Good place to stop for the night btwn ATL and HH

[carriep1657]

We will be going to HH this summer. We'll be arriving at ATL late on a Saturday night and checking into HH on Sunday. We'd like to head in the direction of HH following our flight. But, due to the late hour, we think we'll only be able to drive for about an hour. What cities or towns lie along the best route to HH? Where might you suggest us booking a hotel? It doesn't have to be fancy. I just want some place clean and safe.

 

[gapack]

I'm assuming that you will be traveling south on I-75 and then take I-16 East. If so, I would stay in Macon. It will be a little over an hour's drive. Traffic should not be bad that time of night. A convenient and safe area is just north of Macon in the Riverside Drive area. The Riverside Drive Exit has many hotel options. (Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, Quality Inn) I would check the hotels out on Trip Advisor for your best choice. Have a great trip.

 

[Sammie]

Warner Robbins, Ga, there is a very nice Country Inn and Suites and several other options. This will get you away from Atlanta but not as far a drive as Macon.

 

[PBB]

You might want to consider getting down the road to Dublin Ga. It is about 30-40 miles southeast of Macon. There is a new Holiday Inn Express.

Have you already booked your flight ??? You might be suprised at the prices going into Savannah, GA. Airtran and Delta are very competive into Savannah. The 4-5 hour trip from Atlanta to Hilton Head can be very boring. If you ever heard of the term "they are not making any new land" You will be wondering if this statement is true after driving on I-16.

 

[KandiB47]

Have you already booked your flight ??? You might be suprised at the prices going into Savannah, GA. Airtran and Delta are very competive into Savannah. The 4-5 hour trip from Atlanta to Hilton Head can be very boring. If you ever heard of the term "they are not making any new land" You will be wondering if this statement is true after driving on I-16.

I'm doing the same thing (driving from Atlanta to HH). Midwest to Atlanta is $100 cheaper per ticket than Delta to Savannah. $400 is worth the longer drive in my opinion. I'll just imagine I'm getting paid $100/hour to drive.

 

[Dean]

Warner Robbins, Ga, there is a very nice Country Inn and Suites and several other options. This will get you away from Atlanta but not as far a drive as Macon.

WR will be out of the way south of Macon, as would the places on the 475 bypass like the Fairfield Inn West Macon. There are a number of places south of ATL on 75 including Hampton Inn's. I seem to remember that McDonough has a Hampton Inn, McDonough is just north of Macon and would likely be my choice for that situation. I'm not sure what's on the route directly as you transition from I 75 to I 16 in and around Macon though. Depending on your arrival time, I wouldn't go too far and there's really not much on 16 once you get out of Macon.

 

[carriep1657]

Thank you for all of the suggestions.

PBB, we do already have our tickets. I've never been to HH before but DH and I drove from ATL to Savannah about 10 years ago. DH hated that drive and complained mightily the whole time. This trip we'll have our two kids with us. Hopefully, he can keep from fussing this time.

I like the thought of being paid $100/hr to drive. I'll point that out to DH if he gets grumpy.

It looks like heading to Macon would be the best bet. My DS(5) has chronic GI problems which land us in the ER from time to time. I looked into hospitals along the route and those in Macon looked promising. Hopefully, we won't need to visit but I feel better being prepared.

 

[Sammie]

WR will be out of the way south of Macon, as would the places on the 475 bypass like the Fairfield Inn West Macon. There are a number of places south of ATL on 75 including Hampton Inn's. I seem to remember that McDonough has a Hampton Inn, McDonough is just north of Macon and would likely be my choice for that situation. I'm not sure what's on the route directly as you transition from I 75 to I 16 in and around Macon though. Depending on your arrival time, I wouldn't go too far and there's really not much on 16 once you get out of Macon.

You're right that was another trip, Griffin, GA is where we stopped. To get to I-16 you need to go through the Downtown interstate section and not the by-pass. And Dean is right I-16 is pretty isolated.

We have stayed at Forsyth before also.

 

[gracelrm]

We have stayed in Forsyth & McDonough at Hampton Inns before and both were fine I believe. We've never stayed in Macon, but I would certainly not travel any further than Macon. I-16 is long and boring with little to see and not many places to stop. We made the mistake the 1st time we went to HH of not getting gas in Macon; assuming there would be plenty of places to get gas/ drinks/ etc... along the way - wow - were we ever surprised. We didn't run out of gas, but it could have happened!

 

[Disneyaholic]

We make the drive from Atlanta to HH several times a year. Macon would definitely be a good place to stop. You stay on I-75 instead of the 475 bypass. I think exit 169 is the one with a lot of good places to stay.

I also totally agree with the desolation along I-16 between Macon and Savannah. There is a roadside rest area near Dublin (about 50 miles out of Macon), then not another one till you get to the South Carolina Welcome Center in I-95! In an "emergency" we have occasionally had to stop at gas stations along the way, but I would highly recommend trying to make it from one rest area to another.

Trust me.

 

[gamomof2]

Good luck with your trip. The Medical Center of Central Georgia has an attached Children's Hospital. THey have a wonderful ped GI doc in Macon by the name of Noel Israel. I hope he's not needed though. The exit with all the hotels is about 5-7 minutes from this Children's Hospital. I know what it's like to travel with a child with chronic health problems.

 

[carriep1657]

Thank you all so much for your help. I am so glad that you all reminded me of the desolation along I-16. Without your help, we could have run into big trouble.

Gamomof2, thank you so much for the name of a hospital and a peds GI doc. Your post actually made me cry it meant so much to me. Traveling is something we love to do but I worry so much about having to find a hospital and doctor in an emergency that I often wonder if we should just stay home. The closer the trip gets, the more nervous I become. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

People, people its ISolation not DESolation. I-16 runs through the country not the outskirts of Baghdad. There are farms, towns and people along I-16!!!

Anyway I would pick one of three stops... Macon, Dublin or the Savannah area starting with the town of Metter southward to and along I-95. Since you said an hour then Macon would be your stop. If you thought you could make three hours then I'd pick Savannah. Dublin I haven't paid attention to except for the Love's Travel Stop. Large, consistently clean, well lit and you can get food, gasoline & a safe bathroom stop (exit 49, I-16).

 

[Dean]

People, people its ISolation not DESolation. I-16 runs through the country not the outskirts of Baghdad. There are farms, towns and people along I-16!!!

Anyway I would pick one of three stops... Macon, Dublin or the Savannah area starting with the town of Metter southward to and along I-95. Since you said an hour then Macon would be your stop. If you thought you could make three hours then I'd pick Savannah. Dublin I haven't paid attention to except for the Love's Travel Stop. Large, consistently clean, well lit and you can get food, gasoline & a safe bathroom stop (exit 49, I-16).

Some would argue with that, LOL.

 

[gracelrm]

Just got back from driving to HH from KY. We stayed at a very nice Holiday Inn Express in McDonough, GA. It was new and clean. We've stayed at Hampton's in McDonough and Forsythe and usually pick Hampton Inn's; however we hadn't planned on everything south of Atlanta being full. There was a race in town and even though the race wasn't until Sunday - we found no availability for many miles past Atlanta on Wednesday!!! I'll check the race schedule from now on when traveling through Atlanta without reservations!