The desire for California to be seen as a leader in environmental issues over the last few years has meant that there has been extensive investment in Sacramento transportation systems to the point where the city is now one of the best connected in the world. Thanks to the constant improvements that have been made to all aspects of public transportation in Sacramento, visitors and residents alike find that getting around the city without the need for a car is easy, comfortable, and most important of all, cheap.

The most immediately obvious Sacramento transportation system is the network of light trams that operate throughout the city. Operated by the Sacramento Regional Transit group, the light rail network connects the main business and tourist areas together with high speed regular connections that you can simply hop on and off if you have a ticket.

The light rail network is supplemented by a very extensive bus network that covers every single neighborhood in the city and which extends out to most of the main suburbs as well. As soon as you understand the timetable system, and realize that the buses are scheduled to connect with each other at specific intervals across the city, you will find that getting from one place to another using the bus for transportation in Sacramento is a fairly straightforward proposal.

If you are planning to leave the city behind and explore the surrounding countryside of northern California, then renting a car is the best means of transportation in Sacramento, and will give you a great deal of freedom to explore the area at your own pace. The countryside is generally quite flat, and unless you are planning some serious off road driving, a regular car is fine, and you do not need to hire an SUV.

The roads are generally very well signposted around Sacramento, and the city has a straightforward connection with San Francisco along the I-80, while heading south along the I-5 will take you to southern California to cities like San Diego and Los Angeles, as well as the Mexico border. Smaller roads link Sacramento transportation with the suburban communities that surround the city, and these roads also lead out to the wine making regions that lie close to Sacramento.