Should I Rent a Car in Atlanta? | Budget Car Rental

Should I Rent a Car in Atlanta?

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Should You Rent a Car in Atlanta?

Yes, it’s a good idea to rent a car when you visit Atlanta. We’ll get into all the details later in this guide, but here’s the gist:

Most visitors should rent a car in Atlanta because it’s a sprawling city with limited public transportation options that simply don’t reach everywhere you might want to go. Many popular destinations are too far apart to walk between them. Most of the Atlanta metro area is designed for getting around on highways, not on sidewalks.

Time for a closer look at why you’ll probably want a rental car in Atlanta.

Atlanta Infrastructure

Atlanta started small but grew quickly, leading to the emergence of several distinct districts—such as Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and the Perimeter—connected to each other mainly by highways. Because of the haphazard growth, the city can be a bit confusing—and if you rent a car for vacation in Atlanta, take care not to get confused by the 70-some streets that boast some variation of the name Peachtree.

It doesn’t generally get too cold here, although you can expect very hot summers and wet winters, which can dim a tourist’s enthusiasm for waiting around for a bus. Individual districts like Midtown and Downtown have a lot of sidewalks, but other areas may not be as welcoming for pedestrians.

Comparing Vacation Transportation Options in Atlanta

Individual neighborhoods may be walkable, but Atlanta as a whole is not. It has a Walk Score of 48, meaning that most residents are going to need a car to run errands and live their daily lives. By that same token, renting a car is a good idea in Atlanta unless you intend to stick mostly to a specific, walkable neighborhood, like the Georgia State University campus or Sweet Auburn.

Walk Score also ranks public transportation options; they give Atlanta a 44, which means that public transit does exist to a limited degree but isn’t sufficient for most people. 

MARTA provides the majority of public transportation services in Atlanta, but some major suburbs offer their own bus services, including CobbLinc (in Cobb County) and Ride Gwinnett (in Gwinnett County). Options include trains, buses, and one streetcar.

Many visitors will find it much simpler to rent a car than to navigate Atlanta's public transportation.

As a large metro area, Atlanta definitely has its share of traffic. In 2024, it took an average of 12 minutes and 45 seconds to travel 6 miles. WalletHub ranks Atlanta as the 31st best major American city to drive in (out of 100), but it ranks toward the bottom of the list when measured by safety, a metric that takes into account data like the likelihood of accidents and the percentage of adults who consistently wear their seat belts.

Bottom Line: Should You Rent a Car in Atlanta?

Do you need a car in Atlanta? Yes, you almost certainly do. While certain districts might be walkable, traveling between them is almost always going to be more efficient in a rental car. Even popular attractions aren’t always served by public transportation options, making a rental the best choice for:

  • A tourist or business traveler wanting to explore multiple neighborhoods
  • A visitor who doesn’t want to spend time navigating multiple public transportation options
  • Those eager to see attractions that MARTA doesn’t service, like Stone Mountain or many of the area film studios

Budget lets you rent a car without blowing all your travel funds. Find our most convenient Atlanta area rental location for your trip. If you’re flying in, consider booking with Budget at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.