Flying
The nearest airport is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. There is currently no public transportation available from the airport to Ann Arbor; instead, the most affordable yet convenient options for getting to Ann Arbor are:
- Airport shuttles (shared taxis), which will drop off and pick up from any location in Ann Arbor. Reservations must be made in advance for travel in both directions; some shuttle operators take reservations online.
- Michigan Flyer, a coach which travels on a regular schedule between the airport and a a hotel near the edge of Ann Arbor. If you take the Michigan Flyer and are not staying at the Four Points by Sheraton, you will need to take public transportation (a bus that runs on weekdays only) or a taxi from this hotel to your place of accommodation.
See Wikitravel’s Ann Arbor page for more information on these transporation options. The trip between the airport and Ann Arbor takes about 35 minutes.
Travelers with time to spare who can find cheaper fares to Chicago than to Detroit may wish to fly to Chicago, take a CTA “L” train (public transportation) downtown, and take a long-distance train or bus to Ann Arbor from there. See the section below for more information.
Travel from Chicago
Visitors from the Chicago area may prefer to take the train or a bus since these modes of transportation cost less and deliver you directly to downtown Ann Arbor:
- Amtrak has three trains per day with a scheduled ride of 4–4.5 hours. Beware that trains in either direction are frequently delayed (departing or en route), usually by 15-30 minutes but occasionally a few hours. See AmtrakDelays.com for recent arrival statistics.
- Greyhound offers no-frills coach service to a station in downtown Ann Arbor.
- megabus.com offers low-cost service in newer coaches but to a parking lot far from downtown, from which you will need to take public transportation (a bus that runs on weekdays only) to get downtown or take a taxi to your accommodation.
Keep in mind that Chicago is in the Central Time Zone, one hour behind Ann Arbor (in the Eastern Time Zone).