The best road trip stops on the Detroit to Atlanta drive are Cincinnati, Knoxville and Chattanooga. The distance from Detroit to Atlanta by car is 722 miles, with a 10h57m driving time.
Planning a Detroit to Atlanta road trip itinerary
A Detroit to Atlanta road trip takes you from Michigan’s city of motors and Motown to the major hub of the South in Georgia.
5 great Detroit experiences to book
- 🏛️ Discover why Detroit is America’s most architecturally underrated city on a specialist architecture walking tour.
- 🍔 On a downtown Detroit food tour, taste Motor City’s specialities.
- 🚁 See the Detroit skyline – and Canada – from above on a helicopter ride.
- 🍸 Take a Detroit bar tour – and learn the city’s history while hopping between bars.
- 👻 Encounter murder and mystery on a Detroit ghost tour.
Detroit has a rich motors and Motown history, plus massively underrated architecture – the Guardian building is one of the all-time great Art Deco buildings. The Michigan Science Center, Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Historical Museum cover science, art and heritage, while the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is the birthplace of the Model T Ford.
Top things to do in Detroit include the excellent architecture walking tours, the Sealife Michigan Aquarium and the Legoland Discovery Centre. For a quick escape, however, head to Belle Isle in the Detroit River, where you’ll find the Belle Isle Aquarium and Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
Atlanta played a massive part in the Civil Rights movement, and a black history and civil rights tour taking in the city’s Martin Luther King Jr sites is pretty much a must-do.
Elsewhere, Zoo Atlanta, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and the Atlanta Botanic Garden cater to nature-lovers, while the High Museum of Art and Margaret Mitchell House are key cultural sites.
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.
5 great Atlanta experiences to book
- ✊ Take a black history and civil rights tour – the unquestioned number one option.
- 🚋 Get to know the city on a 90 minute trolley tour.
- 🍷 Go wine-tasting in North Georgia’s wine country.
- 🍽️ Taste the best of Atlanta on a Midtown food and cocktails tour.
- 👻 Explore Atlanta’s spookiest spots on an after-dark ghost tour.
Detroit to Atlanta distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Detroit to Atlanta is 722 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 10 hours and 57 minutes.
The best stops on a Detroit to Atlanta road trip are Cincinnati, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
Detroit to Atlanta road trip attractions: Cincinnati
Five great things to do in Cincinnati
- 🕳️ Take an underground tour – and discover the secrets beneath the city streets.
- 👻 Hear dark tales – on an after-dark ghost tour.
- 🚋 Enjoy a streetcar food tour – with tastings at several restaurants and Findlay Market.
- 🍺 Learn how Cincinnati was built on beer – during a historic walking tour.
- 🏰 Discover Cincinnati’s hidden brewery caverns – with beer-tasting included.
Cincinnati has a surprising wealth of historic attractions, such as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Harriet Beecher Stowe House and William Howard Taft National Historic Site. For something a little quirky, try the American Sign Museum.
Top Cincinnati activities include underground tours – some with beer tasting – and food tours by streetcar. You can also try baseball history tours, indoor skydiving and guided ghost walks.
Best stops between Detroit and Atlanta: Knoxville
Highlights of Knoxville include World’s Fair Park, which hosted the 1982 World’s Fair. The often-dazzling Sunsphere is the major landmark, here. You can also visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Knoxville Museum of Art.
Other Knoxville experiences include ghost tours and downtown walking tours that pick out local secret spots, while serving up coffee and ice cream.
Detroit to Atlanta drive: Chattanooga
5 great Chattanooga experiences to book
- 🦇 Pay a visit to the Nickajack bat cave on a guided kayaking adventure.
- 🍴 Take a Southside food tour – and get a history lesson while feasting at multiple stops.
- 🚁 See the city, river and mountains on a sights-packed helicopter ride.
- 👻 On an after-dark ghost tour, uncover murders and mysteries.
- 🌊 Tackle the whitewater on an Ocoee River rafting trip.
Chattanooga in the foothills of the Appalachians is home to Chattanooga Zoo, the Creative Discovery Museum and the Hunter Museum of American Art.
But it’s mostly an outdoorsy place. Great Chattanooga experiences include rafting on the Middle Ocoee River and kayak adventures to the Nickajack Bat Cave.
There’s plenty to see at Lookout Mountain just outside the city – ride the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, be wowed by Ruby Falls and see seven states from the Rock City Gardens.
More Detroit and Atlanta road trips
Other Detroit and Atlanta road trip guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Getting to Atlanta: The best stops on the Memphis to Atlanta drive and Nashville to Atlanta drive.
- Road trips from Atlanta to Florida: Where to stop on the Atlanta to Gainesville drive, Atlanta to Tallahassee drive and Atlanta to Tampa drive.
- Getting to Detroit from Ohio: What to see on the Cincinnati to Detroit drive, Cleveland to Detroit drive and Columbus to Detroit drive.
- Driving to Detroit from Pennsylvania: Guides to the Philadelphia to Detroit drive and Pittsburgh to Detroit drive.
- Road trips from Detroit: The best stops on the Detroit to Chicago drive, Detroit to Indianapolis drive and Detroit to St Louis drive.
