Why Rent a Charter Bus in Atlanta?

So you’re planning a group trip in Atlanta—great! Whether you’re in town for business or you’re stopping by for a good dose of Southern hospitality, one thing’s for sure: you don’t want group members getting lost in the city while you’re trying to host an event or enjoy a gathering.

With that in mind, here are a few group transportation options that are at your disposal in Atlanta:

• MARTA: Atlanta’s main public transportation service, the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system includes trains, buses, and a handful of paratransit services that mainly operate within the Atlanta perimeter—that is, the area of Atlanta that sits inside the encircling interstate 285.
  
  MARTA is a great low-cost option for small groups who want to hit some of Atlanta’s high points, but its service is very limited outside of the Atlanta perimeter—or “OTP,” as the locals call it. Plus, if you’re traveling with a large group (especially if energetic children are included), it might be difficult to keep everyone together while you transfer between buses and trains.
• Atlanta Streetcar: Since it’s still in its early construction phases, the Atlanta Streetcar is more of a novelty experience and is not a robust, full-service public transportation option. But if your itinerary includes visits to Centennial Olympic Park and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site on the same day, this 2.7-mile route is perfect for your group.
• Yellow Cab, Uber, and Lyft: These car services can all be summoned at a moment’s notice, and, unlike buses or trains, can pick up and drop off just about anywhere. If you want to plan ahead a little bit, you can even schedule a ride ahead of time with any of these services.
  However, car services can typically only hold up to 7 passengers at once on their largest models, so if you’re traveling with a group, you might want to opt for a larger vehicle.
• Charter Buses: If your group includes more than about 12 people or your itinerary includes stops that aren’t frequented by MARTA (or both!), then an Atlanta charter bus rental is a great option for you. You’ll have a professional driver by your side, and you’ll be able to specify exactly where your bus goes and when you get there—all before you even leave your home. Plus, buses are available in a variety of sizes, and they come with amenities like WiFi, air conditioning, reclining seats, and more to make your Atlanta trip that much more comfortable.

Wedding Transportation in Atlanta

Planning a wedding in Atlanta? We can help! You may have some guests coming in from out of town, a few guests who are notorious for being chronically late, or a desire to pamper yourself with personalized transportation. Whatever your reasons may be, here are a couple of ways in which we can help make your wedding day smooth and successful:

• Day-of transportation: We’ll book a minibus shuttle to move wedding guests between your hotel and ceremony/reception venue on your time. This way, guests can enjoy a comfortable, spacious minibus instead of cramming into cars or limousines. And no one will have to drive themselves or walk long distances. Plan to have your shuttle bus complete its route a few times before the ceremony so that there’s no excuse for guests to be late!
• Bachelor/bachelorette party transportation: Hosting a night out in downtown Atlanta? If your wedding party is exceptionally large, ditch the rideshares for a private minibus and a designated driver who will stay with you throughout the night!

Guests can enjoy the ride with onboard WiFi to share pictures, music to set the party mood, and air-conditioning to combat Atlanta’s notorious heat and humidity.

Corporate Event Shuttles in Atlanta

You’ve got your venue, your speakers, and your schedule all set. Now all you have to do is make sure that attendees have a reliable ride to your corporate event! Don’t leave guests to rely on hotel shuttles or public transportation—set your own schedule and book a private minibus shuttle that runs on your time.

Passengers can prepare for upcoming presentations with WiFi and power outlets, and your event staff can make important announcements via your shuttle’s onboard PA system. And with a reliable minibus to guarantee safe, punctual transportation, you won’t need to worry about event guests showing up late or getting lost in the city.

If you’re looking for event spaces in Atlanta, here are our top recommendations:

Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart

Address: 240 Peachtree Street NW Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: (888) 263-7456

Size: 500,000 total square feet; 100,000 square feet of contiguous space; 45+ breakout rooms

Georgia International Convention Center

Address: 2000 Convention Center Concourse, College Park, GA 30337

Phone: (770) 997-3566

Size: 150,000 total square feet; 35 meeting rooms

Georgia World Congress Center

Address: 285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

Phone: (404) 223-4000

Size: 220-acre campus, including Centennial Olympic Park; 1.5 million square feet over three interconnected buildings

Support the Falcons, the Hawks, and More

Image Credit: Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons

Hosting a tailgate before a Falcons game, a family trip to see Atlanta United, or a corporate gathering with the Hawks? Instead of worrying about how everyone will get to the game, focus on enjoying your event while we do the driving. Rent a charter bus to bring everyone to the sports venue of your choosing—no nominating designated drivers, no drawing straws to volunteer your car, and no negotiating what tailgating supplies can and can’t fit into your uncle’s SUV. Once you’ve packed all of your essentials onto your charter bus, you’ll be ready to hit the road!

More of a college sports fan? No worries! Get your alumni group together to support the Yellow Jackets, or rent a charter bus to take you out to Athens for a Georgia Bulldogs game. We don’t discriminate based on team affiliation here.

Shofur will pair you with a spacious bus rental and a professional driver to safely bring you to any of Atlanta’s top sports venues, including:

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Address: 1 AMB Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

Phone: (470) 341-5000

Home of the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Atlanta United (MLS)

State Farm Arena

Address: 1 State Farm Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: (404) 878-3000

Home of the Atlanta Hawks

Truist Park

Address: 755 Battery Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30339

Phone: (404) 577-9100

Home of the Atlanta Braves

Pro tip: Surrounding Truist Park is The Battery, where you can find shops, bars, restaurants, and live music events. If you couldn’t score tickets to see the Braves or you’re planning an event during an away series, have your bus drop you off at your preferred Battery venue to enjoy the game with your group!

Bobby Dodd Stadium

Address: 177 N Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

Home of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Field Trips in Atlanta

As “the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement,” Atlanta offers an abundance of field trip opportunities. Spots like the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent and Social Change (also “The King Center”) educate students about the city’s role in the Civil Rights Movement. Additionally, you’ll find other locations such as the Atlanta History Center, the High Museum of Art, the Georgia Aquarium (the largest aquarium in the Southeast!), and the Children’s Museum of Atlanta to pique various interests of students of all ages.

Booking a charter bus for your field trip provides a safe, comfortable ride to your students, with a few additional perks that a school bus might not offer: you can show an educational movie on your bus’s TV screens, relax in reclining seats, and eliminate pit stops with onboard restrooms. If you need any additional amenities, such as ADA accessibility, we’ll make sure you’re paired with an appropriate coach bus at no extra charge!

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, these stops are sure to leave a lasting impression on your students:

The King Center

Address: 449 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

Phone: (404) 526-8900

Highlights: Largest source of information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement; records of 8 major civil rights organizations; 2-minute walk from Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park

Georgia Aquarium

Address: 225 Baker Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30313

Phone: (404) 581-4000

Highlights: 6-million-gallon tank home to four whale sharks and manta rays; beluga whales and bottlenose dolphins in other exhibits

High Museum of Art

Address: 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

Phone: (404) 733-4400

Highlights: Over 17,000 artworks by artists such as Claude Monet, Dorothea Lange, Martin Johnson Heade, and others

University Tours Throughout Atlanta

Touring colleges is an exciting time in any high-school senior’s life. It’s also part of a big decision, so it’s important to ensure that you and your students can immerse yourselves in each campus with minimal outside distractions. On your next round of college tours, rent a bus to keep your student group together and to help ensure that everyone arrives for campus tours, sports tryouts, auditions, and more right on time!

Let us know what campuses you’re touring and when, and we’ll make sure your driver knows exactly where to drop you off so that you can move from one campus to the next without missing a beat.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Tours begin at: Bill Moore Student Success Center

Address: 225 North Avenue NW, Atlanta, GA 30332

Emory University

Tours begin at: Emory College Admission Office

Address: 1390 Oxford Road NE, 3rd floor, Atlanta, GA 30322

Georgia State University

Tours begin at: The Welcome Center

Address: 100 Auburn Avenue NE, 1st floor, Atlanta, GA 30303

Experience Dragon Con with a Personalized Ride

Every Labor Day weekend, over 80,000 attendees line up to see their favorite writers, actors, directors, performers, and vendors come together for a pop culture celebration that rivals San Diego’s Comic-Con. Visitors can expect panels, meet-and-greets, and photo ops featuring stars from a variety of fandoms—from well-known favorites like Star Wars to small, lesser-known universes you thought only you had heard about.

Securing a room at one of the event’s five main convention hotels isn’t likely to happen unless you plan over a year in advance, and if you live in or near Atlanta, justifying the extra cost can be tough. Plus, parking your own cars in downtown Atlanta is expensive.

So, if you’re staying in a location that’s a little too far to walk and isn’t near a MARTA station, rent a minibus from Shofur to bring your group right up to the festivities! Everyone will travel together and you won’t have to stress about finding parking or navigating your way to the convention. When you’re ready to call it a day, you can relax on the drive home with your bus’s reclining seats while a professional handles the driving.

Schedule Airport Transfers for Groups

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. This distinction, naturally, comes with a few headaches regarding getting in and out of the airport—especially if you’re traveling with a group. If your next group trip involves a flight into or out of ATL, let Shofur provide you with a reliable ride to keep everyone together!

Book a minibus to drop off your group at departures or to pick you up once you’re out of baggage claim. Instead of waiting for rideshares or finding the best public transportation route, you can enjoy a personalized ride that will take you right to your hotel, home, or other destination in the city.

We can also book a private coach bus to pick up incoming corporate guests who might want a little special treatment upon their arrival. Ask your reservation specialist about meet-and-greet services (available with an extra charge) if you’d like to arrange for a personalized pick-up for your guests.

Charter a Bus from Atlanta to Miami

Beach days await in sunny Miami! It’s a bit of a haul—about a 10-hour drive from Atlanta, before factoring in stops—but it’s totally worth it, and the road trip will be even more fun with your group riding along with you!

If you want to make the road trip its own event, consider adding in a stop at Disney World in Orlando. Or, if you’re itching to feel the sand beneath your feet, hop over to Daytona Beach for a quick beach day before the Miami adventures begin.

On your charter bus, you’ll have reclining seats and air-conditioning to make for a comfortable trip. Sit back and relax with your favorite TV shows, available to stream via the bus’s WiFi, and eliminate unnecessary stops with an onboard restroom (available on full-sized bus models). Leave the driving to a professional while you play road trip games with your group!

Bus Rentals from Atlanta to Orlando

Orlando speaks for itself. We don’t need to remind you that the Theme Park Capital of the World is home to Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and Gatorland—not to mention that it offers easy access to Tampa’s Busch Gardens, just a 1-hour drive across the state. It’s the perfect place for family reunions, celebrations, and any other group event.

Expect at least a 7-hour drive before factoring in stops. With a charter bus, though, you won’t have to worry about random pit stops and snack reloads! Your coach bus will have plenty of storage space for snacks and drinks to keep you full and hydrated, and full-sized models can even have a restroom on board. Let your driver navigate the road quickly and efficiently while you dream of your Orlando vacation.

Our Favorite Group-Friendly Destinations in Atlanta

Georgia Aquarium

Great for: school groups, corporate events, weddings, and all lovers of marine life

If you’re visiting the World of Coke, you might as well knock out a visit to the Georgia Aquarium while you’re here! Located just across Pemberton Place (an open green space that’s perfect for soaking up the sun between tours), it’s an easy walk away, and it’s definitely worth a visit. Take a tour and get an up-close look at the Ocean Voyager tank—one of the world’s largest aquatic exhibits and home to whale sharks, manta rays, and thousands of other fish—as well as other exhibits that feature African penguins, bottlenose dolphins, octopuses, puffins, Japanese spider crabs, and many more animals!

The aquarium also offers event spaces for weddings, corporate gatherings, birthday parties, and proms. You can say “I Do” or celebrate an occasion in style with living marine walls as your backdrop!

Bus tip: Like the World of Coca-Cola, there’s limited parking and scarce bus parking. Ask your bus driver to drop you off on Baker Street and park at the Georgia World Congress Center nearby.

Best charter bus parking address: 362 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard NW, Atlanta, GA 30314

World of Coca-Cola

Great for: school groups, families, soda connoisseurs

If you thought you liked Coca-Cola before, think again. This museum showcases the drink’s history, from its conception to its place as the “household” brand name everyone knows today. Visitors can snap a photo with the iconic polar bear mascot, see how the drink is bottled, and, most importantly, taste all flavors of Coca-Cola and the brand’s other drinks—many of which aren’t even sold in the United States!

Bus tip: Since it’s surrounded by Downtown Atlanta’s crowded hustle and bustle, bus parking is hard to come by. Buses are instructed to pick up and drop off passengers along Baker Street and park at the nearby Georgia World Congress Center.

Best charter bus parking address: 362 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard NW, Atlanta, GA 30314

Ponce City Market

Great for: families, wedding rehearsal dinners, senior citizen trips, shopaholics, and foodies

Image Credit: Keizers, Wikimedia Commons

This mixed-use destination includes shops, restaurants, and a rooftop filled with classic carnival games and event space—which means there’s something for everyone! Get off your feet and relax at any of the market’s multiple restaurants (featuring cuisines from around the world); shop ‘til you drop at bookstores, candle shops, and clothing companies; or plan a fun evening of reliving your childhood at the rooftop’s carnival area. The rooftop’s separate event venue offers gorgeous views of Atlanta and luxurious touches to elevate your wedding, corporate gathering, or party.

Bus tip: Minibuses can easily drop off passengers anywhere cars can, which is near the main shopping areas off the complex’s main roads. Enter via Ponce de Leon Avenue, Glen Iris Drive, or North Avenue. Full-sized charter buses may have a harder time squeezing into the area, so we recommend calling ahead to ensure that you’ll have enough space to drop off your group. Guest Services can be reached at 404-900-7900 for parking information.

Best dropoff address: 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30308

The Varsity

Great for: school field trips, families, senior citizen trips, and any Atlanta newcomer

Image Credit: Scott Ehardt, Wikimedia Commons

The Varsity has been an Atlanta icon since it opened in 1928. Its massive dining area, delicious greasy food, and speedy service (which is especially impressive considering they serve 30,000 people every day) attract Atlanta locals and visitors throughout the year and make it a great lunch spot for large groups! Be sure to have your order ready to recite before they yell “What’ll ya have?” from behind the register, and definitely try a chili dog and a Frosted Orange (or FO, as regulars call it) before you go!

Groups can purchase meal vouchers ahead of time to help keep the lines moving swiftly.

Bus tip: This is probably the easiest place to park a charter bus in all of Atlanta. The Varsity has a massive parking deck, behind which you’ll find plenty of space for charter buses of all sizes. Your group and your bus driver will be able to walk right in and get to the fun part: eating lunch.

Best charter bus parking address: 61 North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308

Look for the open lot behind the parking deck.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park

Great for: everyone! School field grips, senior citizen trips, families, and history buffs

This park is a large complex that’s home to multiple buildings dedicated to showcasing Atlanta’s role in the Civil Rights Movement. Here, your group can explore Dr. King’s childhood home and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King was baptized. Plan your way around the park, or let your group buzz around and explore what they want to see most!

Bus tip: Buses are instructed to load and unload passengers on Irwin Street, but bus parking is NOT permitted in this area. Charter buses may park in the lot on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue.

Best bus loading address: The park recommends using these GPS coordinates to find the pickup and drop off area on Irwin Street: GPS 33°45'27.50"N, 84°22'23.74"W

Best charter bus parking address: The park recommends using these GPS coordinates to find the designated bus parking area on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue: GPS 33°45'33.01"N, 84°22'22.05"W

Park address: 450 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30312

Book Your Atlanta Bus Rental

No matter what’s on your itinerary, Shofur is standing by 24 hours a day to help make sure your group gets to every stop with absolute ease. Call our specialists at 1-800-436-8719 to discuss bus prices, learn more about what bus models we offer, and secure your group transportation from a bus company you can trust.