8 Georgia Getaways That Are Surprisingly Easy Without a Rental Car

An hourly shuttle runs from Atlanta’s airport to Athens for about $55 one way. It takes a little under two hours door-to-door.

You don’t have to deal with a rental counter, an insurance add-on, or a parking deck at the other end.

These are the Georgia getaways that are surprisingly easy without a rental car.

Savannah

Savannah’s Greyhound stop drops riders at 610 W. Oglethorpe Avenue, on the western edge of the Historic District, so a bus rider skips the last-mile trip entirely.

Amtrak’s Silver Meteor and Palmetto trains use a different station instead, four miles out on Seaboard Coastline Drive.

Reaching downtown from there requires a rideshare or a ride on Chatham Area Transit.

Different station, different math.

Once downtown, a free shuttle many visitors never hear about handles the rest of the trip.

Chatham Area Transit’s dot Express Shuttle loops the Historic District on two routes, stopping at 18 spots every 10 minutes.

Those stops include parking garages, hotels, and the visitor center, and the whole ride costs nothing.

The free Savannah Belles Ferry adds a second no-cost ride, crossing the river every 10 minutes to connect the district with the Westin and convention center on Hutchinson Island.

The district itself stays flat and walkable between both free rides, laid out around garden squares and one-way cobblestone lanes that make a rental car more trouble than it’s worth.

Many visitors ditch the idea of driving by lunchtime and never look back.

Tybee Island

A shuttle called the Tybee Beach Bus picks up Tybee Island travelers right in Savannah’s Historic District.

The 20-minute ride to the beach starts without a car in the picture.

The round trip runs close to six hours and folds in beach chairs, an umbrella, and a cooler packed with ice, so nobody has to load a trunk first.

The cooler’s already packed.

Fort Pulaski and the Tybee Island Light Station sit along some of the tour routes.

One reservation can turn into a history stop and a beach afternoon in the same day.

Nobody has to vacuum a trunk full of sand out afterward.

Athens

An hourly Groome Transportation shuttle reaches Athens straight from the Atlanta airport’s domestic terminal, a two-hour ride that beats renting a car for the 70 miles northeast.

Fares start around $55 one way when booked online, and the ride takes a little under two hours door to door.

Book ahead.

Once there, Athens-Clarke County’s bus system runs completely fare-free across all 18 routes, covering downtown, the University of Georgia campus, and the neighborhoods around them.

A visitor can ride from a football Saturday tailgate to a downtown club on Clayton Street without ever hunting for a parking spot.

Stone Mountain Park

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail line covers the long stretch of the trip to Stone Mountain Park, running east from downtown Atlanta.

A single connecting bus finishes the job from there.

Route 119 picks up right at Kensington Station and drops passengers in Stone Mountain Village, an easy walk from the park’s main gate.

One $2.50 fare covers rail and bus together, with free transfers built in for up to three hours.

One fare, two rides.

First-time visitors who’ve never taken a city bus in their life can still make this trip without touching a rental key.

Marietta Square

One bus transfer turns a MARTA ride into a doorstep drop-off at Marietta Square, northwest of downtown Atlanta.

CobbLinc’s Route 10 bus runs straight from the Arts Center Station to the Marietta Transfer Center, and the square’s shops and restaurants are an easy walk from there.

The fare runs $2.50 each way, the same flat rate as the rest of Cobb County’s local routes.

One bus, one square.

The square’s restaurants and boutiques don’t care whether a customer arrived by bus, on foot, or by bike.

Roswell

A MARTA train to North Springs Station carries a visitor to the edge of Roswell, and Route 85 covers the rest of the way into the historic district.

The bus runs along Atlanta Street past Roswell’s City Hall, dropping riders an easy walk from Canton Street’s restaurants and boutiques.

Same station, new stop.

Route 85 also reaches a park-and-ride lot on Mansell Road at the other end of the line, so the same bus works for the trip back.

Canton Street’s restaurants, boutiques, and galleries fill the blocks around that bus stop, more than enough for an afternoon without a rental car in sight.

Macon

A Greyhound ticket lands travelers right at Macon’s downtown transit hub on Cherry Street, not out on some highway exit.

That hub sits a few blocks from the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, a paved path that runs along the river straight into Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.

The trail does the rest.

Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority buses also loop through downtown, and its routes put Route 1 at City Hall and Route 8 at the Macon Coliseum and the Marriott City Center.

Either route puts a rider within walking distance of the Cherry Street entertainment district for anyone who’d rather ride than walk the whole trail.

A traveler can step off a bus downtown and be standing inside a centuries-old earthwork mound complex before lunch, without ever touching a set of car keys.

Decatur

One MARTA stop empties directly onto Decatur’s downtown square, ending the trip before a rider even checks a map.

There’s no transfer, no bus connection, and no walk longer than a crosswalk.

That’s the whole trip.

The square’s 1898 Old Courthouse holds the DeKalb History Center, and admission stays free for anyone who ducks in between the train and lunch.

One Transit Card, Four Trips