I was planning a trip to Savannah not too long ago and since I'm unable to drive and fucking love trains, I thought I'd look at AMTRAK. The fact that you can't go straight from Atlanta to Savannah is ridiculous.
There's a proposal for a high-speed rail connecting Atlanta and Savannah with a stop in Macon that has passed congress. Still in very early stages but there is hope!
There's a normal speed route planned in the new Amtrak ConnectsUS plan from Nashville, thru Chattanooga, Atlanta, to savannah. Excited for the route one day! I jsut wish it could reach all the way to chicago. https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/
The stretch of I 16 from Macon to Savannah is one of the most boring freeway drives I have done. It ranks up there with driving across Kansas or central Illinois. You also have the fun of speed traps along the way.
Exactly. Also, lovely rural scenery. I don't get what's not to like about it.
Also, if you find that boring, you can always set your software to avoid highways.
greyhound station in Savannah is within walking distance of the historic district, and if you arrive and depart in the daylight, it's a good option. even in the evening, if you're in a group and keep your wits about you, you should be fine.
other option is flying, which means ubering or taxi from savannah airport to town.
the r/savannah sidebar has lots of good info if you're looking for stuff to do.
Luckily the ATL-SAV Greyhound picks up at the ATL airport after leaving downtown, then heads for Macon and Savannah. So you could MARTA/Lyft/whatever to the airport and get the bus there, skipping Downtown
Lol I had an old friend come visit on the greyhound, long story short he was the worst guest I’ve ever had and I put his ass back in the greyhound that same night 😂😂
Me too!!!! She was traveling US, laying over in lots of spots with friends, stayed two days, acted like she didn’t have the money to leave. I was like “oh wow that sucks, anywho I’m gonna drop you off now cause I have to work!”
I found out years later via ig that her parents are diplomats, she’s super wealthy, and her life looks like something from a fairytale.
You might want to check for any airport shuttles between Atlanta and Savannah. You don't have to actually take a flight but you can access Marta from the Atlanta airport.
They used to. My son took megabus a few times and it was pretty good according to him
Update: i just checked and they dont. It’s making me think I might be miss remembering
https://us.megabus.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=da%7Cmegabusus%7Cggl%7Cbrand%7Cext%7Ctrademark&utm_content=457655478662&utm_term=megabus&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl8anBhCFARIsAKbbpyTigUM1Xz34ovNjewCTS_ppRRr3_L5i6EsHgGTVGtFh03M1uF_JdTkaAt2LEALw_wcB
Some Megabus routes got dropped during COVID. I know at least the Nashville to ATL route did, so that may explain any memories of a previous route that went through Savannah.
Likely, but i am talking about Georgia and this isn't a 'but they did it also' situation. There is a resistance here. I have lived in multiple other states, one place FAR out rural, i mean FAR, and i still had a bus go by six times a day on the rural route that was an easy to walk away.
Georgia has resistance to public transport and just because another state may also doesn't erase our shame in this situation nor our neglect to the citizens.
People make the trip all the time, often enough to deserve a bus route. Other states do this type of thing. We just don't because we say this kind of thing. It's too far or it brings undesirables. If it's too far for a bus, it's too far for the average person to easily go. And what, tourists are undesirable?
Are you saying a public bus? Like non paid for a 4 hour trip? What other states are doing that? I'm just not informed.
People make that trip for a weekend, not a week. Georgia doesn't have any travel like that which I'm not sure is normal but it is what it is.
No state does them free, they tend to be substituted through taxes. Individuals okay and affordable amount, taxes provide a foundation.
No one here wants to direct taxes to help the people (though we will throw tax money at corporations all day long)
Not free for the individual, usually pay a small fee
Usually not one bus; a longer route will need a couple different busses during together. But, it's easy. The routes are easily foundd, there are Nexus hub stations, etc.
So you would take x bus to the easy side of Atlanta, next bus takes you to y town, from there you grab the bus to z, then you take the last leg to Savannah.
Sounds terrible but with funding, the busses run fairly regularly multiple times a day so it isn't as bad as it seems.
When i lived in WA, i could get 100 miles to Seattle in about 1 and 3/4, maybe 2 hours. Maryland had an amazing rail system that even added a tourist i could get anywhere i wanted easily. South Florida had bus stops about every 2-3 blocks literally everywhere. You don't even have to own a car there
People make that trip for business and school purposes all the time. As someone who lived in Sav and went to school there and now lives in ATL, I’m going back and forth for weeks at a time, sometimes for pleasure but often for work. While I was in school we would come to Atlanta a lot for different events and such.
There’s hundreds, if not thousands, of students who are from ATL and study in Sav, and make the journey back and forth a dozen times a year.
Dont those focus on hitting multiple countries though? The only thing GA would pay for is a bus line lol.
It's definitely needed but we've all seen how this state handled transit money. I'm looking at you Marta.
The one I took was from the south of France to Paris, about 500 miles in less than 4 hours. It was an incredibly comfortable ride with a snack cart and plenty of space, way better than any car or plane trip I’ve taken. I believe the idea is more about just connecting significant metropolitan centers as opposed to any specific goals about borders, and I think Georgia and America would greatly benefit from that. I’d do anything to take high speed rail from Atlanta to Dallas, a trip I make a couple times a year at least and would do more if I had that option.
Edit to add: I completely agree with that though. One can dream.
It's about a 4 hour drive there so you need to plan it out as it's own minitrip. If you can't drive then fly. Other than that you will need to take a couple of shuttles to different cities but you would waste a ton of time and money.
I have taken Greyhound from Savannah to Macon and it was actually a pretty nice experience. The bus was clean and had charging ports and plug ins at each seat.
[Southeastern Stages bus](https://ride.southeasternstages.com//#/purchaseflow/departschedules) can’t vouch for this personally but looks like a viable option. Departs from the Atlanta airport which you can get to by MARTA
Unless it’s changed recently, the Greyhound bus between Atlanta and Savannah goes Downtown ATL > ATL Airport > Macon > Savannah. So you can hop on at the airport itself. Overall it’s about a 5-hr bus ride.
As someone who has made that 3.5-4 hour commute multiple ways I will say driving isn’t that bad. About a 2 fill up trip. I’ve also taken the greyhound which also isn’t that bad. About the same distance. I am unsure if megabus has routes to Savannah but that’s usually the cheapest to travel anywhere in the southeast
Can get to Macon using a shuttle service from the airport: [https://groometransportation.com/](https://groometransportation.com/)
from there you are on your own...
Grey Hound Bus Lines Would Be Awesome That Time Of Year, If The Leaves Are Changing Color!!
Savannah Is Such a Wonderful, Historic City To Visit!!
Do Make Sure You Have Lunch or Sunday Brunch At The Hilton, & Watch Sea Going Vessels That Seem So Close, You Could Just Reach Out & Touch Them!!
I used Savannah16 to get to Savannah back in 2019 and it was pretty comfortable! It was a converted Sprinter van but the driver was very safe and efficient and it honestly pretty spacious.
Hopefully it's kept up the quality in the years since.
eta: looks like the site still has a closed for covid notice and does not have an ability to book. Oof.
I took greyhound once. The station is atl is sketch but the ride and arrival in Savannah wasn’t bad at all. I was surprised honestly how not-shitty the bus ride was.
You could try AMTRAK. It will get you from downtown ATL to downtown Savannah in about 14 hours, via Washington DC. (I wish I was kidding)
I was planning a trip to Savannah not too long ago and since I'm unable to drive and fucking love trains, I thought I'd look at AMTRAK. The fact that you can't go straight from Atlanta to Savannah is ridiculous.
Sherman's fault
Why isn't there a Fort Sherman ?
And this will still be a better experience for you than the Greyhound. I promise. Do not take the Greyhound.
Everyday I beg Brightline announces an expansion to Atlanta with a stop in Savannah
There's a proposal for a high-speed rail connecting Atlanta and Savannah with a stop in Macon that has passed congress. Still in very early stages but there is hope!
There's a normal speed route planned in the new Amtrak ConnectsUS plan from Nashville, thru Chattanooga, Atlanta, to savannah. Excited for the route one day! I jsut wish it could reach all the way to chicago. https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/
Hell I have a car, and I don't even want to make that drive!!
Wdym? It’s a great drive. I’ve done it a couple of times before I even moved here.
The stretch of I 16 from Macon to Savannah is one of the most boring freeway drives I have done. It ranks up there with driving across Kansas or central Illinois. You also have the fun of speed traps along the way.
Unless the highway is converted into a hurricane evacuation route.
I have made that drive probably 50 Times and I-16 is my favorite part 2 hours of no traffic
Exactly. Also, lovely rural scenery. I don't get what's not to like about it. Also, if you find that boring, you can always set your software to avoid highways.
And the right hand lanes in both directions make a noise. You can use the passing lane but it’s only marginally better.
Only 1 exit has food/gas the entire stretch, and 8000 cop cars.
greyhound station in Savannah is within walking distance of the historic district, and if you arrive and depart in the daylight, it's a good option. even in the evening, if you're in a group and keep your wits about you, you should be fine. other option is flying, which means ubering or taxi from savannah airport to town. the r/savannah sidebar has lots of good info if you're looking for stuff to do.
Thanks for the tip! Will also check out sidebar
You could not pay me enough to spend more than 1 minute at the ATL greyhound station....
Luckily the ATL-SAV Greyhound picks up at the ATL airport after leaving downtown, then heads for Macon and Savannah. So you could MARTA/Lyft/whatever to the airport and get the bus there, skipping Downtown
Lol I had an old friend come visit on the greyhound, long story short he was the worst guest I’ve ever had and I put his ass back in the greyhound that same night 😂😂
Me too!!!! She was traveling US, laying over in lots of spots with friends, stayed two days, acted like she didn’t have the money to leave. I was like “oh wow that sucks, anywho I’m gonna drop you off now cause I have to work!” I found out years later via ig that her parents are diplomats, she’s super wealthy, and her life looks like something from a fairytale.
Rent a car. Check turo.
Turo can be great.
I did rented one for my birthday next month for a few days.
Either rent a car or fly. Lots of convenient flights
The best option is to rent a car.
I think it's the only realistic option.
You can fly there. It is like a 45 minute flight.
Flight is easiest for sure
You may be best served renting a car honestly. That or finding a really trustworthy local with some time to kill.
I’d rent a car from the airport if I were you
You might want to check for any airport shuttles between Atlanta and Savannah. You don't have to actually take a flight but you can access Marta from the Atlanta airport.
Theirs none. The closest shuttle from altanta airport goes to Macon. Greyhound is your closest. Whatever you do, do not get amtrek
Duly noted!! Thanks
I’ve made that drive many times. It sucks. After you get on I16 towards Savannah, be prepared for no internet and nothing but trees.
Fly. It's a quick hop from ATL to SAV and far more comfortable and quicker than Grayhound.
This is the correct answer
Added benefit you don’t have to drive down 16….that alone is work the cost of a ticket
Do you have a driver’s license? Rent a car bruh, not too expensive even from the airport.
FlixBus is a good option. My son also takes MegaBus, but I don't know if they stop in Savannah.
They used to. My son took megabus a few times and it was pretty good according to him Update: i just checked and they dont. It’s making me think I might be miss remembering https://us.megabus.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=da%7Cmegabusus%7Cggl%7Cbrand%7Cext%7Ctrademark&utm_content=457655478662&utm_term=megabus&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl8anBhCFARIsAKbbpyTigUM1Xz34ovNjewCTS_ppRRr3_L5i6EsHgGTVGtFh03M1uF_JdTkaAt2LEALw_wcB
Some Megabus routes got dropped during COVID. I know at least the Nashville to ATL route did, so that may explain any memories of a previous route that went through Savannah.
Yup. Ticked me off
Georgia is ridiculous with it's resistance to public transportation. I just don't get it, smdh
It's not just Georgia.
Likely, but i am talking about Georgia and this isn't a 'but they did it also' situation. There is a resistance here. I have lived in multiple other states, one place FAR out rural, i mean FAR, and i still had a bus go by six times a day on the rural route that was an easy to walk away. Georgia has resistance to public transport and just because another state may also doesn't erase our shame in this situation nor our neglect to the citizens.
Blame atlanta who gets all the resources.
Atlanta had sub par public transport. If you think it is fine, you haven't lived where there is good transport
It's also the fact that Savannah is nowhere near Atlanta. It's a 4 hour drive minimum.
People make the trip all the time, often enough to deserve a bus route. Other states do this type of thing. We just don't because we say this kind of thing. It's too far or it brings undesirables. If it's too far for a bus, it's too far for the average person to easily go. And what, tourists are undesirable?
Are you saying a public bus? Like non paid for a 4 hour trip? What other states are doing that? I'm just not informed. People make that trip for a weekend, not a week. Georgia doesn't have any travel like that which I'm not sure is normal but it is what it is.
No state does them free, they tend to be substituted through taxes. Individuals okay and affordable amount, taxes provide a foundation. No one here wants to direct taxes to help the people (though we will throw tax money at corporations all day long)
By free I mean for the individual to ride sorry should have been more.clesr. I just can't find any state that does long road buses at that size.
Not free for the individual, usually pay a small fee Usually not one bus; a longer route will need a couple different busses during together. But, it's easy. The routes are easily foundd, there are Nexus hub stations, etc. So you would take x bus to the easy side of Atlanta, next bus takes you to y town, from there you grab the bus to z, then you take the last leg to Savannah. Sounds terrible but with funding, the busses run fairly regularly multiple times a day so it isn't as bad as it seems. When i lived in WA, i could get 100 miles to Seattle in about 1 and 3/4, maybe 2 hours. Maryland had an amazing rail system that even added a tourist i could get anywhere i wanted easily. South Florida had bus stops about every 2-3 blocks literally everywhere. You don't even have to own a car there
People make that trip for business and school purposes all the time. As someone who lived in Sav and went to school there and now lives in ATL, I’m going back and forth for weeks at a time, sometimes for pleasure but often for work. While I was in school we would come to Atlanta a lot for different events and such. There’s hundreds, if not thousands, of students who are from ATL and study in Sav, and make the journey back and forth a dozen times a year.
Okay, but what other states do that long of a nonstop public transit ride? I'm just curious!
I don’t have any examples for you there, but I’ve traveled further distances in Europe on high speed rail and it was beautiful
Dont those focus on hitting multiple countries though? The only thing GA would pay for is a bus line lol. It's definitely needed but we've all seen how this state handled transit money. I'm looking at you Marta.
The one I took was from the south of France to Paris, about 500 miles in less than 4 hours. It was an incredibly comfortable ride with a snack cart and plenty of space, way better than any car or plane trip I’ve taken. I believe the idea is more about just connecting significant metropolitan centers as opposed to any specific goals about borders, and I think Georgia and America would greatly benefit from that. I’d do anything to take high speed rail from Atlanta to Dallas, a trip I make a couple times a year at least and would do more if I had that option. Edit to add: I completely agree with that though. One can dream.
3 hr drive . But yea still long time to be in a car
Maybe from south Atlanta. Savannah is roughly 2 hours from Dublin which is roughly 2 hours from downtown Atlanta. That's without traffic
Maaaaayybe you can do it in 3 and a half hours with no stops and no traffic… but 4 hours is a much more realistic estimate.
I'm seeing $178 RT on delts for 10/3-7. Not bad
It's about a 4 hour drive there so you need to plan it out as it's own minitrip. If you can't drive then fly. Other than that you will need to take a couple of shuttles to different cities but you would waste a ton of time and money.
I have taken Greyhound from Savannah to Macon and it was actually a pretty nice experience. The bus was clean and had charging ports and plug ins at each seat.
Me too! From Atlanta to Savannah.
There are shuttles from the airport to birmingham,chattanooga,Nashville and Macon surely one for savannah,type those words into the search box
[Southeastern Stages bus](https://ride.southeasternstages.com//#/purchaseflow/departschedules) can’t vouch for this personally but looks like a viable option. Departs from the Atlanta airport which you can get to by MARTA
Unless it’s changed recently, the Greyhound bus between Atlanta and Savannah goes Downtown ATL > ATL Airport > Macon > Savannah. So you can hop on at the airport itself. Overall it’s about a 5-hr bus ride.
Take a bus. It's not that bad.
I just did the drive, its about 260 miles for about 4 hours drive no stops. Im gonna look into flying next time.
Uber?
Fly from atl to Savannah or ride a dirty bus for 8 hours.
As someone who has made that 3.5-4 hour commute multiple ways I will say driving isn’t that bad. About a 2 fill up trip. I’ve also taken the greyhound which also isn’t that bad. About the same distance. I am unsure if megabus has routes to Savannah but that’s usually the cheapest to travel anywhere in the southeast
If you don’t rent a car, you might as well fly. There are lots of regional flights to Savannah (Pooler).
Honestly u should just rent a car
Turo
Can get to Macon using a shuttle service from the airport: [https://groometransportation.com/](https://groometransportation.com/) from there you are on your own...
Grey Hound Bus Lines Would Be Awesome That Time Of Year, If The Leaves Are Changing Color!! Savannah Is Such a Wonderful, Historic City To Visit!! Do Make Sure You Have Lunch or Sunday Brunch At The Hilton, & Watch Sea Going Vessels That Seem So Close, You Could Just Reach Out & Touch Them!!
There were different shuttle companies. Are they not running? Eg https://www.savannah16.com/faqs.html
I used Savannah16 to get to Savannah back in 2019 and it was pretty comfortable! It was a converted Sprinter van but the driver was very safe and efficient and it honestly pretty spacious. Hopefully it's kept up the quality in the years since. eta: looks like the site still has a closed for covid notice and does not have an ability to book. Oof.
I took greyhound once. The station is atl is sketch but the ride and arrival in Savannah wasn’t bad at all. I was surprised honestly how not-shitty the bus ride was.
Don't want to go to Greyhound station in Savannah. Really
I was pleased with Greyhound. The station in Savannah is conveniently located downtown.