About
About Visiting Davis
A UC Davis parent writes Visiting Davis from firsthand trips: hotel notes, booking windows, event weekend guides, and Amtrak logistics for families visiting Davis.
My daughter studies at UC Davis, and I make the trip the way thousands of parents do: train in, hotel near campus, one special dinner, home again. I ride the Amtrak Capitol Corridor, walk most places once I arrive, and plan each visit around campus and downtown.
Visiting Davis started as my own notes. After one too many event weekends at event prices, including a room that cost about $300 for a single night, I began writing down what worked: which hotels sit close enough to walk, how early each big weekend books out, and where we eat when we celebrate, starting with Latitude, my daughter's special spot. Those notes became this site.
I write every guide in the first person because I take these trips myself. You are reading advice from a parent who has stood in the Davis station with a suitcase, watched event weekend rates climb, and learned the booking windows the slow way.
Each guide begins with firsthand trips: the train ride in, the walk from the station, the hotels near campus and downtown, and meals around my daughter's schedule. On top of that, I check the details that change:
When I get something wrong, I want to hear about it. Corrections from readers keep the guides honest, and I update pages when hotels change, event dates shift, or a reader finds a better option.
The site covers the trips UC Davis families make all year:
Running the site costs a little money each year, mainly the domain name, and the guides themselves are free to read. Some booking links on this site run through Stay22, a travel partner service. When you book a hotel through one of those links, the booking company may pay this site a small commission. That commission comes out of the booking company's share. You pay the same price you would pay booking on your own.
Commissions never decide which hotels appear here. I feature hotels because their location and setup suit parents visiting UC Davis, and I write about each one the way I would describe it to a friend, strengths and weak points included. If a hotel earns a lukewarm note in a guide, that note stays, commission or no commission.
Visiting Davis is an independent guide for UC Davis families and visitors. It has no connection to the University of California, Davis, and the university does not review or approve these pages. For admissions, registration, and official event information, the university's own sites are always the source to trust.
Questions, corrections, and tips from your own Davis trips are welcome at [email protected]. Parents planning a first visit can write too. I read everything, and reader notes often shape the next update.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope the guides make your next Davis trip easier to plan and a little cheaper to book.