By Rail
A commuter rail line, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express (http://www.nmrailrunner.com/), connects Santa Fe to Albuquerque and surrounding communities from downtown Albuquerque you can catch a shuttle to the airport, ABQ. There are currently three stations open in Santa Fe: the Santa Fe Depot at the railyards on Guadalupe Street near the Sanbusco Center, the South Capitol station on Alta Vista Drive between Cerrillos Road and St. Francis Drive, and the NM 599 station at I-25 and NM 599 southwest of town. The Santa Fe Depot will be more useful for sightseeing, as it puts you in the historic downtown area within relatively easy walking distance of the plaza, with a shuttle circulating around the downtown area if you don't want to walk. The South Capitol and NM 599 stations are meant more for commuters. The Rail Runner runs daily, although service can be limited outside the weekday rush hour periods. Fares are based on how far you ride; a day pass will usually be in the range of $5-$9. Tickets can be purchased online (http://www.nmrailrunner.c...) or from ticket agents on the train.
The major Amtrak route across the Southwest, the Southwest Chief (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...), stops at Lamy about 15 miles south of Santa Fe off US Highway 285. The once-daily trains stop in Lamy mid-afternoon, and a shuttle van service can take you to Santa Fe. The station in Lamy has an old cafe car serving lunch, food vendors on the platform, and picnic tables beneath shady cottonwoods.
There is an excursion train from Santa Fe to Lamy the Santa Fe Southern Railway, below under "See" which is a pleasant way to get to Lamy to board an Amtrak train, but it returns to Santa Fe before either Amtrak train arrives there. Travelers with bicycles may find the shuttle van to Santa Fe is unable to transport their bicycles unless special arrangements have been made; an alternative is to send any luggage ahead via the shuttle and ride the bicycle - the rail line used by the excursion train is a federally designated rail trail but currently between Lamy and US 285 you must travel via the road. From US 285 to downtown Santa Fe there is a trail parallel to the tracks.
By plane
American Eagle Airlines (http://aa.com) serves the Santa Fe Municipal Airport IATA: SAF (http://www.santafenm.gov/...) with three daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, and one from Los Angeles. All of the flights use Embraer 140 regional jets.
If entering New Mexico via the larger Albuquerque airport, simply rent a car and drive, as there is currently no commuter air service connecting the two airports. You can also take the Rail Runner commuter train see below or one of the shuttle buses such as Sandia Shuttle (http://www.sandiashuttle....), which will pick you up at the Albuquerque airport and drop you off at one of a handful of locations in Santa Fe.
By car
Santa Fe lies along Interstate 25, which skirts the city. Be suspicious of weather conditions if coming to Santa Fe on this road. Santa Fe is nearly 1500' half a kilometer above Albuquerque, and on I-25, most of the elevation change is on a single long, steep hill known as "La Bajada." La Bajada hill is hairy to drive during winter snowstorms and is occasionly closed for periods of several hours. East of town, I-25 North goes over a moderate pass along the southern end of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains before heading out into the plains; this too can be closed during blizzards.
If conditions are good and you're not in a hurry, consider using back roads as an alternative to I-25 if coming from Albuquerque. State road 14 passes along the east side of the Sandia Mountains and through the quaint little towns of Madrid and Cerrillos before joining the interstate just south of Santa Fe.
Travelers following the Route 66 itinerary should note that Santa Fe was on the "original" Route 66, although it was bypassed during the 1930s as a result of some curious political shenanigans and the much shorter, "modern" Route 66 didn't go anywhere near here. See the "Original alignment in New Mexico" section of the Route 66 article for tips on how to get here "authentically." Coming from points east, you might also consider entering town via the Santa Fe Trail itinerary, which shares roads with the Route 66 itinerary near Santa Fe.