roger_cook

We will be flying into San Francisco, but need to get to the Amtrak station in Sacramento. This is a one-way trip so what are our options, please?

MmePerdu

There are trains from Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco, to the Sacramento Amtrak station. Granted, not many and often not on time, but depending on your schedule, it might be possible.

It's not very far from the Sacramento airport to Amtrak, same side of town, so a shuttle or rented car returned at the airport and taxi to the station might be the most efficient.

Dukey1

If you book early enough you could fly on United one way for less than $200; otherwise perhaps a one-way car rental.. I assume you want hassle-free travel.

Michael

The trains are frequent enough that one of the should meet your schedule:

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

sf7307

Yes, but to take Amtrak, the OP will first have to get from SFO to the Amtrak station, which can be done in one of a variety of [non-hassle-free] ways:

1. Taxi to SFO Amtrak - bus to Emeryville Amtrak station
2. Taxi to Emeryville Amtrak station
3. BART to SFO - taxi to SFO Amtrak - bus to Emeryville Amtrak
4. BART to Oakland - taxi to Emeryville

etc.

A lot of work. I'd fly or rent a car.

MichelleY

I would spend the night at the Hyatt Embarcadero. The next day, take the Amtrak bus, which has a pick up at the Financial District or Ferry Buiding. This bus then goes to The Emeryville train station, then on to Sacto. You can take a taxi or BART to the Emabarcadero and do this in one shot, but it would depend on your flight arrival and the Amtrak schedule. Lots to coordinate, that's why it may be easier to spend the night or just rent a car and drive to Sacramento.

Michael

I don't see it as complicated in terms of transportation. BART goes to the Embarcadero and there is an Amtrak shuttle to the Emeryville station from the Embarcadero (at least there is one from the Emeryville station to the Embarcadero). Timing may be an issue.

tomfuller

Which train are you taking out of Sacramento?
Flying to Oakland or San Jose or Sacramento would make things simpler since you don't want to spend any time in San Francisco.
If you fly into Sacramento (SMF, you can take the YOLO bus directly downtown and walk from the bus stop to the Amtrak station.

roger_cook

Thanks for all of these. We have until next summer to make up our minds!

sf7307

You're right - my no. 3 made no sense -- of course the
SF Amtrak bus is across the street from the BART station.

So BART from SFO to the Embarcadero station in San Francisco (the Hyatt Regency is right there when you exit the station). Amtrak bus to the Emeryville Amtrak station. Train to Sacramento.

tomfuller

Unless flying to SMF costs more than $50 more I would fly there just to avoid the hassle of using 3 or 4 modes of transport from SFO to Sacramento Amtrak station. The YOLO bus to ride to Sacramento is 42A. http://yolobus.com/routes/index.php/42A
I ride the 42B when I come into Sacramento on Amtrak to go out and rent a car.

MichelleY

To where are you going on the train? Just curious.

Dayenu

First, check Amtrak website if they have a connecting bus to Emeryville or Oakland stations. If yes, buy a ticket from airport to Sacramento.

If there is no connecting bus, forget Emeryville. Take BART to Richmond station (check the schedule, you will probably need to change trains) and Amtrak train from Richmond station to Sacramento.

In Richmond BART and Amtrak share the same station.

If you are flying into OAK airport, BART to Richmond, Amtrak to Sacramento.

janisj

IF you do land at SFO . . . Do NOT take Amtrak from Emeryville. You can take BART from SFO to Richmond and the train from right there to Sacramento. No need to take trans-bay taxis or buses.

But it probably doesn't make sense to fly to SFO if Sacramento Amtrak is your ultimate destination.

WHERE are you traveling to from Sacramento? That could make a major difference . . .

roger_cook

Thank you everyone for all the information. As I said, this is forward planning for next summer and just a piece of the jigsaw that will come together some time next year.

For the curious;
1] Virgin Atlantic fly into SFO [from LHR] and we have some miles to spend.
2] We aim to ride the California Zephyr east. What we do until we leave California is another story.

That's all folks!

MmePerdu

Am I missing something? If I'm not mistaken the Californis Zephyr leaves from Emeryville with bus transfer from San Francisco. Is there a reason why you'd opt to go all the way to Sacramento to board? Maybe that's "another story", a secret.

janisj

That's why I asked about the rest of your plans. There is really no reason to go to Sacramento . . . UNLESS you want to see the city/Capitol/Old Sac/Railroad Museum/etc.

You can board the Zephyr at Emeryville.

tomfuller

One thing Janis did not let you know is that the CA Zephyr does not stop at Richmond. The only stops between Emeryville where it originates and Sacramento are Martinez and Davis.
If you must fly to SFO I would hope you could rent a car one way to your destination either from the airport or after a BART ride downtown.
Is there another city along the route of the Zephyr that you could fly to from Heathrow?

janisj

tom: "One thing Janis did not let you know . . ."

When I posted the OP had not yet told us they were taking the Zephyr . . . I was ONLY commenting about the advice to take BART and the Amtrak bus to Emeryville because roger initially only asked about how to get to Sacramento.

"Is there another city along the route of the Zephyr that you could fly to from Heathrow?"

That seems silly since it would mean missing all the Sierra scenery. (VS does fly from LHR to LAX and LAS but that doesn't solve the problem of joining the Zephyr. Flying from LAX or LAS to Reno would also have them missing the Sierras.)

An option would be to fly VS to Ohare and take the Zephyr westbound.

tomfuller

Please come back and let us know more of your travel plans now that we have shared our thoughts considering the limited information you have given us. Let's move Hello Relaxation down out of the top 25.