of the Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Northwest Coast and Arctic. Closed on Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Thursday 10:00 am – 8pm. Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center
The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center has 3.5 miles of trails for walking and education. The schoolhouse contains interpretive exhibits and hosts events. It is located at 9800 Willow Springs Road, Willow Springs IL (708) 839-6897.

Mayan Adventure Indoor Water park at the Holiday Inn in Elmhurst has 24,000 square feet of water activities for all ages. It’s located at 624 N. York Road, Elmhurst IL (630) 279-1100 or (877) 426-4386 The Mayan Adventure Indoor Water park is Chicagoland’s first indoor water park with 24,000 square feet of wet and wild fun for all ages. Kids, adults and families will have lots of fun slipping down the body and tube slides and landing in the plunge pool. Toddlers will delight in the interactive water station. Game room, poolside café, bar and more!

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
2001 N. Roselle Road, Schaumburg IL (847)843-3900 or (888) 935-6878
Journey through time to the age of chivalry and knighthood. Feast upon a scrumptious banquet and cheer your own knight to victory in the tournament of games.

Want some fun activities outside of the Chicago area? Chicagoland tourists should also keep in mind the many exciting attractions, water parks, theme parks, venues and hotspots just across the Wisconsin and Indiana state lines. The Wisconsin Dells in WI, Horseshoe Casino in Hammond Indiana and the Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks Indiana are three more children and family activities to be enjoyed while vacationing in and around Chicago. The Horseshoe Casino is located at 777 Casino Center Drive in Hammond IN – (866) 711-SHOE. The address and phone number for the Fair Oaks Farms is 856 North 600 East in Fair Oak IN – (877) 536-1194.

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Taking a vacation in Chicago is one of the best places for travel, with so many things to do during the summer and winter months, there is no chance of ever running out of fun things to do in Chicago for cheap. Chicago is by far one of my favorite vacation hot spots since my kids and grandkids live there, and since I used to live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago years ago, visiting my old stomping grounds will be a treat.

We’ve had a good time during our inexpensive Staycation vacations, but this year we decided we really needed a getaway vacation where we can fly to Chicago and enjoy the Windy City and its many attractions. Planning a cheap vacation trip to Chicago includes finding good deals on hotels, car rentals, air fare, discount event tickets and finding as many free activities as possible. When it comes to planning a vacation to Chicago or anywhere else, cheap is good, but free is better.

Deciding where to stay in Chicago, where to eat, where to park if you’re going to spend time in downtown Chicago or surrounding cities, and where all the hot spots are in or outside of the city are things that must be decided. Picking what hotels or motels we would consider for our visit to Chicago was easy with Hotels.com, and since I used to live there I know what neighborhoods are good or bad, and what areas to avoid at all cost.

Vacation to Chicago For Cheap

Chicago is well known for having many of the most popular restaurants, entertainment, shopping, transportation options, concerts and dance clubs, museums and year-round events that vacationers to Chicago can always find stuff to do for the whole family to enjoy. Even though my kids aren’t really “kids” anymore, we’ll still plan things to see and do that my grown children and the grandkids will enjoy that are either cheap or free, since we don’t want our vacation to Chicago to be a financial hardship for their budget as we run around town together.

Finding cheap round-trip airfare to Chicago and back wasn’t a problem at all because we had plenty of accumulated air miles on Mastercard that we used for our plane tickets, so flying to Chicago was basically free. We checked out local Chicago-area hotels online that were close to our final destination spot, searched for discounts and promotion codes, and managed to find a good quality, 4 star hotel at the right price and in a nice area.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust hotel ratings or “star” factors distinguishing a 5-star hotel from a 3 or 4-star hotel because anyone (including hotel owner relatives and friends) can post a good or bad rating to make the hotel/motel appear to be ranked better than it truly deserves. My husband looked at a few inexpensive hotels in and around Chicago and nearby suburbs on Google Maps with Street View and quickly realized we don’t want to stay at those hotels. Ever.

Tip: Make sure you don’t unknowingly choose to spend your vacation staying at a hotel that charges “by the hour”. Planning a vacation for cheap is one thing, but those kinds of hotels are not where we want to stay for a minute, let alone an hour or an entire vacation trip to Chicago or elsewhere.

Things to Do in Chicago

There are lots of fun things to do in Chicago that are dirt cheap or free, for families with kids, singles, married couples without kids etc. Here is a short list of 40 things to see or do in or around Chicago including Chicago Museums, with many attractions and events offering free days, coupons or deep discounts on admission.

1. The Art Institute
2. Field Museum of Natural History
3. Museum of Science and Industry
4. Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
5. Shedd Aquarium
6. Adler Planetarium
7. The Chicago Historical Society
8. The Magnificent Mile
9. “Sue” & the “Underground Adventure” at the Field Museum
10. Chicago Cultural Center
11. Garfield Park Observatory
12. Ride bikes along Lake Shore Drive
13. Chicago Children’s Theatre
14. McCormick-Tribune Ice Rink
15. Lincoln Park Zoo
16. Brookfield Zoo
17. Wrigley Field
18. Navy Pier
19. Grant Park
20. Chicago’s Historic Water Tower
21. Willis Tower Skydeck (formerly Sears Tower)
22. Six Flags Great America
23. Chinatown
24. Greektown
25. Harpo Studios to see Oprah!
26. Taste of Chicago
27. Chicago Beaches
28. John Hancock Building
29. Planet Hollywood
30. Civic Opera House
31. Millennium Park
32. Botanical Garden
33. Butterfly Museum
34. Buckingham Fountain
35. Chicago Air & Water Show
36. Chicago Blues Festival
37. Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
38. Lambs Farm
39. Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
40. Dave & Busters – Eat, Drink, Play

With so many things to do in Chicago and surrounding cities, two hot spots no one should miss out on is Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza and Chicago style hot dogs. Chicago is famous for having the best hot dog and deep dish pizza, and those two things are on our “must do” list during our vacation to Chicago.

Chicago Vacation Packages

After checking out a number of vacation package deals for our Chicago getaway trip that includes the flight, hotel and rental car, we actually found the best deals for this vacation by simply going to each website individually. Discount codes and promotion codes advertised online were either bogus or already used when we started planning our vacation, so we won’t waste time looking for those anymore.

Vacations to Hawaii or similar getaways offering great package deals for all inclusive vacations, such as a resort vacations, might be well worth the extra effort trying to find those special package deals. The total cost of our vacation to Chicago including hotel stay, airfare, car rental and gas, money for food and entertainment etc is one of the cheapest vacations we’ve ever planned and not one penny of the whole trip to Chicago is being paid for with a credit card.

One very cool bonus with the Chicago-area hotel we chose through Hotels.com is that it has a kitchenette in the room besides other amenities like free internet access, to save money on eating out by fixing some meals in the hotel room kitchenette. I don’t know if I would call this vacation a “frugal” vacation or not, which would probably mean driving to Chicago instead of flying, but it sure has turned out to be a lot cheaper than we expected when we decided to take a getaway vacation to Chicago.

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