Getting There

Arriving

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (tel. 404/768-4100; www.atlanta-airport.com), located 10 miles south of downtown, is the world's busiest passenger airport and transfer hub, accommodating 86 million passengers a year. Despite its size, the airport is well planned and easy to negotiate, with six concourses, dozens of restaurants and retail shops, facilities for travelers with disabilities, car-rental desks, and banking and currency-exchange offices. If you're confused by all the concourses, terminals, and trains, and need some help, look for 1 of the 10 Hartsfield Host desks. The friendly volunteers who staff the desks will help you with anything from finding your gate to choosing the appropriate ground transportation to locating the lost and found.

The airport has its own website, www.atlanta-airport.com, where you can check the status of flights for most major airlines, find maps showing how to get to and from the airport, check traffic conditions on the interstates leading to Hartsfield-Jackson, and find a list of concessionaires and emergency contacts. You'll also find an array of airport facts on the website. For example, there are more than 30,000 parking spaces -- still not nearly enough.

A recent $5.4-billion expansion helped to relieve congestion, adding a fifth runway, upgrading the international concourse and terminal, and consolidating rental-car terminals. Delta, which is based at Hartsfield, is the major carrier, but most other major domestic and several international airlines serve the airport as well.

The following major car-rental companies are represented at the airport and are reachable via their toll-free numbers: Alamo (tel. 800/327-9633), Avis (tel. 800/331-1212), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700), Dollar (tel. 800/800-4000), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131), and Thrifty (tel. 800/367-2277).

Getting Downtown from the Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is just 10 miles south of downtown; there are several options for getting from the airport to your hotel. The cheapest, if your luggage is manageable, is to take Atlanta's subway (commonly referred to as MARTA because it's operated by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority), which stops right inside the airport. The fare is just $1.75. Almost all the major downtown and Buckhead hotels are close to MARTA rail stations. It should take you about 20 minutes to reach downtown, 35 minutes to reach Buckhead.

A taxi from the airport to a downtown hotel costs $25 for one passenger, $26 for two, and $30 for three. The ride should take about half an hour. To Midtown hotels, the fare is $28 for one passenger, $30 for two or more; to Buckhead hotels, the fare is $35 for one passenger, $36 for two or more.

Atlanta Link Airport Shuttle Vans (tel. 404/524-3400; www.theatlantalink.com) operate between the airport and most downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead locations. They depart from the Delta baggage-claim/ground-transportation area in the South Terminal. Reservations from the airport are not necessary, and you can catch a van nearly every 20 to 25 minutes, in either direction, from 6am to midnight, 7 days a week. Cost is between $29 and $37 round-trip. It's a well-organized system, with clearly marked destinations and helpful attendants on hand. Door-to-door service to the Marietta and Roswell suburbs is available with 24 hours' notice. The day before you're planning to fly out of Atlanta, check with your hotel desk about shuttle departure times; for some hotels, reservations are required a day in advance.

If you're renting a car at the airport, it's easy to drive to your hotel. The airport is located off I-85, which merges with I-75 as you head toward downtown. I-285, known as the Perimeter because it rings the city, is also accessible from I-85 about 3 miles south of Hartsfield.

Taxi Tip -- Many Atlanta taxis, especially those that line up for passengers at the airport, are in notoriously bad shape, and a number of the drivers don't know the city well. Make sure the fares and zones are posted on the outside of the cab, the driver's photo is displayed, and the taxi has a working meter. And ask if the driver accepts credit cards if you intend to use one. Better still, call ahead and have one of the more reputable companies send a taxi to wait for you when your flight comes in. Three of the best include: Atlanta Lenox Taxi (tel. 404/872-2600), Buckhead Safety Cab (tel. 404/233-1152), and Atlanta Checker Cabs (tel. 404/351-1111).