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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Davis, California
Davis
Give Davis one night, two if you bike: it is a flat, walkable college town 20 min from Sacramento, not a sightseeing base.
Davis is a university town of about 66,000 people in Yolo County, on Interstate 80 between the Bay Area and Sacramento. The UC Davis campus and downtown sit side by side, so you can walk both in a couple of hours. Bikes outnumber almost everything, the food is student-priced, and the town works best as a one-night stop on an Amtrak or I-80 run rather than a destination in itself.
- Country
- United States
- Local name
- Davis
- Best months
- Mar–May, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (inland heat, 35 °C+ days)Jul–Aug (inland heat, 95 °F+ days)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60–100 excl. bed · Mid $100–170 excl. bed · High $170+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $4–6 |
| Counter-service lunch (Thai, Mexican, Indian) | $12–20 |
| Sit-down dinner, one main | $18–32 |
| Draught beer in a downtown bar | $7–9 |
| Unitrans single ride | $1 (check) |
| 5 km taxi or rideshare3.1 mi taxi or rideshare | $12–18 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SMF · Sacramento International
- About a 30-min drive; Yolobus route 42 runs to downtown Davis for a few dollars (check the current timetable).
- OAK · Oakland
- Amtrak Capitol Corridor connects the Bay Area to Davis; useful if you combine both.
- SFO · San Francisco International
- BART to Richmond, then Amtrak to Davis; Richmond station is unstaffed, so buy on board.
Typical fares
- SMF airport to downtown Davis, Yolobus 42
- a few dollars, about 30–40 min (check)
- Amtrak Davis to Sacramento
- about $12 one way, 20 min (check)
- Amtrak Bay Area to Davis, round trip
- about $50 (check)
Get around
Walk or bike. Downtown and campus are adjacent and flat, and the city has one of the highest rates of cycling per person in the US. Unitrans buses run frequently; a single ride costs about $1 for the public (free for undergraduates). Driving is slow in the centre because of bikes and pedestrians.
See and do
Known for
- University of California, Davis
- Bike paths and the US Bicycling Hall of Fame
- UC Davis Arboretum
- Davis Farmers Market and Picnic Day
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | Amtrak Capitol Corridor from Davis station, about 20 min | About 40 min |
| Woodland, California | Yolobus from downtown Davis, about 20–25 min | About 40 min |
| Winters | Car via I-80 and CA-128, about 30 min | About 40 min |
| San Francisco | Amtrak Capitol Corridor to Emeryville, then a connecting bus, about 2 h 30 min total | 2.5–3 h |
Sleep
- Downtown Davis
- Hotels within walking distance of campus, the train station and most restaurants; best for one night without a car.
- Richards Blvd / Mace Blvd exits
- Highway-side hotel clusters with free parking; you need a car or bus to reach downtown.
- On campus (Hyatt Place UC Davis)
- Directly across from the Mondavi Center; convenient for campus visits and events.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Where is the train station? | Where is the train station? |
| Is this seat taken? | Is this seat taken? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer afternoons inland regularly pass 35 °C: plan campus walking for the morning.
- Picnic Day in late April and Whole Earth Festival on Mother's Day weekend fill every hotel: book weeks ahead.
- Some campus attractions (Bohart Museum, Raptor Center) keep limited hours: check before you go.
- Amtrak trains stop at Davis station on 2nd Street; the station is unstaffed at times, so have your ticket ready.
Davis is a low-crime college town and safe to walk at night in the centre. The real issues are summer heat, bike traffic on shared paths, and late-night drinking around Picnic Day and Whole Earth Festival.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Davis, California yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- University of California, Davis
- Bike paths and the US Bicycling Hall of Fame
- UC Davis Arboretum
- Davis Farmers Market and Picnic Day
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- City of Davis: cityofdavis.org/
- UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden: arboretum.ucdavis.edu/
- Unitrans: unitrans.ucdavis.edu/
- Yolobus: www.yolobus.com/
- Amtrak — Davis station: www.amtrak.com/stations/dav
- Mondavi Center: www.mondaviarts.org/
- Wikivoyage: Davis (California), revision 5121910 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5121910
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Davis, CaliforniaDavis
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No embassies in Davis; consulates-general are in San Francisco, and embassies in Washington, DC.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/davis-california). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.