Seamless Travel to and from Napa Valley: Why Sacramento International Airport is Ideal for Both Visitors and Locals

When you’re planning a vacation to or from Yountville and the Napa Valley, why endure more than two hours of driving, sit in traffic and pay tolls when you can use the Sacramento International Airport as your launch pad? Imagine arriving at the airport in a little over an hour. No tolls. No bridges. Just minutes after you enter the terminal, you are enjoying a farm-to-fork meal at a local restaurant or sampling regional wines.

It’s that simple. The airport has over 50 nonstop destinations, not only all over California, but also Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada. New nonstops to Nashville, Miami, and Mexico City were launched this year opening new markets, and travelers can easily get across the country with nonstop access to New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, and Dallas. Heading to Europe? Try Air Canada’s nonstop to Toronto, a convenient option for not only visiting Canada’s largest city and accessing the country’s eastern provinces, but also providing one-stop access to Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

airport check in desk
airport cafe with people sitting down eating
airport walk with person walking rolling luggage

You may want to give yourself extra time before your flight so you can visit our unique shops, view nearly 20 works of public art, and enjoy our lounges and restaurants. Speaking of dining, the majority of SMF’s restaurants are local businesses. Travelers will find Sacramento favorites like Café Bernardo and Chocolate Fish, and we’re excited to bring in new local restaurants such as Nixtaco and Temple Coffee.

If you aren’t sold yet, earlier this year we were named the top airport in the United States in terms of “stress-free” air travel, according to data from AirHelp, an airfare claims management company. We’re also notably reliable, with more than 82% of our flights being on time. Not to brag, but SMF was the Wall Street Journal’s top mid-size airport in 2022.

SMF is continuing to grow and improve for our guests. This year we kicked off a $1.3 billion expansion project, SMForward, which includes our new Pedestrian Walkway, designed to provide an improved, ADA-compliant path for all visitors between Terminal B and Concourse B, an additional parking garage, new rental car facility, new ground transportation center, and several new gates to accommodate all the planned new flights.

outside of airport building
red rabbit sculpture above escalators
planes lines up at airport

For visitors coming to Napa Valley from other parts of the country, our airport is the fastest way to get them there. Once you land in Sacramento, it’s about a 75-minute drive to Yountville.

Our airport is the gateway to a convenient route to and from California’s wine country, saving travelers time, money, and most of all, stress.

updated 11/18/2024