If you want to watch the New England Patriots face off against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, you have some planning to do. You’ll need tickets, transportation, and a place to stay. This 2019 Super Bowl travel guide aims to help.

How to nab tickets

Unless you are a season ticket holder who was lucky enough to score tickets through the lottery system, you won’t be able to get tickets at face value (which ranges from $1,000 to $5,000). Instead, you’ll need to get them on the secondary market. Right now on StubHub, you can grab a ticket for $2,395. Over at Ace Ticket, a seat will cost you between $2,712 and $15,420, depending on where the seat is located. The cheapest ticket on Ticketmaster’s Ticket Exchange is currently priced at $2,400. Here’s more information about buying Super Bowl tickets.

How to fly to Atlanta


Several airlines, such as JetBlue, Southwest, and Delta, have boosted the number of flights between Boston’s Logan Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport over Super Bowl weekend. A round-trip flight to Atlanta on Friday, Feb. 1 that returns on Monday, Feb. 4 currently ranges in price from $315.55 for a one-stop Spirit Airlines flight to $1,392.34 for a nonstop Delta flight, according to Orbitz.

Southwest, which does not appear on fare aggregator sites like Orbitz, can currently get you to Atlanta on Friday, Feb. 1 for $284 and get you home to Boston on Monday, Feb. 4 for $487.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which usually sees 270,000 passengers a day, is expecting an additional 125,000 passengers for the Super Bowl, Elise Durham, director of the office on policy and communications for the airport, told Boston.com in an email.

Durham said the airport is expecting the assistance of additional TSA officers and canine teams over Super Bowl weekend and that the airport will contract additional security as well. Checkpoints will be on a 24-hour schedule Sunday to Monday of Super Bowl weekend, according to Durham. What’s more, 1,800 volunteers will be on hand to help passengers navigate the airport that weekend.

“The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority,” she wrote.

How to drive there


If you’d rather drive to Atlanta, you’re going to have to make your way 1,086 miles — which will take you more than 17 hours, according to Google Maps. The gas will cost $132.98 one way for a car that gets 20 miles per gallon, based on AAA’s current $2.274 average price of gas. That’s $265.96 round-trip.

Where to stay

If you can’t crash on a family member or friend’s couch in ATL, you’ll have to book accommodations. A quick look at hotels.com shows that many Atlanta hotels are already booked. However, there are still rooms available if you do a solid search. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites in downtown Atlanta, which is about half a mile from the stadium, currently has rooms for $899 per night. If you don’t mind staying farther from the stadium, you can get a room for $268 per night at the Hampton Inn Atlanta Kennesaw in Kennesaw, which is 24.5 miles from Atlanta.

If you’d rather rent an apartment or condo, Airbnb has several options advertised as close to the stadium, including an apartment for $350 a night, a private room in a house for $400 a night, and a modern condo for $1,025 a night.

What to do in the city

CNN headquarters in Atlanta. —AP Photo/David Goldman

If you have time during your stay to explore Atlanta, cultural and retail choices abound.

If it’s fresh air you’re after, head to Piedmont Park, Atlanta’s biggest city park with more than 200 acres of green space that includes bike paths, trails, playgrounds, and more. Or you can stroll through 30 acres of outdoor gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. If you want retail therapy, head to Buckhead, an uptown commercial and residential district with more than 60 designer stores and restaurants. Families can take in a dolphin or sea lion presentation at the Georgia Aquarium or check out the animals at Zoo Atlanta. If you’re in the mood for a unique tour, you can go on one of the CNN studio — the company’s headquarters are in Atlanta. You can also tour the World of Coca-Cola, where you’ll taste more than 100 beverages. In keeping with the football theme of the weekend, consider popping into the College Football Hall of Fame, which is also in Atlanta.


When hunger strikes, this list of TripAdvisor’s highest ranked Atlanta restaurants is a good place to start. The top five, which all received TripAdvisor certificates of excellence, are Mediterranean restaurant Aviva by Kameel, steakhouse Bone’s Restaurant, French, Italian, and Spanish cafe Babette’s Cafe, contemporary restaurant Nikolai’s Roof, and Ethiopian restaurant Desta Ethiopian Kitchen.

If you want to taste plenty of local beer, head over to Atlantic Station for the Atlanta Winter Beer Fest, taking place Feb. 2. Guests can choose from more than 150 beers from Atlanta and other Georgia breweries. Visitors will also find wine, cider, food trucks, live music, and a DJ. You must be 21 to attend this event.