The fair place to meet is Orlando, FL — the city closest to the midpoint of Atlanta and Tampa. From the farther side that’s about 8 hr 25 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Orlando, FL
From Atlanta
8 hr 25 min
402 mi to Orlando
From Tampa
1 hr 56 min
77 mi to Orlando
Tampa has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 6 hr 29 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Atlanta and Tampa are about 417 miles apart.
Atlanta and Tampa are about 417 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Orlando, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 8 hr 25 min of driving on the Atlanta side and 1 hr 56 min on the Tampa side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Orlando suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Orlando doesn't have what you're after, Birmingham and Charlotte are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Atlanta and Tampa.
Orlando is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. Part of Central Florida, it is the fourth-most populous city in the state and its most populous inland city, with a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census. Read more →
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. Read more →
Tampa is a major city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Hillsborough County. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.