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Sacramento Transportation

Greyhound Bus Depot - Sacramento
Greyhound Bus Depot
by Jeannette1
Tips for getting around Sacramento posted by real travelers and Sacramento locals.
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Sacramento TransportationTips 1 - 10 of 28  
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Amtrak
  • Tip Rating:
    • Geoff_Wright
  • Updated By Geoff_Wright on January 16, 2004
  • Sacramento Page by Geoff_Wright
    • Willy filling the water tanks - Sacramento
    Willy filling the water tanks
    by Geoff_Wright
    OK, so you decide to use Amtrak, and why not? You have some travel options. You can chose 'coach' travel, or 'business class', and a sleeper for your overnight travel if you wish. I opted for the straightforward 'coach' class. Unlike the British trains, there was ample leg room, with reclining seats, and a foot rest. The allocation of seats is rather different than in Britain. On departure from Portland, you will be allocated a coach. You will have been given a boarding pass, with (for instance) 'SAC' on it (Sacramento). It's then up to you to find a vacant seat, and you place your boarding pass above your own seat. This enables the Conductor to see who is going where on the train!
    At Klamath Falls we disembarked from the buses, and were allocated a coach on the train, and verbally given a seat number. Something went terribly wrong with this simple system, and people were allocated seats that were already occupied. I'm not sure if this was the fault of the staff, or just people sitting in the wrong seats. I think perhaps it was a bit of both. Personally, I would have thought Amtrak would have handed out a boarding card, as at Portland, but with a seat number written on it. There was plenty of room anyway, so no one was left behind! Oh, and don't forget, if you break the journey, jou must take your boarding pass with you, and display it again when you rejoin the train.
    This may not be typical of all Amtrak journies, but it's worth noting if you do use the service. and it was still a great way to get around!

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  • Theme: Train
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful

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    Senator Rent-a-car
  • Tip Rating:
    • Geoff_Wright
  • Updated By Geoff_Wright on January 16, 2004
  • Sacramento Page by Geoff_Wright
    • my hire car - Sacramento
    my hire car
    by Geoff_Wright
    As for rental cars. Well, there are several companies in Sacramento, including Hertz, Avis and Enterprise, and these three are all located on 16th Street. Unfortuantely for me, none of them had vehicles available at that time, and I could see me staying in Sacramento for the next 2 days. fortunately I had previously looked up some rental companies on the internet, but only written down one name and telephone number - Senator/New Frontier. I found a phone booth, and gave them a ring, and was very pleased when they said they could provide me with a vehicle immediately. I eventually found their offices, which are located some distance from the town centre, and really I should have taken a taxi. I was very pleased with the vehicle they supplied, which was a Ford Focus Station Wagon (what we in England would call an Estate Car). They weren't able to provide me with the budget/economy car that I had asked for on the 'phone, but I got the Focus at the same rate of $32 a day, with unlimited mileage. I also paid $12 a day for full accidental damage cover, although this was optional. As far as the rental paperwork went, I just had to produce my UK driving licence (which is the older type without a photo), and my Passport. They also asked for a contact telephone number in the States, and I gave them the number of a VT friend where I was going to be after Sacramento. A bonus of walking to the rental company was that I found it easy to drive back to the city the way I had walked! Two or three times around the blocks, trying to locate the train station, where I had left my suitcase, and I felt quite 'at home'!

    Senator Rent-a-Car, 200 Jibboom Street.
    Main Office: 3565 Florin Road, Sacramento. Tel: 916-392-4225

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  • Theme: Car/Motor Home
  • Phone: 916-658-1900
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Rent A Car!
  • Tip Rating:
    • Geoff_Wright
  • Updated By Geoff_Wright on January 16, 2004
  • Sacramento Page by Geoff_Wright

    • "If you go to San francisco"
    by Geoff_Wright
    I knew that when I arrived in Sacramento I would have to rent (hire) a car for the two days. I suppose this was perhaps the most apprehensive part of my trip, as I had never driven in the States, nor driven a left-hand drive car. I had, of course, driven in Europe, on the 'wrong side', but with a right-hand drive car. and what about the different traffic rules? In england we have traffic roundabouts at major junctions, or traffic lights, where all traffic stops, unless there is a filter lane which has a green light. Well, having been with Phil and been driven many hundreds of miles, I quickly adapted to the different driving conditions. I still felt I was 'doing wrong' by turning right at junctions when the lights were red. But what a sensible thing to do to help ease traffic congestion. The other thing I liked was the speed restriction signs, especially those on the 'grades' and curves. I soon got to appreciate those when driving through the mountail passes!

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  • Theme: Car/Motor Home
  • Phone: 916-444-7600
  • Website: www.enterprise.com
  • Other Contact: Bridan Eklund (Manager)
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Taxi anyone?
  • Tip Rating:
    • Geoff_Wright
  • Updated By Geoff_Wright on January 16, 2004
  • Sacramento Page by Geoff_Wright
    • Sacramento Transportation
    by Geoff_Wright
    There's no shortage of taxis in Sacramento. I enquired of one, about the fare from the City centre to the airport, only about 10-15 minutes drive. The usual fare is about $28. Jas (Jaswimder) the cab driver I spoke to, said he could do a special 'deal'. As it turned out, the car rental company (Senator) run a free shuttle service to and from the airport, so just remember that. It's almost the saving of on day's car rental!

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  • Theme: Car/Motor Home
  • Phone: 916-869-3681
  • Other Contact: HP Cab Co (Jaswimder)
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Let the train take the strain
  • Tip Rating:
    • Geoff_Wright
  • Updated By Geoff_Wright on January 16, 2004
  • Sacramento Page by Geoff_Wright
    • Arrival in Sacramento - Sacramento
    Arrival in Sacramento
    by Geoff_Wright
    Sacramento was not on my list of 'must see' places, but in actual fact I had no such list anyway! My intention was to leave Portland, Oregon by Amtrak, and travel in the general direction of Los Angeles, and stop off in a couple of 'nice places' en route. The trouble was that I didn't know of any such places, and the train doesn't stop very often anyway. Cutting a long story short(er!!), I took the advice of Phil and Deni, my VT hosts in Portland, and decided to go to Sacramento, and out to Lake Tahoe.
    Booking the train ticket was easy, and I actually did it the day before travelling, at the Union Station in Portland, although you can book on the internet. You need to produce evidence of ID (passport in my case) when you collect your ticket.
    The train left Portland, on time at 2.25 pm for Eugene, where we transferred to a bus (coach) for the 5 hour journey to Klamath Falls. I'm not sure just why this is necessary, as the rail line runs all the way through from Eugene to Klamath Falls, and to Sacramento. It may have something to do with freight trains using the line, as these usually have priority. Anyway, arriving at Klamath Falls at 10 pm, we again boarded the train for Sacramento, arriving at 6.15 am next morning. The fare for this journey was $101, and I think well worth the cost. Unfortunately, the nicest part of the journey seemed to be through the night, when you couldn't really see anything!

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  • Theme: Train
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful

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    The "Light Rail" system
  • Tip Rating:
    • Jeannette1
  • By Jeannette1 on April 20, 2005
  • Sacramento Page by Jeannette1
    • Public transportation - Sacramento
    Public transportation
    by Jeannette1
    You really need a car to visit Sacramento.

    There is a light rail system which is used by commuters but it would not be practical for tourists.
    Public buses are also available but not too convenient for visitors.

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  • Theme: Train
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Amtrak Train To Sacramento
  • Tip Rating:
    • cheap_tourist
  • Updated By cheap_tourist on December 22, 2003
  • Sacramento Page by cheap_tourist
    • Sacramento Valley Station - Sacramento
    Sacramento Valley Station
    by cheap_tourist
    I took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles to Sacramento. My trip was actually divided into three legs. The first leg was a bus ride from Los Angeles to Bakersfield. The second leg was a train ride on the San Joaquin from Bakersfield to Stockton. The last leg was a bus ride from Stockton to Sacramento.

    It sounds more complicated than it really is. The bus rides were also provided by Amtrak so the coordination between rides was near-perfect. I traveled in comfort and, to top it all, I had a nice view of Central California.

    By the way, you can take an all-train trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento via Amtrak's Coast Starlight but it usually is more expensive and it takes a lot longer.

    With Sacramento as my base, I took Amtrak's Capitol Corridor train to San Francisco which I toured for a day. I also made another side trip to Reno via Amtrak bus.

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  • Theme: Train
  • Website: www.amtrak.com
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Car, bus, train, boat or...
  • Tip Rating:
  • Updated By Lithiate on August 26, 2002
  • Sacramento Page by Lithiate
    • Car, bus, train, boat or plane. Sacramento is accessable by all forms of transportation. It's a very car friendly city, with pretty good parking. Sacramento is the hub to all five of California's major highways, which means you can get pretty much anywhere from here. The airport is a scant 11 miles from the central city and is generally not overrun with people. The train station is located right outside of Old Sac and is also a little known tourist attraction. The Grayhound bus terminal is located down the street, within walking distance of the train station (if you think 8 blocks is nothing, you're in luck). And Sacramento has always been a river city, so it is also accessable by water.
    If you're staying within the central city (Old Sac, Downtown and Midtown) it's pretty easy to get away without having to use a car. Everything is within walking distance. If you are staying outside the central city, a car may come in handy, particularly if you like the freedom of picking up and taking a roadtrip to San Francisco or some other locale. The public transit is decent, but I'm not fond of buses to begin with. Sacramento is also very bike friendly, being a popular place for cyclists to train for races due to it's level terrain.

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  • Theme: Train
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    Sacrametno has a great...
  • Tip Rating:
    • politigal
  • By politigal on August 26, 2002
  • Sacramento Page by politigal
    • Sacramento Transportation
    by politigal
    Sacrametno has a great airport, and I've been to quite a few. Either fly into SMF or fly into Reno Nevada and drive down, it is about a 2 hour drive through the sierra mountains and it is gorgeous.
    Rent a car.

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  • Theme: Other
    • Not Helpful 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful
    traffic hours (8-10, 4:30-7)...
  • Tip Rating:
  • By pennylane16 on September 8, 2002
  • Sacramento Page by pennylane16
    • traffic hours (8-10, 4:30-7) can be a mess and a highly stressful time of the day. dont have a coniption like my dad, instead, just sit there and listen to the radio or something.

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  • Theme: Other
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