If I landed at about 12:45 PM with only carryon luggage, about how long would it take to get a rental car (I get the fast service) and get to UC Santa Cruz? I haven’t made this trip before and need to schedule an afternoon meeting.
What if it were Stanford instead? I have to do one one day and one the next.
Thanks,
Is Google Maps broken?
Sorry about the snark. At 1pm your time to UC Santa Cruz should be less than 30 minutes, then another 30 to find your way on campus.
From UCSC to Stanford will take 45 minutes or less if you don’t try to do it during rush hour. But allow another 30 for finding your way around on campus.
Thanks for the helpful reply. I assume then that regardless of the time of day it takes 47 minutes to get place to place.
Playing it safe, figure 30 minutes for a car (the airport is under construction and sort of a mess right now) and an hour to UCSC or 45 minutes from SJC to Stanford. I’m factoring in time for parking, which can be a hassle.
If you had a driver pick you up and drop you off, you could schedule it a lot tighter.
For Santa Cruz, figure a bit more safety margin because you have to take 17. It should be about 45 minutes, but 17 climbs up over a long steep grade and is subject to jams and delays, even off rush hour. There’s a passing lane, but you can still get stuck behind some fool in a motorized tin can attempting to pass a tractor trailer rig on the grade. For Stanford, I’d personally take 280 rather than 101, but that’s just because I drive 280 a lot anyway. It’s a bit longer, but a more pleasant drive that way.
One quick comment about UCSC (did the same trip a month ago)–you might want to plan a bit more time into the mix as the campus can be quite confusing and is more spread out than you might think. Also, you need to get a visitor’s parking pass as you drive onto campus (up Bay St.). Oh, and by the way: on your way back down Bay St. be careful with your speed. My wallet is $180 thinner this month than it was last month.
There is a free? tram to Lightrail, which takes you to Dirdion station (Caltrain) where you can catch a express bus to Santa Cruz.
Stanford is right off Caltrain.
From SJO, you probably should take 101, even though 280 is much nicer-- the latter is kind of out of the way. Around noon, it should take about 20-30 minutes to get Stanford. Twenty minutes to Palo Alto, then another 10 or so minutes to get to where you’re going at Stanford. Give yourself another 10 minutes in case you take a wrong turn. For locals, it’s considered pretty close.
Thanks all.
I’ll figure no earlier than 2:00 if it’s Stanford and 2:30/2:45 if UCSC. Appreciate the advice.
The #10 shuttle bus takes you either to the the Santa Clara Caltrain station or the Metro light rail station (from which you can take the light rail to Diridon station.
The Palo Alto Caltrain station is about a mile from the nearest Stanford buildings, and Stanford is a big campus.
Yeah, it’s not bad if you’re going to the stadium, but if you need to get to the academic buildings, you’d have to take a cab or plan a very long walk.
Which is why Stanford runs the Marguerite , a free shuttle system that may be used by the general public.
Parking on the Stanford campus can be pretty expensive.
Although I personally would use public transit for both Stanford and UCSC, I can certainly understand why most people would rent a car to make the UCSC trip. Stanford, however, is much more straightforward by public transit.
VTA #10 shuttle bus from SJC airport to Santa Clara Caltrain (free).
Caltrain schedules ($4 each way).
Stanford Marguerite shuttle (free).
Thanks, I didn’t know that the Marguerite was free.
Wow, I didn’t know the Marguerite had expanded so much. When I went to Stanford in the mid-80s there was only one line that ran all day; the shuttle to CalTrain only ran during rush hour.
Ed
I wouldn’t count on being on campus before 3. Highway 17 sucks, and it can be pretty unpredictable. Added to that is the fact that campus is spread out and confusing and parking is difficult.
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