How to Book Train Travel from San Francisco to Sacramento

A great way to enjoy California's scenery is to travel to your destination by train. The train ride from San Francisco to Sacramento takes only two hours, so spare yourself the traffic and make your reservation now.

Instructions

Book Your Ticket in Advance to Sacramento

1

Book your ticket at least several days before you plan to travel. The route to Sacramento is heavily traveled, so the earlier you reserve your ticket, the better.

2

Take the BART to Oakland or Emeryville. There are no Amtrak train stations in San Francisco, so if you can, using BART will save time and money.

3

Take advantage of the California Rail Pass. If you plan to travel to multiple destinations within the state, you can purchase a California Rail Pass, which gives you unlimited travel on all California Amtrak trains and motor coaches.

4

Call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak's web site in the "Resources" section below. On the web site, you can book your train reservations via Amtrak's Fare Finder. You can also navigate the site if you have a PDA, Blackberry or other handheld device.

5

Select the departing train station. The train station in Emeryville is the closest Amtrak station to San Francisco; you can easily catch connecting buses to San Francisco.

6

Select a station to get to the train station. The Bay Area Rapid Transit, better known as BART, offers 43 stops in the San Francisco bay area. You can easily catch a BART train to the Amtrak station.

7

If you ordered your tickets online or by phone, pick them up at a ticket agent or at one of the Quik-Trak kiosks that can be found at many Amtrak locations (you'll need to enter your reservation number). If you've booked your trip far in advance, you can also request that your tickets be mailed to you.