Day Trippin' › California › From Sacramento › Monterey Bay Aquarium
The drive from Sacramento to Monterey Bay Aquarium takes about 2 hr 59 min (south of Sacramento), by real roads from ZIP 95814. Along the way we found 100 stops within a short detour: 20 coffee shops, 4 bakeries, 22 ice cream and treats and 28 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from Sacramento) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Aquarium
World-famous aquarium with kelp forest, jellyfish and sea otters, right on the water.
Heads-up: Buy timed tickets online. Weekends and holidays sell out.
First third Middle third Last third Monterey Bay Aquarium
About 2 hr 59 min by road, heading south from the middle of ZIP 95814. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (Swingle), Tomo Tea House (Davis), Volt Coffee (Davis), Mary's Pizza Shack (Dixon) and Pizza Guys (Dixon). The page lists 28 in all, in driving order.
Tomo Tea House in Davis, Volt Coffee in Davis, One House Bakery in Benicia and Milk Tea Lab in Pleasant Hill. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Mary's Pizza Shack in Dixon, Pizza Guys in Dixon, Que Onda Tacobar in Vacaville and Noodle or Rice in Vacaville.
Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area in Swingle, Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, Pena Adobe Park in Vacaville and American Armory Museum in Chadbourne.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.