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 September 9th. This is also the cutoff date for 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.
-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 estimated costs should be approximately $1,600-$1,900 depending on how much you opt in or out of and your dining preferences. These costs are each person’s own responsibility. We’ll direct you 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 (3)
See all- Chicago Trip Planning MeetingTBD, Omaha, NE
This is a planning meeting for those interested in joining us for a fun laid-back Chicago trip together. The trip is October 2nd through October 5th, 2025 but for those that prefer spending more or less time there, you can adjust your dates however you’d like. This meeting is a good way for those who are interested to contribute to the planning or just meet others who are going. We have some details already in mind and a group block set up for the hotel. The hotel is the Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown/River North. The hotel is $700.88 total per room for the three nights (taxes and breakfast included). Book by September 9th as this is the cutoff date for the discounted rate. That rate will be honored if you want to arrive earlier or leave later too. Additionally, everyone who confirms their reservation between now and September 3rd (except Patrick and Melissa), will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary room upgrade to a suite! Here is the booking link Fairfield reservation link.
This trip is going to have a lot of flexibility rather than being a chaperoned-style trip, while still incorporating a few options for group activities. You are responsible for reserving your own room and booking your own transportation to/from Chicago. We can do a group dinner each evening starting Thursday and at least a couple other group activities 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).
Here’s a general itinerary idea to get us started (subject to change based on the group’s interests):
-10/02/25 (Thurs) 7:00pm: Gather for a group dinner
-10/03/25 1:00pm: Guided tour of The Art Institute of Chicago. 5:00pm: Group dinner in Old Town. 7:00pm or 8:00pm:
Second City Comedy Show
-10/04/25 4:00pm or 5:30 (sunset):
Architecture River Cruise. 7:30pm:
Group dinner. 9pm: Blues or Jazz club
-10/05/25 12:00: group lunch (deep dish)You are still welcome to join for the trip if you can’t make it to this meeting. Check out the event post for the trip for more details and follow the comments to keep updated on ideas. Feel free to submit ideas for consideration. We will list the meeting location once we have an idea how many are attending.
- Adventures in Chicago Group Trip!Needs location
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 September 9th. This is also the cutoff date for 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.
-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 estimated costs should be approximately $1,600-$1,900 depending on how much you opt in or out of and your dining preferences. These costs are each person’s own responsibility. We’ll direct you 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!
