San Francisco International Airport is located in San Bruno, just 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco. Whether you land here on a direct flight or have boarded another connecting flight, you’ll need some information about transportation from the airport to San Francisco – more specifically, to Powell Station on Market St, a strategic landmark for those traveling via public transportation and want to get as close as possible to Union Square (downtown).
The fastest and most effective way to travel from the airport to downtown San Francisco is to take the BART, but for your convenience, you can also take a taxi or shuttle to get directly to the hotel. In this article, I want to give you useful information and some advice to help you figure out the easiest and quickest way possible to go from the airport to downtown San Francisco and vice versa.
Contents
BART Routes from San Francisco Airport
First of all, here is how to reach BART trains from the various terminals of the airport.
- Domestic flight: If you arrived in San Francisco from another city in the United States, you don’t want to walk all the way to the station carrying your luggage. You can use the AirTrain, a free train on an elevated train track that connects all the terminals. The AirTrain also takes you to the BART station and to the car rental offices. There are two AirTrain lines, Red and Blue. As we will said in our upcoming article on car rental at San Francisco airport, only the Blue Line leads to the Rental Car Center, but both lead to the BART station.
- International Flight: The BART station is located in the Boarding Area inside the International Terminal G, so if you are traveling from Europe, once your flight has landed, you can reach it on foot after collecting your luggage and use the escalators or the elevator to reach the departure level. Don’t worry, there are signs that clearly indicate the way to the BART station.
To help you understand better where everything is, here’s a map of the San Francisco International Airport.
Schedule and prices
When you get to the station, you’ll need to purchase your ticket to San Francisco for $9.65 ($9.15 with the Clipper Card). You can do this at the machines at the airport or purchase them in advance as vouchers to exchange at the SFO Information Booth, which is located near the BART station. Trains leave every 15-20 minutes (i.e. 3-4 times every hour) and take about 30 minutes to get to San Francisco.
Below are the Bart schedules from Powell Station and the airport:
- Weekdays:
- From Powell Station: 5:00 AM – 1:07 PM
- From the airport: 4:11 AM – 11:54 PM
- Saturday
- From Powell Station: 7:05 AM – 1:35 AM
- From the airport: 6:07 AM – 11:54 PM
- Sunday
- From Powell Station: 8:34 AM – 1:06 AM
- From airport: 8:07 AM – 11:54 PM
Other stations in San Francisco
The times indicated refer to Powell Station, but remember that there are 5 other stations in the city that may be convenient for you (the price to travel from the airport to these stations does not change). From south to north, you will find:
- 16th and 24 Mission: The station is located in the Mission District south of downtown San Francisco. I don’t know how likely you are to use this station unless you want to explore San Francisco’s Latino neighborhood.
- Civic Center – UN Plaza: This is the closest station in case you’ve had the unfortunate idea of getting a hotel in Tenderloin or SoMa, two of the most dangerous neighborhoods in San Francisco. In any case, there are some museums and attractions to visit in the surrounding area, and this station could still come in handy.
- Montgomery: This station is close to Chinatown and the Financial District.
- Embarcadero: This will be the most convenient station if you want to go to the Ferry Building.
BART Map
Can you take the bus?
SamTrans buses are a slightly cheaper solution (the ticket costs $4) but very slow (more than one hour of travel) and uncomfortable if you have a lot of luggage. The bus lines to downtown San Francisco are 292, 397, and 398. Here is where to find the bus stops for San Francisco:
- Terminal 2: on the arrivals floor, on the central island near Courtyard 2
- Terminal 3: on the arrivals floor, on the sidewalk in front of Courtyard 4
- International Terminal: on the first floor in Courtyard A and on the sidewalk next to Courtyard G
From the Airport to San Francisco by Taxi or Shuttle Bus
As efficient as it is, BART doesn’t reach as far as the metro does. In fact, the four stations in downtown San Francisco are all located on Market Street, near Union Square but far from San Francisco’s main attractions.
If you have taken the hotel in one of the districts north of downtown, after reaching Powell Station or Embarcadero you will need to take one or more Muni buses, which I highly recommend if you have a lot of luggage. This is why in some cases it may be convenient to reach the hotel from the airport by taxi or a private/shared shuttle.
If you click on the link below, you will find some very useful shuttle services, which in some cases can be even cheaper than a taxi.
Transportation to and from the airport by shuttle
