By Plane

Most visitors traveling by air will arrive via Albany International Airport (ALB), 737 Albany-Shaker Rd. (tel. 518/242-2222, or 518/242-2359 for flight information; www.albanyairport.com), located about 10 minutes from downtown Albany and about a half-hour from Saratoga Springs. The airport is served by most major domestic and several international airlines. The information desk can provide details on getting to either Albany or Saratoga Springs, as well as basic lodging and tourist information.

Ground transportation to Albany or Saratoga Springs is by bus, airport shuttle, private car, charter limo, courtesy car, or taxi. To Albany, the Capital District Transit Authority (CDTA) operates ShuttleFly buses that depart the airport Monday through Friday several times each hour between 6am and 11pm (on weekends, service begins about a half-hour earlier). For additional information, call CDTA at tel. 518/482-8822. Taxis are also on hand at airport arrival gates. You can make airport transportation reservations by calling Albany Yellow Taxi (tel. 518/869-2258), Saratoga Taxi (tel. 518/584-2700), or Saratoga Capitaland Taxi (tel. 518/583-3131) among taxis, and Premiere Limo (tel. 800/515-6123 or 518/459-6123) or A Destiny Limousine of Saratoga (tel. 518/587-5221) among limousine services. From the airport, taxi fares to Albany and Saratoga Springs are about $15 and $45, respectively; a limo should cost about $50 to Albany and $100 to Saratoga.

Driving from Albany International Airport -- To downtown Albany, you can either take Albany-Shaker Road south, which will put you close to the visitor center and Broadway, or take I-87 south to I-90 west. The highways that ring Albany are notoriously confusing, though, and if you go the wrong way, you may end up circling around for a seemingly interminable length of time.

The fastest way to reach Saratoga Springs is to take I-87 north to exit 13N. Follow Route 9 north about 5 miles to downtown Saratoga Springs.

By Car

Most major car-rental companies have representatives at Albany International Airport. See the appendix for company names and their respective Web addresses.

To get to Albany from points north, take the Adirondack Northway (I-87) south to I-90 east to I-787 south. From points south, take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 23 to I-787 north. From the western part of the state, take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 24 and follow I-90 to I-787 south. To Saratoga Springs from points south, take I-87 to exit 13 south and Route 9 right into town; from the north, take I-87 south to exit 15 and Route 50 south. Saratoga Springs is about 3 hours by car from New York City. From Albany, the drive to Saratoga Springs is about a half-hour.

By Train

The Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station, 525 East St., Rensselaer (tel. 518/462-5763), receives Amtrak trains from western New York (Empire Service), the Midwestern U.S. and Massachusetts (Lake Shore Limited), Canada (Maple Leaf), and points north and south of the capital (Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express Lines). Taxis are available for travel to downtown Albany.

To Saratoga Springs, there is daily service on Amtrak's Adirondack (originating in NYC and Montreal) and Ethan Allen Express (traveling from NYC to Vermont) lines. The Saratoga station is located at West Avenue and Station Lane; there are taxis as well as Enterprise and Thrifty car-rental agencies at the station. For more information and reservations, contact Amtrak at tel. 800/USA-RAIL or visit www.amtrak.com.

By Bus

Greyhound (tel. 518/434-8095 or 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com) and Adirondack Trailways (tel. 800/776-7548; www.trailways.com) travel to both Albany and Saratoga Springs. Upstate Transit (tel. 518/584-5252; www.upstatetours.com) travels between Albany and Saratoga.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.