✓ Find the best offers on your Stays on 🏡 booking.com
✓ Deals on Private xfers, SIM Cards, City tours, Day trips on 🛵 GetYourGuide | on 🛵 Klook
San Francisco SFO airport
The distance between SFO to Downtown San Francisco is around 15-20 miles depending on which route you take. There is a direct train link, known as BART, between the airport and San Francisco city. The BART leaves directly from the international terminal inside the SFO airport. Though the cars are worn out and look rather too old, train is very safe and runs on schedule.
SFO Airport to Downtown by BART
If you are in one of the domestic terminals (1,2 or 3) you can take the shuttle train (called airtrain) free of cost to reach the BART train station in the international terminal.
Step by step guide to take the BART train:
- Get to ‘SFO Garage G’ which is where the BART station is. From International terminal you can simply take the escalator and walk there but if you are in any of the terminals 1, 2 or 3, you need to take the AirTrain (free) to get there.
- Purchase the ticket from the kiosk machine at the station, though buying one for the first time could prove little tricky. You need to check the fare upto your destination and purchase the ticket of the exact amount by using the ‘subtract’ and ‘add’ keys on the screen. It costs about $9 to get to the SF downtown area.
Buying a BART Ticket
One way ticket from SFO airport to the Downtown SF costs $8.10. Tickets are issued from the vending machine which accepts cash as well as card. The machine doesn’t accept travel card, at least not the axis travel card from India. For the first timers taking a BART ticket can be really tricky.
First, looking at the screen you need to figure out how much the ticket to your destination would cost. And then, using the buttons on the left side you need to add or reduce the amount (by a quarter or so) to make it equal to the fare. Click on print and the vending machine will print a smart card that you have to use to access the platform through the turnstiles.
The travel time between SFO station and SF downtown is about 30 minutes. For Union Square get down at Powell street and if you are going upto city hall ride the train upto Civic Center.
SFO Airport to Downtown by Taxi
Taxi is the most convenient but expensive way to travel to the SFO city. You can flag a taxi or call a cab company to pick you. Usually, it is lot cheaper to call a cab for pickup as you will discuss a flat fare beforehand.
SFO Airport to Downtown by Uber or Lyft
App cabs are easier to get and costs way less than the traditional cabs. Though you will need a phone no. for new account registration. App cab is another hassle free way to get to the SFO downtown, particularly so if someone else (your sponsor/ company) is paying for the fare. Uber, Lyft, Wingz and Sidecar are major players here. Try wingz or lyft share which is usually the cheapest option. The fare upto downtown for a 30 minutes ride would come around $40-$45.
SFO Airport to Downtown by Airport Shuttle
There are several shared shuttle services available at the SFO airport, out of which Supershuttle is the major player running several service daily. You can buy your ticket in advance online (not needed) or you can just show up and pay for the seat.
✓ You on Insta? 👍@triplyzer✓ Find the best offers on your Stays on 🏡 booking.com
✓ Deals on Private xfers, SIM Cards, City tours, Day trips on 🛵 GetYourGuide | on 🛵 Klook
