<p>So, my son wants to make a visit to UW and we will be coming from California...and therefore no direct flights. It looks like we have two options: either fly Southwest to Milwaukee, and drive the rest of the way, or fly directly to Madison and have to make one stop somewhere and change planes. It looks like it is about 80 miles or so from Milwaukee to Madison so not sure if that is the way to go, but the prices on the flights are good to Milwaukee. If we went in November for a visit, would there be snow on the ground then? How far is the airport in Madison to the campus? Anyone recommend any airlines that fly to Madison regularly? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I am from California and I personally take Airtran or Southwest into Milwaukee to get to school. Usually I will take Badger bus, but if you want to rent a car you would likely get into Madison faster. Rates to the regional Madison airport are expensive, and frankly if you have a layover somewhere it would probably take just as much time to drive from Milwaukee anyway. Plus then you get to see Wisconsin outside of Madison too.</p>
<p>The last couple years snow has started to stick the first or second week of December, but in all honesty you never know. It’ll likely be in the 30/40s in November so expect that it could snow if it precipitates. Feel free to ask me more questions as a fellow Californian!</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. What is the Badger bus and how much does that cost and how long does that take? Where do you pick it up from? Is the cold hard to take being from California? My son wants a change and he has no idea how frigid Wisconsin can be in the winter. Do you like it there? What made you choose the school? What year are you in and what is your major? Thanks for the information. Feel free to PM me if you like.</p>
<p>Glad you asked. My daughters ride the Badger Bus all the time. Here is the schedule:
[Badger</a> Coaches](<a href=“http://www.badgerbusonline.com/BasicSchedule.aspx]Badger”>http://www.badgerbusonline.com/BasicSchedule.aspx)
You want Mitchell Airport to Memorial Union. The trip evidently takes more than two hours, which sounds bad, except that changing planes would take a similar amount of time, and you’ll get cheap fares into Mitchell.</p>
<p>Driving from Mitchell airport to Madison is easy if you decide you want to rent a car. Unless the traffic is bad around Milwaukee, it will take you less than 90 minutes to make the drive. I live in Madison. I love flying in and out of Madison when I can, but it is often a lot less expensive to fly out of Milwaukee. It is unlikely that you will run into snowy road conditions in November.</p>
<p>My son is starting his 2nd year at UW Madison coming from southern California. He loves it! The weather was colder than he was expecting but he was prepared with a good down jacket, lots of hats, gloves and a pair of boots. He has flown into Madison on American and United. Last spring break his flight from LAX was delayed and he missed his connecting flight from Chicago to Madison. He quickly got the very last bus from Ohare to Madison via Van Galder bus company. I guess that’s another option to consider…flying into Chicago. The bus ride is about 2.5 to 3 hours which he thought was fine and he was dropped off right in the middle of campus. Have a great trip!</p>
<p>Sounds like you need to consider both Milwaukee and Chicago O’Hare for primary flights with bus service via the mentioned companies to avoid hassles with timing and cost of flying into Madison. Easy drive from Milwaukee to Madison as well as from O’Hare to Madison if you choose to rent a car.</p>
<p>Many large car rental companies do not rent to those under 25 or have extra requirements. Many also have a drop-off charge for a one way rental. Bus is easier and cheaper and they go right to campus.</p>
<p>When parents make a college visit with their HS student a car is nice for exploring and increases flight and hotel options. When students travel plane/bus is a good option. At peak travel times (dates) the bus companies plan accordingly.</p>
<p>The drive from Mitchell to Madison is an easy one - I would definitely take advantage of better fares, especially if a parent who can rent a car is coming along for the visit. My D visited Madison with my husband in late November last year and it was snowing the day they were there. It wasn’t heavy snow, and we’re from the midwest so they’re used to driving in it anyway.</p>
<p>MKE is indeed cheaper, but I avoid it during the months of December through March. You never know exactly what the weather will be. Plus many of the flights we are interested in leave very, very early in the morning meaning we would have to rent a motel room near the airport. We often leave out of ORD since we also have a place in downtown Chicago, but the same caveat as to winter weather holds. There is also a problem with afternoon thunderstorms in warmer weather. Friday afternoons at ORD are to be avoided like the plague. There are frequent buses from ORD to Memorial Union.</p>
<p>My D has to fly to New Jersey, and there are SO many flights to Chicago she usually goes in and out of there for schedule reasons. She says the buses are fine, and she feels safe with the drivers. Cars (and mini vans) are pretty cheap to rent in Milwaukee, cheaper than Chicago. If you need a place to stay we love [Madison</a>, Wisconsin Hotel & Accommodations | Hyatt Place](<a href=“http://madisondowntown.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place/index.jsp]Madison”>http://madisondowntown.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place/index.jsp). It’s new and close and nice, we’ll be there for Thanksgiving. Staying a bit away form campus is REALLY cheap, if you have a car.</p>
<p>BTW, Megabus runs from Madison to Chicago. Booking several months in advance I got a $5.00 fare to Union Station in downtown.</p>
<p>So , I just found a pretty good fare on Jet Blue out of Long Beach to Chicago O’Hare… Then we could drive from O’Hare to Madison. How long a drive would that be and if we came to Madison on November 10-12th would there be a possiblity of snow then? I am originally from NJ but have lived in California so long that I am a bit afraid to drive in the snow…Or should I just continue to look into fares into either Milwaukee or directly into Madison? How many miles it is roughly from Chicago to Madison and is it an easy drive on highways or what?</p>
<p>I usually can make it from Ohare>Madison in around 2-2.5 hours depending on traffic and it can be more with construction delays. Snow is possible but not likely to impede your trip. Or you can just take the bus that runs from Ohare to UW all day. Van Galder. Not as fast but no driving either</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Chicago+O’Hare+Airport&s1=IL&c2=Madison&s2=WI&resultId=175942&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=%2Findex.asp&cbid=760567991842[/url]”>http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Chicago+O’Hare+Airport&s1=IL&c2=Madison&s2=WI&resultId=175942&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=%2Findex.asp&cbid=760567991842</a></p>
<p>I agree 100% with barrons. The drive from O’Hare is not bad but if you get in during late afternoon you will likely run into traffic. Also, be prepared to pay the tolls on the Illinois tollway. You can take the Van Galder bus right to campus and there are several hotels within a mile or a short cab ride. Also, there are rooms available in both student unions. Since the football team is out of town that weekend, there might be rooms available right on campus. Downtown Madison and the campus are very walkable and a car is not necessary. I wouldn’t worry about snow, but it might be cold during that time of year so bring some layers.</p>
<p>We go to downtown Chicago two to three times a month driving on Friday afternoons. The traffic from Madison to O’Hare, and the reverse, is fine. It becomes really problematic once you get to O’Hare and take the Kennedy downtown. That can be life draining. There has been construction all summer on I90 that has slowed things down a bit to and from O’Hare, but by November it should be over.</p>
<p>The chance of any appreciable snow in mid-November is probably no better than 1 in 25, if not 1 in 50. Mid-November is late fall in this area. There may be some frost on the pumpkin, but a snowstorm that would impede driving that early would be as rare as a 60 degree day in late January. </p>
<p>Enjoy your visit.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity I checked the climate data, and found that for the 30 year period ending in 2000, the average *cumulative *seasonal snowfall in Madison through November 15 was a fraction of an inch. You can pretty safely leave the boots at home. ;)</p>
<p>Good to know MilWDad…Great information! LOL!</p>