Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-19-2015, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Hell
377 posts, read 667,302 times
Reputation: 889

Advertisements

Hi! I need some travel advice from local Atlanta peeps, please!

So I am heading to South Carolina on Saturday and will be there for one week. While there I am planning on taking a 1 or 2 day trip into Atlanta to see the Aquarium, Coca-Cola museum and do a Walking Dead tour. I was supposed to do it last year but was struck down by a stomach bug. Anyway, if I do an official tour the only days they have tickets that kind of work are Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve) and then Black Friday (doesn't really work because of Thanksgiving day plans and then travel home plans Saturday so we'd have to go with Wednesday). My husband is super hesitant about traveling on either of those days but I kinda had my heart set on doing the official tour.

So my tentative plans were to drive from SC into Senoia on Tuesday and do our own mini-tour of Woodbury and stuff and then to head into Atlanta and hit the aquarium and maybe even the coke museum if we have time. Then stay at a hotel and go on the official tour at 9:30 on Wednesday. The tour should be about 3 hours and then we would get back on the road and head back to SC (heading about 2 hours away). Is this a realistic plan? Or is the traffic known to be so bad that day that I should scrap the official tour plans and just come to town Monday and Tuesday and just do our own thing?

Just how bad is the traffic? Is it going to be so bad that I should revise my plans? Thanks in advance!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-19-2015, 12:44 PM
 
9,008 posts, read 13,965,476 times
Reputation: 7632
On a day like Wednesday, I think it's anybody's guess.

Traffic will be AWFUL, but it won't follow typical traffic patterns.

I THINK that traffic heading from the city southbound will be the worst, but I don't know. I would be a lot more worried about traffic heading into town on Wednesday morning than getting back to SC in the afternoon, but I could be totally wrong.

You could encounter total smooth sailing or complete gridlock. Does anyone else have a good handle on what this holiday traffic usually looks like?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2015, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Hell
377 posts, read 667,302 times
Reputation: 889
Well we would plan to already be in Atlanta on Tuesday and stay at a hotel so then we'd already be there Wednesday morning and not need to drive in. So it would just be getting BACK to SC that would be the problem. And I guess we would be going north east-ish? So at least not south, lol. I am just nervous and hoping someone can sway me one way or the other.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2015, 01:57 PM
 
475 posts, read 679,644 times
Reputation: 452
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty Avocado View Post
Then stay at a hotel and go on the official tour at 9:30 on Wednesday. The tour should be about 3 hours and then we would get back on the road and head back to SC (heading about 2 hours away).
In what part of metro Atlanta is the 9:30am tour?
[Edit: If I'm reading that the tour is in Coweta County, then not only would you have to leave Atlanta, you'd first have to drive through/around Atlanta on your way back to SC]. As another poster stated, this will be AWFUL at/after 12:30]

Will you be headed to SC on Interstate 85N, or an alternate route (20E to 95N)?

My driving experiences from GA to NC (via SC) are all I85N - and I've done it many times, under many circumstances:

Getting out of Atlanta at 12:30 is probably pushing it, because a lot of people who do work traditional office hours get off 'early' the day before a holiday - which is typically around, or slightly after, noon. Add in holiday travelers, and it's a wrap. There are a lot of native North and South Carolinians in metro Atlanta - no doubt many will go 'home' for Thanksgiving.

Even if you are successful in clearing the metro before 'rush hour', I've found that the bigger issue is the likelihood of a traffic incident on 85N after it has dropped to two lanes. That seems to always be an issue (or multiple issues), and a nightmare. You just sit...for miles...and miles.

My most successful exits from the city headed north have been around 11am (leaving ATL). If you have the option of leaving early Thursday morning, it might be worth it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2015, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Hell
377 posts, read 667,302 times
Reputation: 889
I wasn't that clear at the top, sorry! There are 2 guided Walking Dead tours. One in Atlanta and one in Senoia (is this Coweta county?). The Senoia one is only offered at 2:30PM so I was thinking of skipping that one and doing a self tour of that area on Tuesday. Then heading into Atlanta for the Coca Cola museum and aquarium. Wednesday morning I wanted to take the Atlanta official walking dead tour from 9:30-12:30 and then head to SC. We would be going to Greenville so a quick look at a map (I am not familiar with the area at all) indicates I'd be on 85N. So from what you wrote above it looks like this is probably NOT a good idea lol. That's what I wanted to know so thank you.

As much as I wanted the official tour guided tour I am thinking the traffic on Wednesday may make me wish that we had done ALL self tours on another day.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2015, 03:16 PM
 
1,945 posts, read 7,342,781 times
Reputation: 1396
Just keep in mind, that Senoia is kinda out there, as in miles off of the xpway, once you get to the exit which is 61- on xpway 85. It is deep into the PTC area and then some. So for planning can you maybe stay in PTC in one of the hotels there? Might be easier than going back and forth from Senoia to downtown and back to Senoia and then heading to S Carolina which would involve you going back towards downtown! Lol.

Yes Senoia is in Coweta county.

Yeah, definitely end your day in Atlanta because you'll be taking 85 north to head to S. Carolina, the traffic heading northbound should not be thaaaat bad. Might be bottle necky once you hit Gwinnett County, but after you pass that you should be ok.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-19-2015, 04:43 PM
 
2,324 posts, read 2,890,590 times
Reputation: 1785
I wouldn't take a chance on that Wednesday- people will be traveling through Atlanta and heading to points throughout the Southeast USA. Black Friday would be much easier to if you can pull it off.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-20-2015, 07:01 AM
 
Location: Hell
377 posts, read 667,302 times
Reputation: 889
Thank you everyone!! I really appreciate all of the advice and tips.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-25-2015, 10:31 AM
 
2,324 posts, read 2,890,590 times
Reputation: 1785
I am a bit of a traffic/travel geek, so I wanted to see exactly how traffic would look today. Here is a link to monitor things.

Georgia 511
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-25-2015, 02:02 PM
 
31,993 posts, read 36,516,062 times
Reputation: 13254
We were just out running some errands and traffic wasn't bad at all.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top