Arrivals
An Atlanta layover is worth leaving the airport for from about 6 hours, though getting out takes longer here than at most airports.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is on the south side of the city, and MARTA trains run from it straight downtown. The catch: flights from abroad arrive at the International Terminal, while the train station is at the Domestic Terminal, at the far end of the airport. A free shuttle links the two in about 15 minutes.
- Bags. On most flights from abroad you collect your checked bags after passport control and take them through customs. On one ticket they’re tagged to your final destination: hand them in at the baggage recheck counters just past baggage claim, then head out. On some Delta and Korean Air flights they go straight through instead, so there’s nothing to collect. On separate tickets you keep them, and no left-luggage service is listed at the airport, so travel light.
- Tickets. Nothing to buy in advance: tap a contactless bank card or a phone at the MARTA fare gate, US$2.50 a ride. Each traveller needs their own card.
- Phone. Wi-Fi is free across the airport. An eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps working downtown.
Minute Suites, lounges and Wi-Fi: at the airport.
eSIM
Data before you land
Set up a US eSIM at home and your phone has data from the shuttle stop onwards, for maps and MARTA's trip planner downtown. The airport's own Wi-Fi is free.
Get an eSIM from Airalo (opens in a new tab)Get a Saily eSIM (opens in a new tab)
Border
Atlanta has no transit zone: every international arrival enters the US, so everyone needs the right document before they fly.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
- Visa Waiver passports. UK, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese and most EU passports need an approved ESTA, US$40.62 on the official site, applied for before you fly. It lasts 2 years. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania aren’t in the Visa Waiver Program, so their citizens need a visa.
- Canadian and US passports. No ESTA or visa: your passport is enough.
- India and other visa passports. You need a US visitor visa (B-1/B-2) to leave the airport. A C-1 transit visa is for changing planes, so if that’s yours, check with your airline or a US consulate before planning a trip into town.
- Just changing planes. You still pass the border, so you need the same document even if you never leave the airport.
- Time. Allow about 70 minutes from landing to walking out with your bags, and about 1 hour 45 minutes to be on a MARTA train. No queue times are published, so these are our allowances.
Who needs which document: visa and transit rules.
Into Atlanta
MARTA is the way in: 18 minutes from the airport to Peachtree Center, downtown, for US$2.50.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
From the International Terminal’s arrivals level, go out between doors A1 and A2 for the Terminal-to-Terminal shuttle. It’s free, runs day and night about every 15 minutes, and drops you at the west end of the Domestic Terminal, where the MARTA station is.
| Ride | Into town | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal-to-Terminal shuttle, first | About 15 minutes to the Domestic Terminal | Free |
| MARTA Red or Gold line, the best for most | 18 minutes to Peachtree Center | US$2.50 |
| Taxi from the International Terminal | About 30 minutes to Downtown | US$37.50, plus US$2 for each extra person |
The Airport station is the end of the line, so every train leaving it goes downtown. Trains start at 4:36am on weekdays and 5:52am at weekends, and the last ones back leave downtown about 1am.
The shuttle, fares, last trains and taxis: getting into the city.
What to do
Downtown’s main sights stand around Centennial Olympic Park, a short walk from Peachtree Center and Civic Center stations.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
The fastest plan for a short layover
- Take the shuttle to the Domestic Terminal and any MARTA train to Peachtree Center, 18 minutes.
- Walk about 15 minutes west to Centennial Olympic Park, built for the 1996 Olympic Games: free, and open daily from 7am to 10pm.
- With 7 hours or more, add the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (Tuesday to Sunday) or World of Coca-Cola, side by side just north of the park.
- Leave Peachtree Center 2 hours 45 minutes before your flight.
Prefer a guide? GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list Atlanta tours and tickets. Check where each tour starts and ends before you book, and keep the airport time above in mind.
Watch the calendar
- Mondays. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is closed, so pick World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium or Dr King’s neighbourhood.
- Tuesdays. The College Football Hall of Fame is closed.
- Sundays. The civil rights museum opens at noon, not 10am. MARTA starts later at weekends: the first train leaves the airport at 5:52am.
- Thanksgiving and Christmas. On 26 November and 25 December 2026, World of Coca-Cola, the civil rights museum and Dr King’s national historical park are closed, and MARTA runs its Sunday timetable. Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium stay open.
- Rain. The museums and the Aquarium are indoors, so on a wet day they suit better than the park or the walk around Sweet Auburn.
Timed plans from 6 to 24 hours, including the Georgia Aquarium for families and a morning in Sweet Auburn after a night by the airport: itineraries.
Layover tour
Atlanta tours and tickets
Tickets for the big downtown sights and guided walks around the city. Check where a tour starts and how long it runs against the time you have in town.
See tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)See tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)
Head back
Be back at Atlanta airport 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
- Time. Leave Peachtree Center 2 hours 45 minutes before your flight. That covers the wait for a train, the 18-minute ride, the walk to the shuttle, the shuttle to the International Terminal and 90 minutes at the airport. With about 1 hour 45 minutes to get out after landing, that makes 6 hours the realistic minimum, for about an hour in town; 8 hours gives about 3.
- Why 90 minutes is enough. With your bags checked through and your boarding pass in hand, you need only security and the walk to your gate: there’s no passport check on the way out of the US. The airport’s advice to arrive 3 hours before an international flight is for passengers checking in. If you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow longer.
- Busy times. Security queues are usually longest from 5am to 9am, and around holidays and long weekends. The airport shows live waits for each checkpoint on its website.
- Late at night. The last trains back leave downtown about 1am, which matters only for a flight after about 3:45am. After that, take a taxi, about US$37.50 for one person.
Time in town at each layover length: how much time you’ll have.
Departures
Best for your layoverStaying at the airport instead: you’ll still clear the border, then you can rest after security.
There’s no transit area at Atlanta, so even a short connection takes you through passport control and customs and back through security. Once you’re through:
- Minute Suites. Private rooms by the hour on Concourse B near Gate B24, Concourse E by the atrium and Concourse F near Gate F6, from one hour, with overnight stays at some. Only the Concourse E rooms have showers. Prices aren’t published, so check them when you book.
- Lounges. The Club ATL on Concourse F sells entry for US$50 (seen November 2026) and takes Priority Pass. Delta’s Sky Clubs and the Centurion Lounge are for their members and eligible cardholders.
- Hotels. Before security, the Atlanta Airport Marriott and the two Renaissance hotels by the airport are a short shuttle or SkyTrain ride from the Domestic Terminal.
- Free. Wi-Fi throughout, and the Plane Train links every concourse day and night.
Rooms, lounges and showers: at the airport.
