Peach-Packed Agenda: Your Flexible 4-Day Atlanta Trip Itinerary

The Ultimate 4-Day Budget-Friendly Atlanta Itinerary

Did you know that Atlanta is the number one most-visited place in Georgia? It is no surprise that tourists flock to the city because there are so many activities to choose from when you are trying to plan your Atlanta Trip Itinerary.

With so many tourist attractions available, you can easily get overwhelmed when planning your trip to A-Town. Take a deep breath and stop worrying because I did the hard work for you!

I put together the perfect 4-day itinerary template with travel tips and estimated costs so you can make the most of your vacation. This itinerary is super flexible so feel free to adjust it as needed, or you can even switch out or skip a stop to better fit your needs!

How to Spend 4 Amazing Budget-Friendly Days in Atlanta

When planning a trip to a highly-rated vacation spot, it’s easy to get distracted by all of the different options available to you on vacation. You have to sort through the lists of museums, national parks, walking tours, etc. And after all of that, you have to do some research to decide what to visit, when, and for how long.

This travel itinerary is the perfect template to design your ideal Atlanta getaway. Find out how long you can expect to visit each location, the recommended order, and meal suggestions to optimize your time and money spent. The only thing left for you to do is pack your bags and choose your hotel accommodations!

Top Budget Travel Tip: Buy the Atlanta CityPASS online for discounted admission to several popular tourist attractions around Atlanta. This pass includes Zoo Atlanta, Georgia Aquarium, and the Coca-Cola Museum.  It also will include admission to two of the following locations: the National Civil and Human Rights Center, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, or the College Football Hall of Fame. 

Your first stop will be at World of Coke which is open daily from 10 am -6 pm. This stop will take around 3 hours to get through the exhibits, watch the movie, and taste all the flavors of Cola! 

After you’re done at the Coke Museum you will want to grab lunch before the next stop. Choose from several restaurants around Centennial Park including Coke’s Bottle Cap Café just outside their building. 

Your next stop, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, is also in Centennial Park. You will want to try to arrive by 2 pm as it will take you around 2-3 hours to get through the museum. They are usually open from 12 – 5 pm and closed on Mondays.

This stop can be a bit heavy for people so your last stop today will be at the Atlanta Botanical Garden where you can immerse yourself in nature and beauty before you end your day.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden typically closes at 9 pm and is also closed on Mondays. Walking the gardens should take around 3-4 hours, which works perfectly. To maximize your time, you can eat dinner at one of the restaurants onsite, or grab a quick meal somewhere in route.

Flexible Travel Tip: If your day has run long, skip the Botanical Gardens today and do it on another (the Zoo or Georgia Aquarium Day would work). Since this stop is open late, you can easily visit it another day.

You must register beforehand to attend the dolphin or sea lion shows. If you can grab a spot during the first shows of the day, you should complete this stop in around 5 or 6 hours.

Visitors are allowed to bring a refillable water bottle, but no outside food. This means you have to purchase your lunch at their onsite restaurant. 

Once you are done at the Georgia Aquarium, you have two choices. If you missed the Atlanta Botanical Garden yesterday you can head there now. The other option is to travel to the Sweet Auburn neighborhood and start exploring the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park.

The national park buildings are open from 9 am – 5 pm. This makes it unlikely that you will complete your visit today. Luckily, this is a free stop, so you can visit as much as you need without spending extra money.

After 5 pm, you can still walk the neighborhood to see the monuments and other historical markers in and around the park. 

When you arrive, check in at the visitor center to find out if and when their talk, tours, or movie is playing. The talk at the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church is amazing and you should plan to fit it into your schedule this week.

You will also want to check if Fire Station No. 6 is open and if so, plan to visit this building first. The fire station is open based on volunteer availability so you will want to grab the opportunity to go inside when possible. 

Flexible Travel Tip: Whatever you don’t get to today, you can come back to finish at the end of Day 3 after the Atlanta Zoo or Day 4.

When you are done for the day in Sweet Auburn, take a short drive to the Krog Street Market. This market has a nice variety of restaurants for dinner and is just a few blocks from the famous Krog Street Tunnel. 

The Krog Street tunnel is known for its street art, and you can even continue walking the neighborhood as the murals extend much farther than just the tunnel. 

The best thing to do is decide the night before which animals you want to see the most. These are the animals you visit first. They will be most active when they go out on exhibit in the morning because they get fed and are given their enrichment for the first time that day.

To save money, pack your food and any beverages you might want for the day. You can also get a souvenir cup first thing in the morning for cheap refills for the rest of the day.

When you’re done with the zoo, you can walk the rest of the Grant Park neighborhood and visit the historic Oakland Cemetery.  You can also go back to any of the stops you may have missed earlier this week. 

Once you have finished exploring this National Park, you will visit the last stop on your CityPASS. You’ll either go to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History or the College Football Hall of Fame which is back by Centennial Park. 

The Fernbank Museum has a great budget-friendly restaurant for lunch and afterward, you can take your time walking their two trails, watching their 3-D movie, and exploring their exhibits. 

This museum closes at 5 pm and can take up to 5 hours to visit. For dinner, head over to Fox Bros Bar BQ for another budget-friendly delicious dinner. 

If you pick the College Football Hall of Fame, they also close at 5 pm. This stop takes around 2 hours to complete. You can order Chic-fil-A during your visit or eat your meals at one of the nearby restaurants.

• Buy the Atlanta CityPass to save money on attractions. 
• All the attractions except for the MLK Jr. Historical Park and the Fernbank Museum have paid parking. If you don’t want to pay for parking, Atlanta has a decent public transportation system you can use instead.
• Be aware that most hotels downtown charge extra for parking.  Don’t forget to consider these costs when you choose the location of your hotel. 
• Choosing a place within walking distance of Centennial Park can save money on parking fees when you visit the attractions in that area.
• If you are driving, bring a cooler for food and drinks to save money on meals. Remember, the zoo usually lets you bring food in as well as drinks.

Dog-friendly Travel Tip: Here is a post to help set your dog up for success when you have to leave them behind for a few hours during vacation.

Alternative Things to Do in Atlanta:

If one of the stops listed on this Atlanta itinerary doesn’t seem interesting to you, here are a few other options you can visit in the area:

• Paper Museum (free)
• World of Puppetry Museum ($16)
• High Museum of Art ($23.50 or free on the second Sunday of the month)
• Atlanta Beltline (a 22-mile trail that loops around the city)
• Stone Mountain Park ($20 per vehicle)
• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area ($5 per vehicle)
• Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park ($5 per vehicle)

Pack Your Bags for the Perfect Budget-friendly Trip to A-Town

You can still see the best of Atlanta even if you are on a budget. With discount programs like CityPASS, you can visit all of the attractions that the Big Peach is known for and this itinerary has it all.

Take the time to relax among the beautiful flowers at the Botanical Gardens and take in the local scene in the neighborhood of Krog Market. Taste test different Coke flavors from around the world at the Coke factory and see whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium. 

Learn more about MLK Jr and the fight for civil and human rights around the world at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and the Martin Luther King Jr Historical Park.

With this flexible 4-day Atlanta trip itinerary, you have complete control of your time and money for the perfect vacation! Get ready to pack your bags for the perfect budget-friendly vacation in A-town!

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