Getting Here
Though Sarasota's International Airport offers few flights from locations abroad, the Tampa International Airport is also a good option in getting to Sarasota. Travel from both these airports to downtown Sarasota is also convenient. Apart from air travel, most interstate highways feed into Sarasota from just about any location in the U.S.
Traveling by train and bus to Sarasota is also convenient. If you plan to take a train, you will have to get off at the Tampa Station to catch a bus service to Sarasota, as there is no direct train running to Sarasota.
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is only a few miles north of downtown Sarasota. Despite limited overseas traffic to the Airport, some major carriers offer service to this airport, including Delta, Northwest, U.S. Airways, and Continental.
Both Highway 41 and U.S. 301 feed into downtown Sarasota from the airport. Local buses are also available from the Sarasota Airport throughout the week from Monday to Saturday. Taking a cab is yet another convenient option for getting from the airport to a hotel downtown.
If you're flying in from an overseas location, your port of entry is likely to be Tampa International Airport as it has more traffic that Sarasota International and is a larger facility. Bear in mind that domestic and international flights to Tampa are less expensive than flights to Sarasota. From Tampa, both Interstate 75 and U.S. 780 feed into Sarasota. The Sarasota-Tampa Express is a relatively inexpensive transport service that caters to several locations in Sarasota.
There are multiple car rental services in Sarasota: Budget, Avis, Hertz, Dollar and a host of other rental agencies. Rates for hiring a car from Tampa International Airport are the cheapest found anywhere in Florida. US 301 and I-75 provide access to downtown Sarasota from Sarasota International Airport and Tampa Airport, respectively.
In case you plan to drive in to Sarasota from other locations in the country, I-95 runs in a north-south direction across the East coast and connects to the I-4 that runs via Orlando. In addition, the I-10 feeds in along southern U.S. from Los Angeles, while I-75 runs down directly from the Great Lakes area.
If you decide to visit Sarasota by bus, Greyhound Lines offer convenient transport to the seaside town from across the country. You can opt to take a direct bus trip to Sarasota or make some stops along the way to take in some sightseeing along the way. Direct Greyhound buses are available to Sarasota, but daily trips starting from New York to Tampa are also a good alternative. If you're traveling from a long distance location, bus travel can be uncomfortable. However, the tradeoff is that bus ticket prices are reasonably inexpensive and the buses tend to use major interstate highways. If you need to travel within Sarasota by bus, Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) offers a reliable service.
Transportation by train is much more comfortable than using a bus service, even if you can only manage to get a ticket for seating only. Amtrak trains go as far north as Tampa and bus schedules to Sarasota from the train station coincide with train arrival times.
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