Almost time for Amtrak trip to Atlanta

[cassie225]

It's almost time for us to leave. Y'all let me know if This sounds good. Boarding Amtrak in NO to ATL on Friday morning. Will be in H room with daughter and hubbie. Taking taxi( which I hope will be around Amtrak station at the time we arrive that evening) from Atlanta Amtrak to Ritz Carlton in Buckhead for overnight,driving to destination after picking up rental car on Saturday. Return rental car the next Saturday,staying at Intercontinental in Buckhead overnight(Saturday) taking taxi from hotel to Amtrak station on Sunday morning to go back to NO, we have a bedroom going back My questions-Should I call a taxi to make sure one will be there when we arrive in Atlanta on Friday night around 8PM. Will write a review when I return to let you all know how my husbands first Amtrak trip was. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[daleratliff]

I recently took a trip with my oldest son to pick up a car I bought & drove it home. We were scheduled to arrive in Ann Arbor late, so to be safe I had made previous arrangements with a cab company to pick us up & take us to the hotel. I wasn't 100% sure whether I could depend on a cab being at the station otherwise & I didn't want to chance it that late at night. I would suggest making arrangements ahead of time & then calling about 30-40 minutes prior to arrival to confirm

 

[MattW]

If you want to take a taxi I would definitely recommend calling ahead of time. One alternative you could look into is taking MARTA route 110. The fare is $2.50, it picks up across the street from the Atlanta Amtrak station, and has a stop right across from the Ritz Carlton. Until 9:00pm on weekdays, it runs every 15 minutes, then runs every 30 minutes. On Sunday, the bus runs every 20 minutes beginning at 6:00am and also runs from across from the Intercontinental right to the Amtrak station. Some hotels also have shuttles that will pickup and dropoff within a certain radius, in my experience, it's usually 5 miles, and the Amtrak station is 4 miles from the Buckhead area.

Enjoy your stay!

 

[cassie225]

Thats a good idea to call a taxi and have them waiting on us. I wouldn't want to be stranded. MattW my question to you is will MARTA allow us to board with our luggage? Also called Ritz and believe it or not their shuttle runs 3 miles or less. I would think if they wanted me as a repeat customer they would go the extra mile(pun intended) lol

 

[the_traveler]

If you're getting a rental car in ATL, and staying in Buckhead, I don't know if they're in the same location, but you may consider renting from Hertz. They were at the (I think) Marriott in Buckhead - and they reimbursed you for the cab fare!

I had not rented a car in ATL after arriving by train since 2002, so this may have changed since then.

 

[Crescent ATN & TCL]

Both Crescents are down over an hour today. A 17 yr old ran out in front of NS 225 today in Moundville, AL. Train hit him doing 60 mph, car totalled. Both trains were neck and neck to come through after 225. Last I heard the kid was intubated at the scene and taken to Tuscaloosa for treatment.

 

[MattW]

Thats a good idea to call a taxi and have them waiting on us. I wouldn't want to be stranded. MattW my question to you is will MARTA allow us to board with our luggage? Also called Ritz and believe it or not their shuttle runs 3 miles or less. I would think if they wanted me as a repeat customer they would go the extra mile(pun intended) lol

Depending on the amount of luggage you have it shouldn't be a problem, there should be a luggage space right behind the driver on the bus and as long as you can keep it out of the aisle you shouldn't have a problem. Though if you have a lot, the cab might be the better bet, particularly in the morning when the 110 route will be packed. I'm not a regular bus rider so my experience with the buses is a bit hazy.

 

[Dovecote]

In my multiple experiences upon arriving and departing in Atlanta there are always cabs to be had. The cabbies are lurking in the station and usually will solicit you. My experience is they will ask your destination and quote you a fare. The reasonable fare to Buckhead should be around $10-15. Most of the time you can haggle with them if they quote you higher.

If you are flexible with hotels try Holiday Inn Express Buckhead http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/atlanta/atlbe/hoteldetail/directions They are not in the heart of Buckhead but close enough to use their free shuttle. They also provide complimentary pickup/dropoff at the Amtrak station. I would verify though before booking.

 

[Shortline]

Sounds like the cab situation is covered-one thing....3 in the H room? There are only really 2 seats in there, though I guess you could cram two into one seat. Is someone in the party in a wheelchair? If not, I would try and get a bedroom or plan on spending a lot of time in the lounge.

 

[the_traveler]

The H-room has a long couch that seats 3.

 

[Ryan]

Yes, it does.

We've always found cabs waiting when we arrived at ATL, I wouldn't worry too much about calling.

 

[cassie225]

I really plan on being up in the top bunk-sleeping.lol Also we are only going as far as Atlanta. If we were gonna be overnight I wouldn't risk it. I will also look into Holiday Inn Express in Buckhead. Thanks to all of you.

 

[me_little_me]

I go with calling the taxi. There will be no problem finding one there but Atlanta does a really poor job regulating them and you will find drivers that can't find Peachtree Street, dirty cabs, drivers that don't use the meter and so invent their own charges, etc. Call the hotel and ask them to recommend a good taxi service you can reliably call that has clean, honest cabbies.

PS: Finding Peachtree Street from Amtrak is not difficult. It is a main street and it is the road the station is on!

 

[Shortline]

You're right, was thinking superliner H room, not the single level on the crescent. Carry on,

 

[cassie225]

I'll call hotel and ask them about cabbies. H room on superliner is smaller than H room on crescent. Thats good info to keep in mind. I always try to get H room because my daughter is disabled,and have only ridden on the Crescent.