Parking at Atlanta station

[supergrandmother]

Parking at the Atlanta station, or the lack thereof, has been the subject the of several posts in the past. I knew that when I had travelled in the past, we had parked short-term across the street at the Kerbela Temple so I called there to ask about long-term parking. They were extremely nice and allowed me to park there from Thursday to Sunday. However, you must talk to them and follow their instructions or your vehicle will be towed if it is left in their parking lot overnight. The station page at amtrak.com says there are 10 long-term spaces available but when I called to ask where they are I was told they are at a motel across the road. That is ok but crossing a six lane busy road with luggage and 2 grandchildren did not appeal to me so I looked for other options.

 

[Ryan]

The Atlanta station is a hot mess that has pushed us to fly for some of our trips down there to visit family.

We had a MUCH better experience at Orlando last month, since Hertz has a desk in the train station and had our car in the lot for us ready to go (almost, the guy ran out and filled it with gas after we arrived) when we arrived.

 

[supergrandmother]

It is definitely a hot mess as far as parking goes. There is actually zero parking at the station itself. But since we have zero Amtrak stations (except for Memphis all the way across the state) in Tennessee, it is my only choice and I do love train travel.

 

[dburden]

When we lived up near May-retta we used the Atlanta station a few times. Fortunately we arranged to be dropped off or picked up so avoided the lack of parking. For trips where we had to park a car we chose to use the Gainesville, GA station (our trips were generally heading north). The parking there is just in a dirt lot across the street from the station and each time we were pleasantly surprised to find that our car was still there.... It probably helped that the cars we parked there were 10-15 year old beaters.

Dave

 

[njdon]

Having recently ridden the CONO from Trenton to Atlanta I'd have to agree with those who say the ATL station is a disgrace. Cramped and packed it provides a sorry beginning or ending of an Amtrak trip.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Having recently ridden the CONO from Trenton to Atlanta I'd have to agree with those who say the ATL station is a disgrace. Cramped and packed it provides a sorry beginning or ending of an Amtrak trip.

That must have been an interesting ride, since the CONO goes from CHI to NOL. I do believe you meant the Crescent.

 

[MattW]

One option to consider is parking at a MARTA station, it's not free, but it's not too bad either, less than most airport parking. When we used it, it was $5 for the Dunwoody station. Here's a page with the details of the rates: http://www.itsmarta.com/parking-information.aspx(note: not every station has long-term parking)

Your easiest bet is to use a station on the Red or Gold lines and take that to the Arts Center station then take bus route 110 to the Amtrak station.

 

[me_little_me]

If you search the topic, you will find a past post of mine about secured paid underground parking a block away (and not having to cross Peachtree) if it is still available.

 

[StriderGDM]

Wait, there's a hotel across the street from the ATL station?

Anyway, fortunately for me I'm always travelling TO ATL, so I have the "joy" of getting my rental car from Hertz.

 

[Ryan]

Ugh, what a royal pain. JW Marriott in Bulkhead?

 

[StriderGDM]

Ugh, what a royal pain. JW Marriott in Bulkhead?

You got it in one!

Actually not that big of a pain, I've got the system down now. Cab ride out (which is comped for my Hertz) and pick up the car.

When I'm ready to leave, stop at the station, check my bags, then drop off car and take MARTA back and walk back down to the station.

Last year I tried Enterprise which is just down the road (walkable for me, or short bus ride) and got jerked around enough I don't think I'd ever use Enterprise again.

 

[DennisInGeorgia]

Piedmont Hospital, just up Peachtree from the station,has parking for $5/day AND it's monitored. That's what we're using when we leave for WAS in 3 weeks. We've not used the closer one (also $5) but it may be a safe environment and you only walk a block vs 5 to the hospital.