MARTA is the way into Atlanta: 18 minutes from the airport to Peachtree Center, downtown, for US$2.50. Arriving from abroad, you first clear the border and take a free shuttle to the Domestic Terminal, where the station is, so allow about 1 hour 45 minutes from landing to the train.
What's the best way from Atlanta airport into the city?
For most layovers, take the free Terminal-to-Terminal shuttle to the Domestic Terminal, then any MARTA train to Peachtree Center: 18 minutes and US$2.50, paid by tapping a contactless card at the gate. Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes from landing to the train, and leave Peachtree Center 2 hours 45 minutes before your flight.
Getting through the border
Before any train, you clear US border control and customs. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) doesn’t publish queue times, so allow about 70 minutes from landing to walking out with your bags, and about 1 hour 45 minutes to be sitting on a MARTA train.
- Passport control is in a hall below the International Terminal’s gates. An officer checks your passport and your ESTA or visa. Mobile Passport Control, CBP’s free app, may be open to you; check the app before you land.
- Bags. On most flights you collect your checked bags after passport control and take them through customs. On one ticket, hand them in at the baggage recheck counters just past baggage claim before you head out; on some Delta and Korean Air flights they go straight through to your next flight instead (which ones). On separate tickets, they come with you, and no left-luggage service is listed at the airport.
- A slow queue costs you time in town, not your flight: the time you must leave downtown stays the same.
- Landing on a US domestic flight? There’s no border for you at Atlanta. You arrive at the Domestic Terminal, a short walk from the station, so allow about 45 minutes to an hour to the train (our estimate).
Who needs a visa to leave: visa and transit rules.
The options at a glance
| MARTA Red or Gold line | Taxi | Uber or Lyft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| To | Five Points, Peachtree Center, Civic Center | Anywhere | Anywhere |
| Time | 18 minutes to Peachtree Center, after a shuttle of about 15 minutes | About 30 minutes to Downtown | About as long as a taxi |
| Single fare | US$2.50 | US$37.50 to Downtown, US$39.50 to Midtown, US$49.50 to Buckhead | Shown in the app |
| Pay with | Contactless card or phone at the gate | Ask the driver before you set off | The app |
The taxi fares are flat fares for one person, plus US$2 for each extra person. The shuttle and road times are our estimates.
MARTA: the best option for most layovers
- From the International Terminal. On the arrivals level, go out between doors A1 and A2 for the free Terminal-to-Terminal shuttle. It runs 24 hours, about every 15 minutes, and takes about 15 minutes (our estimate) to the Ground Transportation Center at the west end of the Domestic Terminal. Go in through door W-1 or W-2: the MARTA station is at that end of the terminal, between the North and South baggage-claim areas.
- Which train. The Airport station is the end of the line, so every train leaving it goes downtown. Red Line trains, for North Springs, and Gold Line trains, for Doraville, take the same track through Five Points, Peachtree Center and Civic Center. Between them, a train leaves at least every 10 minutes from 6am to 9pm, every day.
- The ride. 17 minutes to Five Points, 18 to Peachtree Center and 19 to Civic Center. Most plans on our itineraries start at Peachtree Center; the civil rights museum is nearer Civic Center.
- Paying. US$2.50 a ride. Tap a contactless bank card or a phone on the fare gate, and the same one again on the way out; each traveller needs their own card. Without one, buy a reloadable Breeze card from the station’s machines: the card costs US$2, plus the fare. Bags ride free; with a big case, use the wider gate. A 1-Day pass costs US$9, more than a return trip, so it’s worth having only if you’ll ride several times.
- Coming back. At Peachtree Center or Civic Center, take a southbound train: it ends at the Airport. Walk through the terminal to door W-1 or W-2 for the shuttle to the International Terminal.
| Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First train from the airport | 4:36am | 5:52am | 5:52am |
| Last train back to the airport | About 1am | About 1am | About 1am |
Plan on the last train back leaving downtown at about 1am, every night. The timetables show a few later ones, until about 1:30am, so if you’re running late, check MARTA’s trip planner before you pay for a taxi. After about 9pm on weekdays only the Gold Line runs to the Airport, so a train comes every 20 minutes. On Thanksgiving Day, 26 November 2026, and on 24 and 25 December, MARTA runs its Sunday timetable; on 27 November, a modified Saturday one.
Few layovers need the last train: it matters only for a flight after about 3:45am. If you miss it, take a taxi.
Taxis: the ride after the last train
- Where. At the International Terminal, the taxi rank is on the arrivals level outside door A-1. At the Domestic Terminal, it’s in Aisle A of the Ground Transportation Center, stalls A3 to A10.
- Fares. Taxis from the airport charge flat fares: US$37.50 to Downtown, US$39.50 to Midtown and US$49.50 to Buckhead, for one person, plus US$2 for each extra person. No fare to the airport is published, so expect about the same back.
- Time. About 30 minutes to Downtown outside rush hour, longer in traffic. That’s our estimate: none is published.
- When it’s worth it. For a family or a group with bags, since it leaves from the International Terminal and skips the shuttle, and after the last train.
Uber, Lyft and pre-booked transfers
- Uber and Lyft pick up at the Domestic Terminal in the North Economy lot: go through baggage claim to the escalators between doors N2 and N3, then walk about five minutes. At the International Terminal, follow the app’s directions.
- Pre-booked transfers give you a fixed price and a driver waiting in arrivals, which helps most after a late landing.
Moving between terminals
The two terminals are at opposite ends of the airport, with the concourses in between. Before security, you go between them on the free Terminal-to-Terminal shuttle, so it’s part of every trip into town and back. After security, the Plane Train runs underground between both terminals and every concourse, 24 hours a day and about every 2 minutes at busy times.
That opens a short cut on the way back. Any security checkpoint leads to every gate, so with only hand luggage and your boarding pass on your phone, you could clear security at the Domestic Terminal, beside the MARTA station, and take the Plane Train to your gate instead of the shuttle. Check first with your airline that it doesn’t need to see your documents at the check-in desk; our times assume the shuttle. Late at night, the Domestic Terminal’s main checkpoint is open 24 hours, while the International Terminal’s closes from midnight to 4:30am.
Timing your return
Be back at Atlanta airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass. With your bags checked through, that’s time for security and the walk or Plane Train ride to your gate; the US has no passport check on the way out. If you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow longer. The airport’s advice to arrive 3 hours before an international flight is for passengers checking in.
In practice, leave Peachtree Center 2 hours 45 minutes before your flight: about 75 minutes for the train, the walk to the shuttle and the shuttle itself, then 90 minutes at the airport.
| Layover | Time in town |
|---|---|
| 6 hours | About 1 hour |
| 8 hours | About 3 hours |
| 10 hours | About 5 hours |
| 12 hours | About 7 hours |
These times assume about 1 hour 45 minutes from landing to the train, 30 minutes into Peachtree Center with the wait for a train, 75 minutes back to the International Terminal and 90 minutes at the airport, as in the itineraries.