A friend asked me to write her directions to get from the Atlanta Airport to the hotel for 221BCon. I thought I would share a modified version with everyone.
Here is a link to both terminal maps:
There are 6 terminals at the Atlanta Airport: A, B, C, D, E, T. These directions work for all the terminals.
When you get off the plane, go to the giant "Hallway" and look for an overhead sign that directs you to baggage claim. You'll be going to the center of the terminal, then taking an escalator down to the underground train. Be sure to get on one that is going to Baggage claim. Just following people won't necessarily get you pointed in the right direction, but following the biggest crowd will. If there are too many people on that train, just stand there and wait for the next one. They come about every 5 minutes, and the crowds go in waves as planes land and dump people all eager to be the first to stand at an empty carousel in baggage claim and wait for their luggage to arrive. There's no need to rush. Even though the airport is enormous, it's still hard for the baggage to beat you to Baggage Claim if you go straight from your plane.
If you find that you've got on a train going in the wrong direction, don't freak out. Just get off when it stops, and go to the opposite side of the platform area, and get on that train.
Once you get to Baggage Claim, go up the ginormous escalator, and then go to the side where your airline is. There is Blue (North), and Red (South). Both sides look the same, except that your luggage will only be in one of them.
There should be a MASSIVE board in the center of Baggage Claim on the far wall telling you which of the 8 carousels your flight's baggage will appear on. Go there, find your bags, and then come back to where you entered the Baggage Claim area.
This will make sense once you're there, but turn right from the Blue/North Baggage claim, or Left from the Red/South baggage claim, after exiting Baggage Claim (NOTE: you should not have left the building!), and head back toward where you came off the escalator, and keep going down the hall. You should see signs for MARTA. That's the train to take you away from the Airport.
It's a teeny #47 on this map, to give you an idea of where you're going. This map has baggage claim on it, too.
You MUST buy a Breeze card to ride MARTA. They don't take cash on the train. There are vending machines as you walk into the MARTA area. http://www.breezecard.com/
The card costs $1.00 and is reload-able, so hang onto it. If you are going to take MARTA to get back to the airport to go home, then just go ahead and purchase two fares ($2.50 each) when you buy the card, and you won't have to worry with it again later.
When you go through the gate to get to the trains, you just tap the card on the spot indicated. No sliding it through a slot required.
You want to take the North Line on a train that says it is bound for North Springs (there are signs on the side of the train stating it's ultimate destination), and get off at the Dunwoody stop. It's near the end of the line, so it's about a 40-minute ride.
If you take the train bound for Doraville, then you will have to get off the train at the Lindbergh station, and wait for the one bound for North Springs. I recommend waiting at the airport station for the right train, rather than having to change trains at Lindbergh. The website says that the Red Line trains depart around every 15 minutes, so it won't be a long wait if you get there, and it's a Gold Line (Doraville) train that arrives first.
Here's the MARTA Rail map, so you can see where you are going. The airport is the southern-most stop: http://www.itsmarta.com/uploadedFiles/Schedules_And_Maps/Rail_Map/MARTARailMap2010.pdf
When you get to the Dunwoody MARTA station, exit the train, and follow the signs to the Kiss Ride area. That's the best place for people to be picked up and dropped off. Call the hotel (770-457-6363) and ask for them to send the shuttle.
That's it. See you at the convention!
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