Travel To and From Madison

Whether we offered to pay your travel costs or not, please make sure that we get a copy of your travel plans so that we know when to expect you here and can plan accurately. (If we offered to pay for your hotel room, we will pay for the six nights of the schedule.)

Find the numbered section below that applies to you:

1. We Offered to Pay for Your Travel

We budgeted an average of $525 per participant for travel to and from Madison (except in cases of flying internationally or driving from nearby). Many travelers will find good options for less than that amount, and some will have to go over that amount. Our goal is to have everyone find a reasonable travel itinerary and not exceed our overall budget.

When looking for a reasonable and cost-effective means to travel to and from Madison, here are a few ideas:

In any case, try to complete your travel plans by early June, before rates go up significantly.

See below for details about each travel mode:

Travel by Airplane

Do NOT buy your own airline tickets. University rules require the University’s travel agency, Fox World Travel (FWT), to purchase your tickets.

To arrange flights to/from Madison:

  1. Prepare your travel information, requirements, and preferences:

    • Basic personal information, including full legal name (as on government IDs), date of birth, and possibly a phone number
    • Travel requirements, including starting and ending airport(s), hard timing constraints — preferences, such as not liking early flights, are different than hard constraints!
    • Travel preferences, including timing preferences, airplane seating locations, and so forth

      If you wish, you may search for (but not purchase) flights ahead of time for your own information — but note that FWT may find different flights or may see different costs, and all tickets must be purchased by FWT and follow UW rules.

      If flights to/from Madison are expensive, the FWT agent may check flights to/from Milwaukee or Chicago and bus schedules from those airports to Madison:

    • Bus between Mitchell Airport (MKE) in Milwaukee and downtown Madison: Badger Bus (~$20 each way)
    • Bus between O’Hare Airport (ORD) in Chicago and downtown Madison: Van Galder Bus (~$30 each way)
    • Bus between Midway Airport (MDW) in Chicago and downtown Madison: Van Galder Bus (~$30 each way) 2.

      Contact Fox World Travel

    • By phone: Within the United States, use 866-230-8787 and select option 4; internationally, use +1 920-230-6467 and select option 4. Tell them that you are part of Group Code 09UW1028. Agents are available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. U.S. Central Time.

    • By email: Send to uwgroups@foxworldtravel.com and include Group Code 09UW1028 in the subject line.

      3.

      In most cases, FWT will need to get our approval for your itinerary before completing the purchase, so it may take up to a day to get final confirmation. Airplane seats cannot be held without purchase over a weekend, so it is best to avoid contacting FWT late on Fridays.

Note: If you are including bus tickets as part of your flying itinerary, you may purchase them through FWT when you arrange your flights, or for maximum flexibility purchase them from bus drivers on the day of travel.

Travel by Bus

Typically, reasonable bus options — i.e., those that do not take an excessive amount of time to reach Madison — cost much less than air options.

Note that you may purchase bus tickets through Fox World Travel (see above in the Travel by Airplane section) or yourself before or on the day of travel. If you purchase your own tickets, you must get our approval for the estimated cost first, then request reimbursement from us after the School.

When you purchase your own tickets, save the original receipt (even if by email). It would be best if the ticket contains the following information, but a regular ticket stub (e.g., without your name or date) should work fine. Just get what you can! If possible, we would like:

Be sure to email us with your travel plans as soon as possible. Try to include:

Travel by Personal Car

If you are driving to Madison, you will be reimbursed the mileage rate of $0.535/mile for the round-trip distance (as calculated by Google Maps), plus tolls. Also, we will pay for parking costs for the week at the hotel in Madison (but not elsewhere). It may help to keep your receipts for tolls.

Note: Due to the high mileage reimbursement rate, driving can be an expensive option! We reserve the right to limit your total driving reimbursement, so work with us on the details.

To travel by personal car, please check with us first. We may search for comparable flight options, to make sure that driving is indeed the least expensive method.

Be sure to email us with your travel plans as soon as possible. Try to include:

2. You Are Paying for Your Travel

If you are paying for your own travel or if someone else is paying for it, go ahead and make your travel arrangements now! Just remember to arrive on Sunday before 6pm and depart on Saturday (or else check with us first).

Be sure to email us with your travel plans as soon as possible. Try to include: