cofarmer

How long will it take to get from Fairfield to the Sacaramento Airport on a thursday afternoon. Our flight leaves at 4:00. Rental car has to be back by 2:30. What time should I leave Fairfield? Thank you.

traveler24

The distance on a map looks "close" however highway 80 has become a nightmare 3 to 6 PM-but mid-day you should be O.K... You should take Woodland turn off where you can get on Interstate 5 which goes right past airport,
So considering all this I would allow 1 1/2 hours.from Fairfield to car rental return.
Perhaps others that travel this route will have opinions.

BarbAnn

I agree with traveler24. I would allow 1 1/2 hours for the drive. Remember to allow enough time to get from the rental car area to the terminal, check in, and going through security. Sometimes the security line is very long (for no apparent reason) and other times you whiz right through.

cofarmer

Thank you both for the info. Not really used to traffic. Will probably try to leave Fairfield area by noon and stop around airport area for a late lunch if we are very early.

BarbAnn

cofarmer,
Are you familiar with the Sacramento Airport? Not much around it. There are typical airport restaurants in the terminal areas. Recently I had to take my brother to the Sacramento Airport (we drove in from Santa Rosa; I live in Sacramento) and we arrived very early. So, I took him to IKEA (junction of I80 and Hwy 50). Spent an hour wandering around and had a wonder lunch at their cafe. The lunch was only about $5 and it was big enough to be our dinner. Otherwise, closest food to airport is (as I recall) near ARCO Arena.

cofarmer

No, I'm not familiar with the Sacramento area. Actually, this will be my first time on a plane. I come from a pretty rural place, so city driving is not necessarily something I'm looking forward to. Going to pretty much stick with map directions and try to not get too lost. But thanks for the tip on restaurants around the airport.

BarbAnn

cofarmer,
You will do just fine. At that time of day the traffic should be moderate. You are in luck because the Sacramento International Airport is not THAT big. The airport has a website with maps of the terminals.
www.sacairports.org

Have fun visiting the area.

MichelleY

Dear cofarmer:

Check out your other post. I don't recommend Hwy. 128. Very time consuming, windy. Unless you want to check out the countryside around Davis & Winters. Lots of farming: row crops, fruit & nut orchards. Fwy. & major routes will be better & quicker.

MY

1JAR

Just came back from Sac last week Friday pm. COULD NOT believe the security line....HUGE all teh back across teh csuseway ntot eh parking garage.. really don't under estimate the time for teh security line

applejacks1

I do this drive pretty often and hate 80 congestion and avoid it when possible. Try taking 80 to the Woodland Exit and backtracking on 5 going South. It's much faster than dealing with the traffic, although at night it is not marked well. It should be fine for your day trip though.

toesinthesand

Although I live in Sac County, sometimes feel like I live at the airport. I also do a lot of biz in bay area (past Fairfield). Leaving Fairfield by noon you'll be fine. If you are flying out of Terminal B there is a California Pizza Kitchen and Panda Express for lunch...or if you are in marathon raining there's always the Cinnabun - LOL. Terminal A has a Starbucks and cheesy airport bar with ballpark-in-foil dining.

sightseer

I agree with the comments about the security line. Very randon on the length of time it takes to get through on any given day. Last month I got through in 15 minutes on a Friday night and then the following Friday evening, I was catching the same flight and the line was backed up way into the parking garage and it took 1.25 hours to get through the line. Totally unpredictable based on my many travels through that airport.