Is this a plan that will work??

Can anyone tell me how hard it would be to fly into the airport and then get to the saint paul hotel, and then go to the mall of america...and then see a concert all without renting a car? I wonder how much it would cost to get from the airport to the st paul hotel? Also how would i get from our hotel to the mall of america? The concert will be easy because i think the st paul hotel is just across the street from the concert. Any comments would be appreciated! thanks

Is this a plan that will work??

IF you don%26#39;t get a rental car, you will need to

A) take the bus to light rail in Minneapolis to get to MOA OR

B) shovel out the dough for a cab, which I think would run at least $25 one way... but it%26#39;s been a long time since I took that cab ride.

Some of the other locals would probably know the cost better.

The cost of a cab would still be less than a rental car. AND if you could schedule your MOA visit around your flight, that would eliminated 2 cab fares, since they%26#39;re both connected by light rail. You could check in early and then only lug around your carry-on, or there are pay lockers at the MOA for day use.

Is this a plan that will work??

I remember a poster looking for way to get from Airport to Radisson Hotel downtown St. Paul.

MetroTransit has express bus from St. Paul to Airport, and I think it continues to Mall of America.

I would get street address of St. Paul Hotel, and then plug it into a route-finder at the MetroTransit site -

http://www.metrotransit.com/

Feel free to give them a call too - they%26#39;d be glad to get you routes / times / locations.

612-373-3333

The Mall of America is next too the airport, but I bet you have your bags and want to drop them off.

An alternative is to hit the Mall on the way out of town. Go to airport with bags, check them in, then take the easy light rail to Mall from inside the airport - lowest level. Shop and come back to airport for flights.

Otherwise, I%26#39;d say $25 - $35 cab ride airport to hotel.

The St. Paul Hotel has some info on their website:

https:/…

You%26#39;re right, the east entrance to the Xcel/Rivercenter complex is across the park from the hotel, be sure to notice statue of Herb Brooks as the 1908 US Hockey team defeated the USSR at the entrance. :)

Rice Park is lovely, especially at night. If you eat at the St. Paul Grill (main restaurant at the Hotel) request a table with a park view, it makes a very good evening even more spectacular.

Enjoy your stay %26amp; ask away if you have any further questions.

well how does this sound...we fly in to the airport and take the light rail(??) to the mall of america right away...What is the light rail, how much would it cost from the airport to MOA? Is there a place at the mall to put our bag? Then when we are done at the MAO we take a cab to our hotel. Then the next day we hang out around the st paul hotel and then go to the concert. The next day we take a cab back to the airport???

Hi JM,

Here would be my answer to your most recent post...

Light rail is a public transit train with a set line that goes between Mall of America (MOA) and downtown Minneapolis. It is somewhat similar to the ';El'; train in Chicago. During most of the day, it has a train that stops at set points about every 10-15 minutes and a trip from MOA and downtown Minneapolis would be approximately 30-35 minutes. While I was not keen about the public cost to build just one line on the system (somewhere in the ballpark of $550 million dollars, if I remember correctly), it has been pretty convenient.

There is a stop in the airport itself to go either towards the MOA or downtown. After getting bags, you would follow signs saying ';light rail'; or ';train station';. You would then buy a ticket from a self-service machine for about $2/person and go to the actual stop. Minneapolis opted to go with the honor system on tickets. You buy the ticket and then just get on the train when the next one comes along. If a police officer boarded a train, asked you for a ticket, and you didn%26#39;t produce one, I hear it%26#39;s about a $180 ticket (in other words, you%26#39;re probably better off just buying the $2 ticket!). In a worst case scenario, you%26#39;d wait about 15 minutes for a train to pick you up and getting to the MOA from the airport would be about a 10 minute ride. The train goes directly into the MOA - your biggest issue would be how much you want to walk around with luggage.

I believe there are self-service lockers to store your bags, but not absolutely sure. There are customer service desks at most main entrances to the MOA. I%26#39;m also not sure how big those lockers are for suitcases. One alternative idea is to inquire with the big department store chains to see if they would store bags in their concierge areas (the stores obviously hoping you buy items in return for storing bags). You could check out the MOA website for a phone number to call them to inquire (www.mallofamerica.com). You would shop to your hearts content and then catch a taxi to the St. Paul Hotel. I also believe you would look at approximately a $25-30 ride one way to the St. Paul Hotel (assuming no unusual traffic delays and not including any tip you would perhaps offer).

The hotel is about a block away from the XCel Center and Rivercenter, so not an issue to get to any concert there. You%26#39;d then just arrange to get a taxi back to the airport, another $25-30 ride.

In the end, as long as you are agreeable to moving luggage on the train between the airport and MOA (which is not terribly difficult, but depends on your luggage and willingness to bring it around), your idea seems doable, in my opinion.