Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is 15 kilometres northwest of downtown, served by most major US carriers and several international connections through partner airlines. Ground transport to downtown takes about 30 minutes by light rail (the Route 42 Gold Line connects the airport to the downtown station) or 20 minutes by car. The light rail fare is modest; taxis and rideshares are more expensive.
Amtrak serves Sacramento well: the Capitol Corridor connects Sacramento to the Bay Area (Oakland) roughly hourly, the San Joaquin goes south through the Central Valley to Los Angeles, and the California Zephyr passes through on its transcontinental run between Chicago and San Francisco (technically Emeryville). The Sacramento Valley Station at 4th and I streets is an attractive 1926 Spanish Colonial Revival building worth seeing in its own right.
Driving from San Francisco takes about 90 minutes on I-80, longer on Friday afternoons. Greyhound and several budget bus companies serve the Sacramento Greyhound station from Bay Area and Los Angeles.