MARTA to the airport

Hi there. My husband and I are staying in Sandy Springs visiting friends. Unfortunately they can%26#39;t drive us to the airport on our day of departure. How convenient is it to take MARTA from the Sandy Springs station to the airport? Will it be difficult for us to get on with our luggage? Also, our flight leaves at 10:20am. What time should we be on the train?

Thanks so much. :)

MARTA to the airport

Generally, it%26#39;s not too bad to negotiate MARTA with luggage, though of course much depends on the nature and quantity of the luggage ;-) . There are escalators and elevators in all the stations, and the airport station is inside the terminal, so it shouldn%26#39;t be a problem unless you are bringing everything you own. Assuming you have a way to get to the Sandy Springs station you should be fine (though depending on where you are in SS the Dunwoody or North Springs stations might be as convenient or more so).

For an international flight, you really should be at the airport 2 hours early, so that%26#39;d be 8:20. Trip time from the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs/North Springs area should be in the neighborhood of 40 minutes. You may have to wait up to 10 minutes for a train. Security lines typically run 15-30 minutes on early Sunday mornings, so you could probably cheat the time a little and not have any problem. If you try to get to the MARTA station between 7:30 and 8:00 you%26#39;ll likely be fine.

Worst case, if you leave the SS station at 8:10 and arrive at the airport at just before 9 am and it takes you 30 minutes to get through security, you%26#39;re still at your gate 40-45 minutes before flight time, or 10-15 minutes before boarding time. Not much time for a leisurely stroll around the airport or getting breakfast/coffee, but again that%26#39;s worst case.

MARTA to the airport

Just to add, I%26#39;ve had experiences where MARTA will have a technical/mechanical difficulty, so leaving early is highly recommended. I%26#39;ve had MARTA stop while on the way to the airport for almost 45 minutes, but I think that was a special case.

vidigital is correct that there%26#39;s always a chance of a delay on MARTA, but it%26#39;s relatively rare, especially during the day when they%26#39;re not generally doing track maintenance and such. It doesn%26#39;t happen often enough that I would try to factor it into my planning, unless the consequences of a missed flight are so incredibly dire (once-in-a-lifetime event missed, extreme financial impact) that you must avoid it at all costs. If that%26#39;s the case, though, there%26#39;s no sure thing -- you%26#39;d have a higher risk of a delay due to traffic driving out -- so your only safe strategy would be to head out to the airport the night before and get a hotel at the airport with shuttle service to the terminal.

Also, I realized that I somehow got the notion that you were leaving on a Sunday morning, though there%26#39;s nothing in your post that says so. If you are leaving on a weekday, there will much much heavier ridership on the trains than on a weekend, which might add to the time slightly and would definitely make the middle part of the trip more crowded and less pleasant. The good news is that getting on at one of the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs-area stations means you%26#39;d be boarding at one of the first couple of stops for that train and should be able to have your pick of seats and be able to find room for your luggage.

Thanks so much for the information. It appears to be our best bet. We looked at getting a cab or getting a hotel room near the airport, but MARTA is the most cost effective.

I think we%26#39;ll be taking the train from North Springs at about 7:15 in the morning on Monday. I think that should leave us with enough leeway in case there%26#39;s an issue.

Yes, MARTA is very easy, and the perfect choice for getting to the airport from Sandy Springs. Don%26#39;t get too worried about delay. In the scores of times I%26#39;ve taken MARTA, I%26#39;ve only had a significant delay once.

What about renting a car one way?

Sandy Springs to ATL.

I;ve done this many times in differnet parts of the US works well

SouthMauiGuy: the problems with doing a one-way rental for their situation are manifold.

1) Traffic at that time of day going from the northern suburbs of Atlanta all the way through downtown to the airport on the south side of town can be insane. You never know what it%26#39;s going to be like, but to have any guarantee of making it on time you%26#39;d have to leave an hour or more earlier.

2) All of the car rental locations at the airport involve a shuttle bus ride -- even Hertz, Avis, and the other biggies that are on airport property are at some distance from the terminal. The smaller, off-airport agencies are even further away. You need to figure on between 20 and 40 minutes extra to return the car and take the bus back to the terminal.

3) One-way rentals often involve additional charges (though typically not so much if the dropoff is an airport location).

MARTA, OTOH, is basically immune to traffic and delivers you inside the terminal a consistent 40-45 minutes after you leave the North Springs/Sandy Springs/Dunwoody stations, for a tiny fraction of what the cheapest rental car would cost.

travellingteachers: I just noticed in one of your replies that you say you%26#39;re flying out Monday morning. That changes the complexion of things a bit. Monday mornings between 7 and 9 AM are an absolute zoo at ATL. Every one of us consultant types in Atlanta who make our livings at customer sites all around the country are heading through security and off to our Mon-Thu gigs.

Average wait times at the main terminal security checkpoint on Mondays are 36 minutes at 7 am, 30 minutes at 8 am. Max times according to TSA stats are 50 and 42 minutes, respectively, at those times (I%26#39;ve actually experienced worse, though not in the last 3-4 years). If you%26#39;re ever going to have a problem getting through security at HJIA, it%26#39;s going to be Monday morning.

So if you%26#39;re catching a train from North Springs at 7:15 you%26#39;re going to hit it right at 8 am -- peak time. The good news is that if you do that you%26#39;ll have allowed yourself enough cushion that it shouldn%26#39;t be a problem. In your situation, I%26#39;d probably check in, check your bags if you need to, and then hit Atlanta Bread Company or one of the other restaurants in the Atrium and wait out the security lines. By 9 am, the average time is back down to about 15 minutes. So chill until 8:45, you%26#39;ll be through security by 9 or 9:10 at the latest, and still to your gate in plenty of time.

ittwit