HELP with understanding Atlanta's NEW International terminal

Peach · 06-02-2012

While researching parking options for my upcoming trip, I realized that there is a new terminal for international flights. I vaguely remember seeing the road construction signs indicating this on my last trip.

Is this a completely different area to drive to and park??
Will I be able to park where we usually do, check-in, pass the security check points, and then take the tram to our terminal???

As this is going to be a solo trip, I was all prepared to put on my big girl pants and drive to Atlanta all by myself (hubby & I seem to take a wrong turn EVERY time). Now I'm terrified!! Not sure how I'm going to manage driving, reading road signs, listening to my non-updated GPS, and reading my notes all at the same time

I was trying to save money and find the cheapest parking option, but now I'm thinking I should just do a Park, Sleep, and Fly hotel.

cormacsg · 06-02-2012

i've never had the pleasure of going through the airport in atlanta so i have no personal experience to offer. i do find that the airport websites are pretty good with information related to parking and especially when opening a new terminal. you can check out this link on parking info related to the new terminal and also maybe give them a ring. the hotline number is at the bottom of the page. here is a link to the map of the parking facilities also. hope this helps.

equinenut · 06-02-2012

Hey Michelle!! I'm sorry I can't help you with the driving/parking stuff but I came thru the new international terminal in Atlanta coming back from my extended vacation in May.

It's a very nice terminal!!

I would think you'd still check in at the normal check in counters out bound. It's not until the returning flight that normally you go thru an international terminal. That's the way it is in Milwaukee anyway. No difference if you're flying to NYC or Cancun outbound. Only returning from an international destination do you arrive at an international terminal.

Once I arrived at the new Atlanta terminal and past customs, you can go right (to surface transportation and presumably a shuttle to your lot or at least the main terminal) or left to check bags and go to my next domestic gate.

Directions were straight forward, it should be a piece of cake.

Wish I was going too!

Peach · 06-02-2012

Thanks to you both for the info!

Coming back into ATL has always been confusing, but I've done it enough to have it down. I guess what's really throwing me off is while checking on their parking rates, it stated that all international Travel is to park in the "International Travel parking lot".......and it's $36 a day!!!!!!!!

candylady401 · 06-02-2012

We've done the "sleep/park n fly" in St. Louis. It couldn't have been easier. It was also stress free and our parking was free at the hotel for 14 days. You might want to check into doing something like that. The hotel was very nice too. As I remember, the whole thing -- parking (free), hotel and shuttle to and from the airport was $89. Can't beat that price.

equinenut · 06-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga_pechs

Thanks to you both for the info!

Coming back into ATL has always been confusing, but I've done it enough to have it down. I guess what's really throwing me off is while checking on their parking rates, it stated that all international Travel is to park in the "International Travel parking lot".......and it's $36 a day!!!!!!!!

Holy crap! That is expensive and very different than in Milwaukee. Remote lots are remote lots, shouldn't matter where you are travelling to or from. Are there private lots available?

Peach · 06-02-2012

After reading up on more info, it does appear that I have to go to a completely different section to check in for International flights and park, although there are free shuttles between domestic and international terminals.
The cheapest parking area for International is a park and ride for $12 a day. There are some cheaper options off-airport with free shuttles.
I think my best option would be a park, sleep, and fly.........otherwise, I would be up at 2:30am and leave the house by 3:30am

It will be worth the $20 extra for sleep!

We paid $160 for parking this past trip.....10 days

Dan-0 · 06-02-2012

Michelle, I recommend doing the hotel park-and-fly deal. Spend the night before your flight and take the shuttle to the airport. We always fly out of Atlanta & that's what we always do. All the hotels around the airport have free shuttle service & you end up paying the same (or less) for your night at the hotel than you would pay for parking at the airport. Below is a link to the hotel we've stayed on our last couple of trips. It's a new hotel, very close to the airport, with a lot of shopping & restaurants within walking distance.

Atlanta Hotels - Holiday Inn Express Hotels Atlanta Arpt West - Camp Creek Hotel in Atlanta | Best Price Guarantee or First Night Free

Peach · 06-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan-0

Michelle, I recommend doing the hotel park-and-fly deal. Spend the night before your flight and take the shuttle to the airport. We always fly out of Atlanta & that's what we always do. All the hotels around the airport have free shuttle service & you end up paying the same (or less) for your night at the hotel than you would pay for parking at the airport. Below is a link to the hotel we've stayed on our last couple of trips. It's a new hotel, very close to the airport, with a lot of shopping & restaurants within walking distance.

Atlanta Hotels - Holiday Inn Express Hotels Atlanta Arpt West - Camp Creek Hotel in Atlanta | Best Price Guarantee or First Night Free

Thanks, Will definetly check it out!

CondoPerico · 06-03-2012

Just rent a car one way. Pick it up near your home the day before (less than 24 hrs.) and drop it at the airport. We usually get to and from for about $45. No waiting or parking! YMMV

cocdawg · 06-03-2012

Michelle,
I was just trying to figure the International Terminal out myself. Glad you posted this question. I had a buddy who just got back from Cancun-suppose to be going for his sister's wedding but she backed out

and they went anyway. He was telling me about the International Terminal and they too went the hotel route. I was already a little nervous about the entire process anyway. This will be my first flight since I was in high school and my wife has never flown. We've been married 13 years and other than the 2 nights we spent on our "honeymoon" (lets just say she was surprised with what I had planned but not in a good way

), we've never been anywhere alone in 13 years. Needless to say, we are both extremely excited about our trip to Playa and The Royal but at the same time both extremely worried about all the details.

We worry about getting to our terminal, finding our flight, customs, passports, getting to the resort, USD vs. Pesos, choosing a few excursions, what to bring, not to bring, etc. I know we'll have a blast when we finally get there but we're both worriers. BTW, Michelle, we too are from GA and I notice your counter was at 55 days. I was thinking we would be there the same time as you but doing the math on my phone calendar it looks like we'll be leaving the day you arrive. We'll be there July 22 - 27.

Anyway, thanks for posting the question. We had planned on doing Park and Ride but may go the hotel route. Only problem is we'll be coming back from a family vacation that Sat from FL. I guess we could drive thru our hometown, dump the kiddos, and drive another hour to the ATL.

Peach · 06-03-2012

Dawg, all your worries will fly out the window once you exit your transportation at the Royal. The Royal is beautiful and right in the center of town. Everything is walking distance!!!!
After all my research yesterday, I really think it will be easy to navigate the ATL airport, just a little worried with not having a copilot.
After doing the math, it will cost the same whether I park at the airport or do a P, S, & F hotel. I'm gonna do the hotel and be rested on arrival day

Final conclusion (from my understanding)......
ATL now has a Domestic flight check-in area with parking AND an International check-in with it's own parking. (if you arrive at the wrong area, a free shuttle will take you to the correct place). You actually take a different exit ramp off of I-75 (exit 239) for the International Terminal

What part of GA are you from??? I'm in Augusta

cocdawg · 06-03-2012

Michelle,
We are in Commerce. About an hour northeast of ATL and 20 min from Athens. I've thought about doing the Park and Ride that's north of ATL and let it take us in to the airport but may do one of the two your considering. Thanks for your help and I'm sure I'll have more questions before the big day gets here.

Peach · 06-03-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by cocdawg

Michelle,
We are in Commerce. About an hour northeast of ATL and 20 min from Athens. I've thought about doing the Park and Ride that's north of ATL and let it take us in to the airport but may do one of the two your considering. Thanks for your help and I'm sure I'll have more questions before the big day gets here.

Been to Commerce many times.......outlet malls!!!!!

cocdawg · 06-03-2012

LOL! I don't think anyone knew where Commerce was until the outlet malls arrived. Those of us that have been here all our lives would love to see them elsewhere. They have a Commerce address but they are actually in the next county over. We get all the traffic and headaches but no tax $$$. I guess they would be nice if we could bring them in once a year....kind of like the Masters in Augusta

. I can still remember my first Sat/Sun rounds at The Masters as a 6 year old. That's a different topic for a different day.

06-02-2012	#1 (permalink)
Peach reposado Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Augusta, Ga Posts: 1,295	HELP with understanding Atlanta's NEW International terminal While researching parking options for my upcoming trip, I realized that there is a new terminal for international flights. I vaguely remember seeing the road construction signs indicating this on my last trip. Is this a completely different area to drive to and park?? Will I be able to park where we usually do, check-in, pass the security check points, and then take the tram to our terminal??? As this is going to be a solo trip, I was all prepared to put on my big girl pants and drive to Atlanta all by myself (hubby & I seem to take a wrong turn EVERY time). Now I'm terrified!! Not sure how I'm going to manage driving, reading road signs, listening to my non-updated GPS, and reading my notes all at the same time I was trying to save money and find the cheapest parking option, but now I'm thinking I should just do a Park, Sleep, and Fly hotel.

06-02-2012	#2 (permalink)
cormacsg way into it Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 144	i've never had the pleasure of going through the airport in atlanta so i have no personal experience to offer. i do find that the airport websites are pretty good with information related to parking and especially when opening a new terminal. you can check out this link on parking info related to the new terminal and also maybe give them a ring. the hotline number is at the bottom of the page. here is a link to the map of the parking facilities also. hope this helps. Last edited by cormacsg; 06-02-2012 at 02:51 PM..

06-02-2012	#7 (permalink)
Peach reposado Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Augusta, Ga Posts: 1,295	After reading up on more info, it does appear that I have to go to a completely different section to check in for International flights and park, although there are free shuttles between domestic and international terminals. The cheapest parking area for International is a park and ride for $12 a day. There are some cheaper options off-airport with free shuttles. I think my best option would be a park, sleep, and fly.........otherwise, I would be up at 2:30am and leave the house by 3:30am It will be worth the $20 extra for sleep! We paid $160 for parking this past trip.....10 days Last edited by Peach; 06-02-2012 at 10:22 PM..

06-03-2012	#12 (permalink)
Peach reposado Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Augusta, Ga Posts: 1,295	Dawg, all your worries will fly out the window once you exit your transportation at the Royal. The Royal is beautiful and right in the center of town. Everything is walking distance!!!! After all my research yesterday, I really think it will be easy to navigate the ATL airport, just a little worried with not having a copilot. After doing the math, it will cost the same whether I park at the airport or do a P, S, & F hotel. I'm gonna do the hotel and be rested on arrival day Final conclusion (from my understanding)...... ATL now has a Domestic flight check-in area with parking AND an International check-in with it's own parking. (if you arrive at the wrong area, a free shuttle will take you to the correct place). You actually take a different exit ramp off of I-75 (exit 239) for the International Terminal What part of GA are you from??? I'm in Augusta Last edited by Peach; 06-03-2012 at 01:03 PM..

06-02-2012	#3 (permalink)
equinenut añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Franklin, Wisconsin Posts: 1,650	Hey Michelle!! I'm sorry I can't help you with the driving/parking stuff but I came thru the new international terminal in Atlanta coming back from my extended vacation in May. It's a very nice terminal!! I would think you'd still check in at the normal check in counters out bound. It's not until the returning flight that normally you go thru an international terminal. That's the way it is in Milwaukee anyway. No difference if you're flying to NYC or Cancun outbound. Only returning from an international destination do you arrive at an international terminal. Once I arrived at the new Atlanta terminal and past customs, you can go right (to surface transportation and presumably a shuttle to your lot or at least the main terminal) or left to check bags and go to my next domestic gate. Directions were straight forward, it should be a piece of cake. Wish I was going too!

06-02-2012	#4 (permalink)
Peach reposado Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Augusta, Ga Posts: 1,295	Thanks to you both for the info! Coming back into ATL has always been confusing, but I've done it enough to have it down. I guess what's really throwing me off is while checking on their parking rates, it stated that all international Travel is to park in the "International Travel parking lot".......and it's $36 a day!!!!!!!!

06-02-2012	#5 (permalink)
candylady401 reposado Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Springfield, MO Posts: 1,370	We've done the "sleep/park n fly" in St. Louis. It couldn't have been easier. It was also stress free and our parking was free at the hotel for 14 days. You might want to check into doing something like that. The hotel was very nice too. As I remember, the whole thing -- parking (free), hotel and shuttle to and from the airport was $89. Can't beat that price.

06-02-2012	#8 (permalink)
Dan-0 añejo Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 1,502	Michelle, I recommend doing the hotel park-and-fly deal. Spend the night before your flight and take the shuttle to the airport. We always fly out of Atlanta & that's what we always do. All the hotels around the airport have free shuttle service & you end up paying the same (or less) for your night at the hotel than you would pay for parking at the airport. Below is a link to the hotel we've stayed on our last couple of trips. It's a new hotel, very close to the airport, with a lot of shopping & restaurants within walking distance. Atlanta Hotels - Holiday Inn Express Hotels Atlanta Arpt West - Camp Creek Hotel in Atlanta \| Best Price Guarantee or First Night Free

06-03-2012	#10 (permalink)
CondoPerico beachaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 359	Just rent a car one way. Pick it up near your home the day before (less than 24 hrs.) and drop it at the airport. We usually get to and from for about $45. No waiting or parking! YMMV

06-03-2012	#11 (permalink)
cocdawg sandflea Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3	Michelle, I was just trying to figure the International Terminal out myself. Glad you posted this question. I had a buddy who just got back from Cancun-suppose to be going for his sister's wedding but she backed out and they went anyway. He was telling me about the International Terminal and they too went the hotel route. I was already a little nervous about the entire process anyway. This will be my first flight since I was in high school and my wife has never flown. We've been married 13 years and other than the 2 nights we spent on our "honeymoon" (lets just say she was surprised with what I had planned but not in a good way ), we've never been anywhere alone in 13 years. Needless to say, we are both extremely excited about our trip to Playa and The Royal but at the same time both extremely worried about all the details. We worry about getting to our terminal, finding our flight, customs, passports, getting to the resort, USD vs. Pesos, choosing a few excursions, what to bring, not to bring, etc. I know we'll have a blast when we finally get there but we're both worriers. BTW, Michelle, we too are from GA and I notice your counter was at 55 days. I was thinking we would be there the same time as you but doing the math on my phone calendar it looks like we'll be leaving the day you arrive. We'll be there July 22 - 27. Anyway, thanks for posting the question. We had planned on doing Park and Ride but may go the hotel route. Only problem is we'll be coming back from a family vacation that Sat from FL. I guess we could drive thru our hometown, dump the kiddos, and drive another hour to the ATL.

06-03-2012	#13 (permalink)
cocdawg sandflea Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3	Michelle, We are in Commerce. About an hour northeast of ATL and 20 min from Athens. I've thought about doing the Park and Ride that's north of ATL and let it take us in to the airport but may do one of the two your considering. Thanks for your help and I'm sure I'll have more questions before the big day gets here.

06-03-2012	#15 (permalink)
cocdawg sandflea Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3	LOL! I don't think anyone knew where Commerce was until the outlet malls arrived. Those of us that have been here all our lives would love to see them elsewhere. They have a Commerce address but they are actually in the next county over. We get all the traffic and headaches but no tax $$$. I guess they would be nice if we could bring them in once a year....kind of like the Masters in Augusta . I can still remember my first Sat/Sun rounds at The Masters as a 6 year old. That's a different topic for a different day.

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