Getting to San Francisco by Air
You can choose among three major airports for your San Francisco trip and SFO may not always be the best choice. Discover the San Francisco Airport Alternatives and which is best for you.Getting to San Francisco from the Airport
SFO is about 13 miles south of the city. To get to downtown San Francisco from there, you can take a train, shuttle, taxi or drive yourself:- By Train: If you're going to San Francisco, you can take BART, which runs into the city and along Market Street. To get to San Jose, take BART to the Millbrae station and transfer to Caltrain. BART connects to the city through a station at International Terminal parking garage G. If you arrive at another terminal, take the AirTrain Red Line to get there.
- Hotel Shuttles: Only the hotels near the airport offer this service. Catch them at the center island of the Departures/Ticketing Level roadway.
- By Shuttle: You can catch a door-to-door van on the Departures/Ticketing Level at SFO by going to the roadway center island at any terminal. If you'd prefer to have a reservation, pre-arranged vans pick up at Courtyards 1 and 4 of the Domestic Terminals and Courtyards A and G at the International Terminal (on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim Level). You can reserve online: to San Francisco hotels and back to the airport from hotels or to private residences and back to the airport again.
- Taxi: Get a cab at the roadway center island on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim Level of any terminal. Uniformed taxi coordinators are on hand during the busiest hours to help you.
- Drive Yourself: You can get to the centralized car rental area from any terminal, but think before you choose this option. San Francisco is small enough that you may not need an automobile to get around. Finding parking can be aggravating at the best of times and most hotels charge $20 or more a night for parking in addition to your room cost. Unless you're going out of town every day or need to get out to less-touristed parts of the city, you may be better off to skip the car. Or just rent one at an in-town location for the day or two you do need it (if you're going to Napa for the day, for instance).
Getting to San Francisco by Train or Bus
Amtrak Coast Starlight Line goes through Oakland, across the San Francisco Bay. They run buses into San Francisco, arriving at the Ferry Building.From San Jose and the peninsula, you can take CalTrain. From Berkeley, Oakland or cities in the East Bay, use BART.
Getting to San Francisco by Car
Many San Francisco visitors, come in automobiles. The most common approaches are:- I-80 from Sacramento and Lake Tahoe
- I-280 from San Jose
- US Hwy 101 from Northern California
- From Los Angeles and Southern California, you have several options for making the trip in a day.
