Are you looking for an affordable weekend getaway? Look no further than Atlanta, Georgia! I recently visited Atlanta for the first time and fell in love with how dynamic, exciting, and beautiful the city really is, let me tell you all about it.
To make this trip more affordable my friend and I decided we'd fly out early the first morning, then fly home on a red eye the following night. I've found that earlier, and later flights tend to be a little cheaper, while also allowing you more time at your destination. Added bonus with this flight schedule we'd only have to pay for one night of hotel!
From the moment we landed at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport I realized just how awesome Atlanta is, the airport felt like a museum in some aspects. There were statues, and an area that had artsy jungle vibes. We had to take a train to the car rental agency, and from there we were in a super long line to rent our car. We rented from Sixt Rental Car, they were the cheapest option, and as a result had the longest line. We waited about half an hour just to get to the customer care agent, if you're on a tight schedule I'd recommend paying a little extra for another rental car company.
Our first stop in Atlanta was the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. If you are a nature lover, or just want to take some pictures with a nice backdrop I highly recommend the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
Tickets are approximately $25 for an adult, and it takes about 2 hours to walk through all the gardens. They had some amazing topiaries, some breathtaking glass art work, and hanging over the entire entrance rainbow colored ribbons.
Next up we got some lunch at The Varsity, the restaurant with the worlds largest drive-thru. This restaurant is what I'm referring to as "the bad" when I titled this blog. We decided to dine in because we had just a little time to kill before we could check into our hotel. The crowd to order was insane. There were multiple lines, all mingled together to form a massive hoard of people, with no personal space to speak of. We spent about 20 minutes in line, just to order our food. I will say their employees were wonderful, friendly, with quick service. I had a hot dog, onion rings, french fries, with a "varsity orange" to drink, while my friend got chicken nuggets. Everything was very basic, not bad tasting, but definitely not worth the wait or lack of personal space.
After we ate, we were able to check into our hotel, The Georgian Terrace. This hotel was phenomenal! The complimentary valet, as soon as you walk in the ceiling in the lobby is open all the way to the top floor. The rooms were very spacious, and the beds were comfortable. There's even a rooftop pool with a great view of Atlanta.
We took a short break at the hotel then ventured a little outside the city to visit Stone Mountain. I absolutely loved Stone Mountain, we had an Amazing time! Stone Mountain is the the largest mass of exposed Granite in the U.S, and I got to tell you the views are gorgeous! If you're afraid of heights the Summit Skyride lift that takes you to the top is a little scary, but it moves pretty quickly. Up on top of the mountain you can see the City of Atlanta on one side, and a lovely view of lush forest greenery on another.
At night you can grab a seat on the lawn in front of the Mountain and watch a laser show, "squares" of grass can be reserved for $10 and they can fit 4 people comfortably. I highly recommend bringing a blanket or something cozy to sit on, the grass it soft but can be a little itchy. I can genuinely say I've never seen another show like it, a very eclectic mish mash of stories, this laser show has something for everyone! I was especially fond of the semi Star Wars & Game of Thrones scenes. It's clear they don't have the licensing to use the actual scores and characters, so they make do with very close and funny proximities, that are super cute. The show lasts about 45 minutes, and includes some pyrotechnics, as well as, fireworks at the end!
For day 2 we purchased the City Pass for $77, which covered all our attractions for the day. A little about they city pass, it includes the Georgia Aquarium, The World of Coca-Cola, and Zoo Atlanta. You also get the choice of visiting 2 of either the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the College Football Hall of Fame, or the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. I'll give you the breakdown of which attractions we enjoyed and how much we saved at the end of this blog for anybody interested. Back to the fun though!
We started the morning off at Zoo Atlanta, I love visiting zoos wherever I go, and I have often found the animals to be more active/visible in the morning hours before the day gets particularly hot. The best part of Zoo Atlanta was definitely the Pandas! There are only 3 zoos in the U.S that have Panda's, Atlanta, Memphis, and the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington DC. So the Panda's are a must see!
After the Zoo we were starving so we tried Cook Out, a fast food chain that can be found in a few states, but not in my home state of Florida. They had a pretty extensive menu for a fast food chain, with a very long list of milkshake options. The food was average, but that's to be expected of most fast food.
Up next on our itinerary was the Fernbank Museum. The Museum itself is relatively small as far as museum go, and only takes about an hour to go through, but you can see Dinosaurs!
The real highlight of the museum for me was the nature trails outside. They had some trails that lead up into the trees, and they had longer trails that winded through the greenery. I love nothing more than to be under a canopy of beautiful, leafy trees, so this was right up my alley. I would highly recommend grabbing a water bottle before you hit the trails, even in the shade that Georgia sun combined with the mild exertion of walking can make you thirsty.
Our next stop was the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. They are right across from each other, and next to Centennial Olympic Park. We found a cheap lot nearby to park our car, and rode some of the little motor scooters you can find around the city. They're super easy to use, they have a QR code on them that will take you to the companies website, and you can pay for however much time you need. With the wind in my hair, I had the most fun flying down the road in front of the park. I should note that I absolutely I do not recommend recording while riding, it is very dangerous.
Despite my idiocy we made it to the World of Coca Cola safely. While this is not an attraction I would have typically sought out I did enjoy it. We spent maybe an hour there, it starts off with a brief tour where you get information about the history of the Coca-Cola company. Then you are able to roam, you can see the vault where an original copy of the recipe is stored, you can see how Coca-Cola is made and bottled, you can try different Coca-Cola products from around the world (beware the Beverly), and you can see lots of memorabilia.
Finally, our last attraction was the Georgia Aquarium and it was AMAZING! It was one of the attractions I was most looking forward to, because I had never seen a whale shark before. I saved it for last knowing that if I started there I likely would have not wanted to leave to visit the other attractions. All of the exhibits were wonderful, I especially enjoyed seeing the Jelly Fish, and the Dolphin show was fantastic. While the whole aquarium is beautiful, and interesting; nothing could prepare me for finally seeing the Whale Sharks. I waited to see them last. When you enter their exhibit you're in a tunnel surrounded by the tank, I could see the Whale Sharks in the distance and became excited. When you come to the end of the exhibit you're faced with a massive floor to ceiling view of the tank. I found myself a spot right in front, and I sat just to watch them swim around. Completely awestruck by how sheerly massive they are, and how gracefully they moved, I could not tear myself away from them.
After a while hunger got the better of me and I forced myself away so we could get some dinner before heading to the airport. We went to Fox Bro's Bar-B-Q off DeKalb Ave, from the moment we pulled up we were engulfed in an aroma of BBQ that set our mouths watering. They were VERY busy, they had at least an hour wait for a table but we were able to order take and eat in our car.
Just thinking back on this meal, and looking at it has got my stomach panging with hunger! Everything I had was fantastic, the Mac n Cheese was creamy, the Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage had just the right amount of spice, the fried okay was perfection, and the pimento cheese fries were to die for. For Dessert I got the S'mores Pie, it was so sweet, so yummy. It was filled with marshmallow fluff and chocolate.
Ending our trip on a delicious note, after eating we had to make our way to the airport, and back to South Florida.
For anyone interested in the logistics of the city pass vs the attractions without it. Zoo Atlanta is approximately $27, the Fernbank Museum is approximately $25, The World of Coca-Cola is approximately $18, and the Georgia aquarium is approximately $37. For a total of $107, verse the $77 city pass.
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