UC Davis is located near two international airports – Sacramento International (SMF, 17 miles from Davis) and San Francisco International (SFO, 80 miles from Davis but possibly more convenient for nonstop international travel from Europe or Asia). We recommend flying into Sacramento for convenience. Depending on where you are coming from, you will likely fly into one of these airports and then take ground transportation to Davis. There are a number of ground transportation options from each airport depending on how much money and time you wish to spend.
You can make arrangements ahead of time for the Davis Airporter van service to pick you up at SMF and deliver you to your address in Davis. These rides are shared with other SMF passengers and you can make reservations through its website or by phone (1-530-756-6715 or 1-800-565-5153). Davis Airporter Service requests that you call their 800 number upon arrival at the airport and they will contact the driver to confirm your arrival. If your flight is late, telephone as soon as possible and a vehicle will be sent for you.
The Davis Wiki has an information page about this service that includes customer tips and reviews.
Yolobus offers direct bus service to Davis from the Sacramento International Airport. The #42B bus leaves the Sacramento Airport every hour at 20 minutes after the hour between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. and arrives at the Memorial Union on the UC Davis campus about 45 minutes later. No reservations are required. Although inexpensive, this bus will not deliver you to a specific address in Davis and may not have space for extra baggage.
Below are maps and instructions on how to get from the Yolobus Station to the Hallmark Inn and Hyatt Hall.
NOTE: These are WALKING instructions. If you wish to get to the hotels by car, please call a taxi or use Uber, Lyft or some other ride-share program to get there.
Taxi service is also available at the airport in addition to services like Uber and Lyft. Below are the addresses of the lodging sites:
If you choose to rent a car, below are maps of a recommended route from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to the Hallmark Inn and Hyatt Place, with driving directions below for each route.
You can make arrangements ahead of time for the Davis Airporter van service to pick you up at SFO and deliver you to your address in Davis. These rides are shared with other SFO passengers and you can make reservations through its website or by phone (1-530-756-6715 or 1-800-565-5153). Davis Airporter Service requests that you call their 800 number upon arrival at the airport and they will contact the driver to confirm your arrival. If your flight is late, telephone as soon as possible and a vehicle will be sent for you.
The Davis Wiki has an information page about this service that includes customer tips and reviews.
A less expensive (but longer travel time) option for reaching Davis from SFO is to take BART directly from the airport train station that is located in the International Terminal (Level 3: Departure/Ticketing Level Near Boarding Area G) to the Richmond station. From Richmond you can then take one of Amtrak’s hourly Capital Commuter trains which run between San Francisco and Sacramento, including a stop in Davis.
Please note that the Davis train station is downtown, so you will need to arrange transportation from there on to your final destination.
If you choose to rent a car, below are maps of a recommended route from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to the Hallmark Inn and Hyatt Place, with driving directions below for each route.
When driving from SFO to Davis, it is recommended to drive either very early in the morning, during afternoon, or very late at night to avoid traffic. There will also be a toll when crossing the Bay Bridge.
NOTE: The information for the Davis Airporter Van Service, Yolobus, taxi service and BART/Capital Corridor found above was borrowed from this web page.