How do I get to San Francisco?

San Francisco International (SFO) sits 21 km south of Union Square and handles the majority of international and domestic traffic. United operates its largest Pacific hub out of SFO, with nonstop routes to Tokyo-Narita, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Singapore, and 6 European capitals. Delta, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest cover most domestic slots. The international terminal has a dated feel. Beige carpet, humming fluorescent lights, the particular staleness of a terminal that opened in 2000. But the AirTrain connects directly to BART, and that ride runs every 8-12 minutes, dropping you at Powell Street station in 29 minutes for $10.55. For first-time visitors, BART is the right call. Taxis to Union Square run $45-55 on the meter. Uber and Lyft hover around $30-40 but can reach $60 during the 4-7 PM commute window. One thing to know about SFO between June and August. Marine fog rolls off the Pacific and sits on the runways, and arrival delays of 20-40 minutes hit roughly 1 in 5 flights.

Oakland International (OAK), 19 km east across the Bay, is Southwest's Northern California base and tends to run $50-120 cheaper per round-trip than SFO on domestic routes. The trade-off is a longer commute into San Francisco. BART from OAK takes 45-50 minutes to reach downtown, and a rideshare through Bay Bridge traffic costs $55-70. San Jose Mineta (SJC), 77 km south on US-101, is useful mainly if Silicon Valley is your first stop. For a San Francisco visit, SJC adds 60-90 minutes of freeway time and the savings rarely justify it. Mind you, OAK is a different calculation. A Southwest fare $100 less than SFO, with 15 extra minutes on BART, is a reasonable trade for budget-conscious travelers.

From JFK or Newark, nonstop flights to SFO run $280-500 round-trip on United, Delta, or JetBlue, and the 5.5-hour flight time makes red-eyes practical. From London Heathrow, British Airways, United, and Virgin Atlantic fly direct in 10.5 hours at £550-900 round-trip. One-stop routing via Reykjavik on Icelandair or via Dublin on Aer Lingus can drop that to £400-650, though you add 4-6 hours of layover. From Tokyo-Narita, ANA and United fly direct in about 9 hours for ¥120,000-180,000 round-trip. Cheapest domestic window is late January through mid-March. JFK-SFO basic economy dips below $200 in that stretch. December 18 through January 3 is the priciest period, with those same routes reaching $600-800. San Francisco's conference calendar matters as much as holidays. Dreamforce week in September and RSA Conference in late April can push flight and hotel prices up 30-40%.

Amtrak's California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville takes 51 hours for $150-350 one-way. The Sierra Nevada crossing between Reno and Sacramento is the scenic stretch worth staying awake for. From Los Angeles, the Coast Starlight runs 11-12 hours for $60-90 and tracks the Pacific coast south of San Luis Obispo. Both routes end at Emeryville, not San Francisco itself. A free Amtrak shuttle covers the final 16 km across the Bay Bridge to the Salesforce Transit Center on Mission Street. If you're driving from LA, Interstate 5 takes 5.5 hours. Highway 1 along the coast takes 7-8 hours and earns every minute of the difference. You'll smell eucalyptus and salt air as you approach the Golden Gate Bridge from the north. Cold wind at 13°C in late June. Fog likely sitting on the 227-meter towers. That first crossing might be the best arrival anywhere in America.