ATLAirport Guide

Atlanta Airport to Buckhead: MARTA Red Line, the Lindbergh Change and Car Prices

Buckhead sits on the Red Line, a direct ride for $2.50. On weekday nights you change at Lindbergh Center. A taxi is $49.50 and a shared van up to $30.

The entrance of MARTA's Buckhead Station on the Red Line, seen from across the street.
Buckhead Station

Buckhead has its own station on MARTA’s Red Line, so the ride from the airport is direct for $2.50 while Red trains are leaving Airport Station. On weekday nights you change at Lindbergh Center instead, or you take a car.

Ride the Red Line straight to Buckhead

MARTA’s Airport Station is inside the Domestic Terminal, between the North and South baggage claims. Board a Red Line train for North Springs. Buckhead is the stop after Lindbergh Center. The ride averages 32 minutes, per MARTA’s Train Stations & Schedules page, and Lindbergh Center averages 26. Our MARTA rail page has MARTA’s fares and the late change at Lindbergh Center.

Discover Atlanta lists the Buckhead station as the stop for the Westin Buckhead Atlanta, the Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead and the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta.

Know when the Red stops leaving the airport

The last Red train leaves Airport Station at 8:50 p.m. on weekdays and at 1:10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. MARTA’s airport page is vaguer. It says that after 8:30 p.m. you may need to change to the Red Line at Lindbergh Center to reach Buckhead, and it names no day of the week.

Day Last Red departure from Airport Station Last Gold departure from Airport Station
Weekdays 8:50 p.m. 1:20 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday 1:10 a.m. 1:20 a.m.

Once the Red trains stop, ride the Gold (Doraville) train and change to a Red (North Springs) train at Lindbergh Center. The weekday Red timetable prints trains leaving Lindbergh Center until 1:56 a.m.

MARTA doesn’t publish a single time for the two-train trip. Its airport page sends riders to the MARTA trip planner and the MARTA On the Go app for real-time schedules. Our MARTA guide has the wait between trains by time of day.

Take the Gold Line to Lenox when the malls are the goal

Discover Atlanta says both the Buckhead and Lenox stations are close to Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. Lenox is a Gold Line station, so Gold trains run straight from Airport Station, and MARTA’s after-8:30 p.m. change note doesn’t name it. The ride averages 30 minutes, against 32 to Buckhead. For the malls, Lenox is the easier pick once the Red trains have stopped.

Discover Atlanta’s pages disagree about two hotels. Its by-station guide lists the Nobu Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria under Buckhead. Its where-to-stay page puts both about 2,400 feet up the hill from Lenox station and says Nobu is steps from Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square. Ask the hotel which station it sends guests to.

What a van, a taxi or Uber costs instead

A weekday night is when a car earns its price: it skips the Lindbergh change, the one place this trip gets fiddly.

Option Price Whose figure
Shared-ride van Up to $30 per person ATL’s maximum trip fee to Buckhead
Taxi $49.50 for one person, plus $2 for each extra person ATL’s flat fare, which includes a $1.50 airport surcharge
Uber $46 average route price, $44 for UberX Uber’s own average for the past month, not a fixed price

Uber’s page covers North Buckhead and puts the average ride at 31 minutes and 19 miles. ATL adds a $2 or $3 fuel surcharge to taxi trips when gas prices pass set levels. Ask the driver to confirm the fare before your bags go in.

Our taxi guide has the aisle, and our Uber and Lyft pickup guide walks you from baggage claim to the pickup lot. If you land at the International Terminal, MARTA’s station isn’t there. It’s a free shuttle ride away in the Domestic Terminal, and our International Terminal shuttle page has the stop.

Sources