Traveling to Atlanta

If you’re new to visiting Atlanta, you’ll find that the area is fairly sprawled out. The airport is 10 miles southwest from the heart of downtown, and Truist Park sits 15 miles northwest of downtown. There’s a joke amongst locals that Atlanta is an hour away from Atlanta because of the time it takes to get across the city. And it’s no secret Atlanta lacks widely effective public transportation options (and there’s none that connects the ballpark to the airport or downtown Atlanta). Because of this, you’ll find most everyone in the area drives. 

If you haven’t heard, Atlanta is also home to the world’s busiest airport. While it may seem daunting, it also provides tons of flights which will open up options for you in terms of your game schedule.

In this chapter, we will help you determine the best way to get to Atlanta. On the Local Transit page, we’ll cover the best ways to travel between the airport, your hotel, and Truist Park.

Flying to Atlanta

There aren’t many cities that offer more convenient flight options than Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) is home to Delta’s headquarters, but most airlines offer flight options to ATL. While Delta has the most nonstop flights across the U.S. to and from Hartsfield, Southwest alone has more than 40 non-stop destinations (including direct flights from 19 other MLB cities). 

The good news? You can probably catch a Sunday 1:35pm game at Truist Park and still fly out that evening – but you’ll want to book a flight that departs 8:00pm or later when you factor in the time it takes to exit the ballpark, return to your hotel, get your luggage, drive the 20+ miles to the airport, return your rental car, check your bags, and allow time to get through security, which can be terrible. 

If you are using rideshare instead of a rental car, are staying at a hotel right next to the ballpark, and aren’t checking luggage, then you can probably chop 30-45 minutes off of that time, but just be sure to give yourself the time you need. At that hour of the day there may not be a next flight, and you don’t want to end up staying at an airport hotel an extra night for no reason.

Ground transportation

In terms of ground transportation, renting a car or utilizing rideshares after arriving at ATL will be the only effective ways of getting to the ballpark area, including nearby hotels. If you decide to stay in downtown or Midtown, you can take the subway (MARTA) to those locations relatively easily. But you’ll want to book a hotel that is closer to a MARTA stop so you don’t have to walk too far with your bags. But remember: if you stay downtown, you’ll need to book a rideshare to get to Truist Park, because it’s not accessible via public transit.

Truist Park is about 23 miles from the airport. In the middle of a weekday, the drive should take around 25-30 minutes, but heavy traffic in the early afternoons and evenings can easily make the trip an hour or longer.

There are a couple of routes to get to Truist Park. For the most efficient route at any given time, use your navigation app to see what the fastest route is (I’ve found Waze to be pretty effective in Atlanta). You’ll most likely want to go around downtown via I-285, unless your transit app specifically tells you otherwise.

Driving to Atlanta

Truist Park is located northwest of downtown Atlanta where I-75 and I-285 cross. A good rule of thumb is to allow extra time getting to the ballpark or your hotel, regardless of the time of day. Morning rush hour on all roads headed towards downtown Atlanta are heavily congested between 7:00am and 10:00am on all weekdays. The heaviest evening rush hours tend to be between 3:00pm and 7:00pm on all roads leading away from downtown Atlanta (which includes going from downtown to the ballpark). If you plan to attend a weekday evening game, build in extra time for rush hour. And if you drive, remember that a lot of the parking lots can be a 15-20 minute walk away from the stadium, so factor that into your arrival time math as well.

Getting to Atlanta by train

Traveling to Atlanta by train isn’t the most convenient option. Amtrak’s Crescent line is the only route that runs through Atlanta, connecting New Orleans to New York City. 

Traveling northbound from New Orleans, the train gets into Atlanta each day at 11pm, and departs back towards New Orleans at 9am each day. If you’re traveling from anywhere closer than Tuscaloosa, the train isn’t crazy (less than 5-6 hours), but beyond that, it seems excessive. 

If you’re traveling southbound from New York, it’s an overnight train from most locations that will get in at 8:45am each day, and will leave to go back north at 11pm each day. So no matter which way you’re going, you’re probably traveling during sleeping hours. Travel times are: 5.5 hours to Charlotte, 15 hours to DC, 18 hours to NYC. 

Air travel is expensive these days, but with so many flights to Atlanta, if you book early you should be able to find a decent fare. But if the train is for you, the Crescent line does offer private bedroom cars with showers, and with more than one person in the room, the cost is surprisingly reasonable.

If you do travel by train, Amtrak’s Atlanta location, Peachtree Station, is located in Midtown, about 11 miles from Truist Park. From there, rideshare would be the easiest route to Truist Park. There are car rental locations in nearby hotels, but not within walking distance of Peachtree Station.

Bottom Line

Plenty of flight options coupled with decent fares (if you book early) make flying to Atlanta fairly easy. If driving suits your plans, it’s another great option, and will make moving around the city a lot easier. Just be prepared to factor in additional time to accommodate for Atlanta traffic. And while traveling by train isn’t convenient, it’s an option if you plan accordingly.