Atlanta to Washington DC road trip: Best stops, drive time & distance

The best road trip stops on the Atlanta to Washington DC drive are Greenville SC, Durham NC and Richmond VA. The distance from Atlanta to Washington DC by car is 638 miles, with a 9h30m driving time.

Planning an Atlanta to Washington DC road trip itinerary

The Atlanta to Washington DC drive connects the biggest city in Georgia to the capital of the US.

Atlanta played a massive part in the Civil Rights movement, and a black history and civil rights tour is pretty much a must-do.

For more Atlanta experiences, try a sightseeing trolley tour for orientation and overview. Or a guided bike ride to get a better feel for the neighbourhoods.

Other Atlanta favourites include the World of Coca Cola, Midtown food and cocktail tours and multi-brewery beer tours.

Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.

Atlanta to Washington DC distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Atlanta to Washington DC is 638 miles. That makes for a driving time of around nine hours and 30 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-85 and I-95.

The best stops to add to an Atlanta to Washington DC road trip itinerary are Greenville SC, Durham NC and Richmond VA.

Atlanta to Washington DC road trip attractions: Greenville SC

Greenville SC is one of the fastest-growing cities in the US. It strikes a nice balance between outdoorsiness, culture and decadence. Falls Park on the Reedy brings cascades near the city center.  The Upcountry History Museum covers regional history. And the Roper Mountain Science Center has a planetarium, dinosaur adventure trail, butterfly garden and a living history farm.

Enjoyable Greenville experiences include craft cocktail tours, Segway adventures, paranormal walking tours and dessert-themed foodie tours.

Great Greenville accommodation choices include the spacious SpringHill Suites and the charming Pettigru Place Bed and Breakfast.

Best stops between Atlanta to Washington DC: Durham NC

Durham NC is a big tech research center, and home to Duke University. The latter is home to the Nasher Museum of Art and the soaring Gothic Duke Chapel.

Nature-lovers can go walking through the Sarah P Duke Gardens and take a tour of the Duke Lemur Center. The biggest crowd-pleaser, however, is the Museum of Life and Science. There are several sections to this, both indoor and outdoor. It’s mainly button-pushing, kid-friendly science indoors and black bears, butterflies and red wolves outside.

Atlanta to Washington DC drive: Richmond VA

Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.

The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.

Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.

For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Photo by David Whitley/ Best3Stops.

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