Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Travel Guide

Arrive in Omaha well-prepared and ready for the AGM week: with the original Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting travel guide, trusted by 150,000+ visitors, based on 1,000+ hours of research.

Click on the Table of Contents to learn everything you need to know to plan your trip to Omaha:

Hi, I am Tilman Versch, your BRK AGM travel and logistics expert.

What started in 2019 as my first visit to the United States has turned into an obsession. As a true value investor, my goal is to get to Omaha cheaper, smarter, and better prepared than the year before.

By organizing the logistics for 100+ AGM visitors and through 10+ personal trips, I know what works and what costly pitfalls to avoid.

Use my hard-won knowledge to arrive in Omaha 100% ready for a great AGM week.

There is no general answer to this question. It all depends on your individual budget and your available time. Personally, I have seen two scenarios:

I recommend staying in Omaha from Wednesday to Sunday or Monday. This can improve your stay at the “Woodstock of Capitalism” tremendeously. The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting has grown into the “largest trade fair for value investors” over the years. There are numerous awesome side events to explore.

• For international visitors, an extended stay can be especially valuable. Just traveling for the weekend can be challenging. Jet lag and travel efforts can make a short stay especially intense. A longer visit allows you to better adjust to the time difference and enjoy all events better. Sadly, I could observe many international visitors missing awesome experiences when trying to just visit for the weekend.
• Domestic visitors can also benefit from an extended stay in Omaha. Many worth visiting events happen on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. There is also the advantage of avoiding the intense travel days: Friday and Sunday flights are typically in intense demand. Additionally, missed connection flights can often to be common, as there are limited direct flights to Omaha. Many attendees have faced last-minute flight changes or delays. Building some buffer time into your travel plans can support a relaxed travel experience.

I recommend flying in Thursday night and flying out on Sunday after 2 PM if you are on a tight time budget. So, you will have the chance to participate in most events on Friday and also the highlights on Sunday.

Flying out on Saturday can be a practical solution if you need to be at home for parts of the weekend. But please develop a plan for storing/handling your luggage if you plan to visit the Berkshire Hathaway AGM 2025. Otherwise, you might run into difficulties.

Here, I have several options to travel to Omaha for the Berkshire Shareholder Meeting:

Most shareholders fly into Omaha’s Eppley Field Airport.

You are welcome to use the following resources to plan your flights:

• You can find all available connections to and from Omaha via Eppley Field’s website.
• You can also visualize the best connections to and from Omaha with Google Flights.
• Please plan with enough time for immigration as an international traveler. You need 2 to 5 hours to enter the US at some international airports. I recommend a 4-hour buffer between international arrival and domestic departure.

These recommendations could also be helpful to time your flight booking:

• It is enough to look for flights from late October. Unlike booking a hotel, booking a flight is worthwhile waiting. Usually, airfares are cheapest three to five months ahead of the AGM.
• Inbound flights to Omaha are affordable on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, prices will be higher.
• Outbound flights are expensive on Sunday and Monday. Prices go down on Monday and should normalize by Tuesday.
• You can use Google Flights’ or Skyscanner’s price notifications to get notified when flight deals are available.
• To compensate for your CO² emissions, I recommend Atmosfair.

Please make sure to check out this website to find the right pick-up spot, if you plan to take a Lyft, Uber, or Taxi from Omaha Eppley Airfield to your accommodation.

Flying directly into Omaha is not always the best option. There are also several airports close to Omaha you could travel to. From there, you could do a road trip in a rented car to Omaha. Qeeq can, for instance, help you find the best car rental deal.

• National airports: The airports in Des Moines, Lincoln, Grand Island, Sioux City, and Kansas City (KS) are suitable options.
• International airports: Minneapolis, Chicago, or Denver offer the chance to fly internationally.

I recommend leveraging Google Maps to discover interesting stops along your road trip. Maps does recommend a selection of high-quality stops as an inspiration for you. For instance, here you can find different stops along the road from Minneapolis to Omaha, from Chicago to Omaha, and from Denver to Omaha.

You can travel with an Amtrak train to Omaha. The scenic California Zephyr runs daily from Chicago or Denver (Salt Lake City — San Francisco) to Omaha. On both routes, the observation car can make your trip spectacular.

• From Chicago, the train departs at 2 PM. You will arrive in Omaha at 10:55 PM.
• From Denver, the train departs at 7:10 PM and arrives in Omaha at 04:59 AM.

I recommend booking your train ticket six months before the AGM to secure the best prices. If you are a fan of traveling by train as I am, you should also explore Amtrak’s USA Rail Pass. With it, you can ride ten travel segments in the US for $499 (and sometimes for the sale price of $299). This pass could be a great option, especially if you are eager to explore the East Coast.

Trains in the US sometimes run late as they share tracks with freight trains. The chance of having a delay is usually higher if you travel from Omaha to Chicago. You can track potential delays from or to Omaha with this map or this map.

Greyhound, Jefferson, Burlington Trailways, and Express Arrow buses approach Omaha. Traveling by bus in the US is very affordable but can also be a real adventure.

It is worth planning your Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting travel and your overnight stay early to find great accommodation at a fair price. Here, I am sharing my tips for finding a good hotel or holiday home.

Omaha, and especially the area around the Old Market, is packed around the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. So, hotel prices will rise quickly. Up to 90% of the hotel rooms could be booked on the AGM’s Friday and Saturday. Therefore, you should book your room soon to get the best prices for your Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting travel.

I recommend the following for your hotel search in Omaha:

• Book directly through the hotel’s website. There, you will usually get the best deal.
• To have a fun trip, I recommend a location with at least 4.5 stars on Google or more than 8.0 on Booking.com.
• The official Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Guide also has a list of selected hotels. You can go through it to find great deals.
• Omaha’s hotel capacity has increased during the last few years. Searching for recently opened hotels or hotels opening soon could be helpful. As they are in the built-up phase and not on the radar of all visitors, these hotels could still offer capacity and a reasonable price for your stay during the AGM.

Omaha offers various hotel clusters where you can find a room. I recommend searching for a room in the following order:

Old Market & Downtown Omaha: The downtown area between Old Market and Charles Schwab Stadion is the prime location for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Here, you are usually near the AGM events and many auxiliary events. You will often pay a massive premium for your stay. Therefore, I would recommend booking early to secure the best deal.

Blackstone & The Medical Center: In the Blackstone Area, you can find a few hotels between Saddle Creek Road and Midtown Crossing. These hotels frequently offer a better deal than the ones at Old Market. You are also close to the Berkshire headquarters at Blackstone Plaza here. Blackstone is one of Omaha’s cool neighborhoods. You can easily find good restaurants or cafés here. Via the ORBT bus that runs every 10 minutes, you are easily connected to Old Market, if you don’t want to Uber or Lyft all the time.

Council Bluffs and Abbott Drive: The hotels in Council Bluffs and around Abbott Drive are great if you are looking for affordable accommodation in close distance to the CHI. Both areas are mostly functional for sleeping. Please don’t expect to find any interesting bars or restaurants here. The best thing about this area is that it is only a short drive away from Old Market and the CHI Health Center.

Westroads Mall: The area around Westroads Mall also offers several hotels with attractive rates, like the Omaha Marriott. Borsheims is in close distance here as well as the Westroads Mall and Omaha’s only Wholefoods Market. If you want to avoid driving, you can hop into the ORBT bus that takes you downtown every 10 minutes for just $1,25.

Aksarben Village & 72nd / Grover Street: Aksarben Village and South Central Omaha provide you with additional hotels. Via the interstate 80 you are well connected to Downtown. With the Bookworm and the Nebraska Furniture Mart you are in close distance to two Berkshire-related attractions.

Omaha is a pretty safe city. We never had the feeling of being unsafe. However, I have heard that North Omaha and Southeast Omaha might have areas where you should be more cautious.

For holiday homes, I recommend checking the following platforms:

1. Airbnb: You can find the widest selection of reasonable accommodations at a fair price on Airbnb*. I am a massive fan of booking accommodation on Airbnb for the BRK AGM.
2. VRBO: The competitor VRBO can also offer other home rentals that are not listed on Airbnb.
3. HomeToGo: The aggregator HomeToGo can offer an additional selection of apartments. Please check it for additional offerings.

I recommend the following checks to help you to avoid issues with a holiday apartment:

• Review the ratings: Please always review the ratings of the holiday home before booking. I would recommend at least a rating of 4.7 stars. In 2019, I made a mistake and booked a lower-quality place. So, sadly, I had to re-book for the week of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting. This was pretty costly.
• Be aware of pitfalls: I have also experienced hosts that might ask for a 50%-100% higher price for an already booked accommodation when they finally realize that the AGM is taking place. The chance is very low, but be aware that such a risk exists. You should involve the platform you have booked through right away if such behavior occurs.
• Watch out for scammers: I also came across scammers who are offering accommodations that don’t exist. Please book only from hosts with a believable track record. Ensuring your holiday home has at least a few reviews can also help.

This section is all about money! So, let’s break the costs down a bit for the “average visitor” that travels alone and stays 4 days in Omaha:

These are the main costs for your stay:

• Flight/transport to Omaha: You can plan with a budget of $300 to $1000 for domestic visitors and a budget of $600 to $1200 for international visitors (both in economy class).
• Accommodation: Calculate with a range of $60-$150 per night for suitable accommodation (if you don’t do couchsurfing).
• Food: I recommend planning with $50 to $100 a day.

Please also factor in these additional costs:

• Your AGM ticket: You should calculate with $5 (domestic) to $25 (international), if you buy your Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting 2025 ticket via eBay.
• Communications: You might have to calculate with $10 to $50 for your phone. Please find my recommendations on that below.
• Transport in Omaha: Calculate with $7 to $25 per ride for Uber or Lyft. The cheapest way to get around in Omaha is to book accommodation in walking distance to Old Market. The bus is also quite affordable and easy to use if you book an accommodation next to the frequent ORBT line. You can also use the Heartland City Bikes monthly pass for $20.

Your costs depend on your personal preferences, the time you spend in Omaha, your budget, how far away you live from Omaha, and if you travel with a group. But for the “average visitor,” I would recommend using the following calculation:

• US visitors should have costs in the range of $1,000 to $1,500 for a 4-day stay in Omaha including the flight.
• International visitors can calculate with $600 to $1,000 for the stay without the flight. For instance, with a flight from Europe, costs should range between $1,200 and $2,000 in total.

I am pleased to share a few cost-saving recommendations to reduce expenses during your stay in Omaha.

Here, you can find my two recommended solutions for a mobile phone plan in the US:

• Airalo: For a short stay (under 10 days), I recommend Airalo. With my code “TILMAN1364” you can save $3 on your purchase.
• T-Mobile USA: For a 2 up to 4 week stay, I recommend T-Mobile USA. Their prepaid option is a great solution.
• Mint Mobile: Mint Mobile is a great alternative to T-Mobile. Use our referral link to get $15 in renewal credit.

If you’re staying in the US for a while, it’s a good idea to get a local phone plan with a US number. Services, like ordering food delivery or ride-sharing apps, need a phone number to work.

With Wise, you will profit from very low exchange fees and cashback on your deposit. You can also withdraw cash for free with Wise’s debit cards. If you register with for Wise with this link *, you will get your first money transfer for free.

You can explore public transport opportunities for your trip, instead of using Uber for your trips. For instance, each bus ride in Omaha is only $1.25. E-bikes can be purchased for a flat rate price. In some other cities, public transport can even be free.

You could pack lightly and just travel with hand luggage. Then, you don’t have to pay extra baggage fees.

I recommend having some space in your luggage if you want to shop in Omaha. This will help avoiding luggage or shipping fees.

We found a few hacks to reduce food costs:

• TooGoodToGo is the best app to save money and reduce food waste. It is serviced in many US cities. You can buy affordable meals with TooGoodToGo. Sadly, the offer in Omaha is minimal.
• Coffee to go: Consuming coffee outside your home can be costly. If you want to enjoy your coffee with milk, I recommend getting an Americano instead of a Cappuccino or Latte. Usually, you can fill up your Americano with milk for free at the shops.

I can share the following recommendations based on the observation of 300+ visitors and several AGM trips:

Casual or business casual are the typical clothing styles during the BRK Hathaway AGM week in Omaha. A more formal clothing style is rare.

May and September are typically the nicest months of the year in Omaha. It is warm, but not hot. You can already enjoy the outdoors, but there are still risks of colder days. Therefore, I recommend packing for all weather. Please bring some summer clothing with you, but also a warm jacket.

Midwestern weather can change quickly. Lovely summer days can turn to days with intense rainstorms. Even tornados are possible. Therefore, I recommend checking the weather report daily. Furthermore, please ensure you have rainproof clothes and an umbrella.

Omaha is way more south than many visitors, especially if they are from Europe, might think. This also means an increased risk of sun burn. Please bring some sunscreen with you to avoid this.

During the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting week, Omaha is quite crowded. Hotels will be filled up to 90% for the weekend. This also means a higher noise level during the night. Furthermore, if your accommodation is close to traffic, this can can be very loud, too. Therefore, I recommend packing ear plugs to ensure great sleep.