San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

San Francisco International Airport is one of the major airports in the United States offering a variety of direct intercontinental flights in addition to many flights throughout North America. There are three passenger terminals on the airport: terminals 1 and 3 and the international terminal.   Terminal 2 is under construction. Departure and ticketing services are handled on the upper level of the terminals with arrival and baggage claim services taking place on the lower level.

Airport Location: The airport is located south of San Francisco (12 miles/20 km to Civic Center) and is adjacent to Millbrae and San Bruno in San Mateo County. Oakland is 22 miles/36 km to the east across San Francisco Bay, and San Jose is 34 miles/54 km to the south of the airport.

Highway Connections: The main entrance/exit for San Francisco Airport is at the US101 freeway connection between San Bruno and Millbrae. US101 runs north through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin and Sonoma counties, northern California and Oregon.  This highway also runs south to San Jose, Salinas, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

For road condition and weather reports and time zone information go to the California airports home page.

Distances and Routes to major points in the area.

For the Golden Gate Bridge, it is usually more efficient to go north to I-380 then west to I-280. Go north on I-280 to CA1 which runs through Golden Gate Park to the Golden Gate Bridge (17 miles/28 km). The route is well posted with signs.

US101 runs south to San Jose (Civic Center = 34 miles/54 km), Gilroy (66 miles/106 km), Salinas (94 miles/152 km) and other points en route to Los Angeles.

The East Bay can be reached by going north on US101 then east on I-80 and across the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge (18 miles/29 km). I-80 runs north and east across the Bay, I-580 runs east from I-80 and I-880 runs south from I-80. Alternate routes across the bay are available by going south on US101 to CA92 then east over the San Mateo Bridge (17 miles/26 km) or further south to Marsh Road and the Bayfront Expressway then east over the Dunbarton Bridge (23 miles/37 km).

Parking: Short-term, long-term/economy and valet parking facilities are available on the airport grounds. Long-term/economy commercial parking lots are also available in the area of the airport.

Car Rentals: The major national car rental agencies are now located at the car rental center in the northern area of the airport. One shuttle service for all agencies operates between the airport terminals and the rental center. Pickups and drop-offs are on the upper/departure level of the terminals. A charge for this shuttle service is applied to all car rental bills. There are also local and regional car rental agencies that are located in the region of the airport and offer airport shuttle service.

Ground Transportation: The airport is provided with a good range of ground transportation - taxis, buses, airporters, rail transit, shuttles, limousines - to San Francisco and many communities in the surrounding area. Ground transportation data sheets, schedules and maps are available at a number of locations throughout the airport.  The San Francisco Airport web site's Ground Transportation section is an excellent source for taxi, airporter and shuttle information.

The 511 Transit web site provides an excellent body of information on many available public transportation services, including ferries, that reach a considerable distance beyond San Francisco Airport. This site should be of particular interest to people looking for economic means of transport. In some instances and at certain times of the day, services listed on this site may also be the most efficient for travelers with limited baggage. In addition to providing useful transportation, the ferries can also make for pleasant and scenic travel.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system that operates through San Francisco to many points in the East Bay now provides service to the airport with a stop at the international terminal. There is also a connecting service to CalTrain, a train service operating between San Francisco to the north and San Jose and Gilroy to the south.

The San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) provides bus, trolley and rail services within the city of San Francisco, Daly City and to the Cow Palace area at the south city limits.

SamTrans, the San Mateo County Transit System, provides buses that call at San Francisco airport. These buses offer connecting services to BART (in Daly City and San Francisco) and to other systems to reach other points throughout the area. 

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District provides bus and ferry services between San Francisco and Marin and Sonoma Counties to the north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Service is not provided to San Francisco airport.

Amtrak rail services to other destinations can be connected to at the East Bay Transit Terminal in San Francisco and in Oakland. The SamTrans bus from the airport to San Francisco operates from this terminal in San Francisco. Routes lead to Sacramento then north to Oregon and east to Reno and points beyond. There is also a route that calls at a number of destination en route to Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

Connections to Greyhound long distance bus routes can be made in San Francisco and in other cities near the airport.  Some schedules to and from the south call at the airport.

Web Site: The San Francisco Airport web site provides a listing of airlines serving the airport and information on the airport’s facilities, services and other points of interest for travelers.

Alternate Airports:  San Francisco International and surrounding highways are subject to heavy congestion at times.  Accordingly, travelers should give some consideration to the following airports as possible alternates for ground destinations in the area:  Oakland International (OAK) for the East Bay and North Bay Areas, San Jose International (SJC) for the South Bay Area and southern Peninsula, Sacramento Metropolitan (SMF) for points between Sacramento and Fairfield and Stockton Metropolitan (SCK) for points near the San Joaquin Valley.

Hotels, Motels and Restaurants: There is a very good variety of hotels, motels and restaurants near the airport in addition to a large selection in San Francisco and other communities along US101 on the San Francisco peninsula and across the bay in the East Bay. Several hotels and motels provide shuttle service between their facilities and the airport.

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