San Francisco · United States
SFO — San Francisco International
A ring of four terminals with BART running from the middle of it
SFO is laid out as a ring: three domestic terminals and an international terminal arranged around a central parking area, joined landside by an automated AirTrain and in several places connected behind security as well. It is a manageable airport by the standards of a major hub.
Its distinguishing feature is transport. BART runs directly from a station at the International Terminal into downtown San Francisco, which makes arriving here notably less stressful than at most large American airports.
Terminals and how they connect
Terminals 1, 2 and 3
Domestic operations around the ring, with airside connections between several neighbouring terminals so that many transfers avoid re-screening. Which pairs are joined has changed with renovations, so confirm rather than assume.
International Terminal
Two concourses, A and G, at the western side of the ring. Concourse A connects airside towards Terminal 1 and concourse G towards Terminal 3, which makes some international-to-domestic connections much easier than they look on a map.
AirTrain
A free automated people mover circling the airport on two lines, linking all terminals with the parking garages, the rental car centre and the BART station. Landside, so moving between unconnected terminals on it means clearing security again.
Getting into San Francisco
Times below are realistic ranges rather than best cases. Rail journeys keep to a timetable; road journeys do not, and treating the two the same is how people miss flights.
BART
30 minutes to downtown
Trains run from the station at the International Terminal to Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell and Civic Center. From the domestic terminals, take the AirTrain to the station first. Reliable, reasonably priced and unaffected by traffic on the 101.
Caltrain via Millbrae
45 to 70 minutes
BART one stop to Millbrae, then Caltrain south towards Palo Alto, Mountain View and San Jose. The right answer if you are heading down the Peninsula rather than into the city.
Taxi or ride-hailing
25 minutes to over an hour
Around fourteen miles up the 101, which is dependable outside the peaks and slow within them. Ride-hailing pickups are from designated areas on the departures level at each terminal rather than arrivals.
SamTrans bus
60 to 90 minutes
Local buses towards the city and along the Peninsula. Cheapest option, slow, and mainly of interest for nearby destinations rather than downtown.
Connecting through SFO
Where your two terminals share an airside connection, SFO is easy and an hour can be enough for a domestic transfer. Where they do not, you take the AirTrain and re-screen, and ninety minutes becomes the sensible floor. The international-to-domestic case is better here than at many US airports because concourses A and G link towards Terminals 1 and 3 respectively, but you still clear immigration and customs and re-check bags first, so two hours remains the realistic target.
Worth knowing before you fly
Ride-hailing picks up on the departures level
Not arrivals. Follow the signage up rather than waiting at the kerb where you walked out, which is a common few minutes wasted with luggage.
Fog and low cloud cause genuine delays
SFO's parallel runways are close together, and when the marine layer sits low the airport has to space arrivals further apart, cutting capacity substantially. Summer mornings are the classic case. It is a real reason not to book the tightest possible connection here.
Oakland and San Jose are worth comparing
Both serve the Bay Area, both are on the BART or Caltrain network, and depending on where you are going one can be materially more convenient. On a domestic itinerary this is worth pricing rather than defaulting to SFO.
Terminal assignments, transit timetables and fares all change. Confirm the details that matter to your trip with the airport or transport operator before you travel.
Routes through SFO
Flying from San Francisco
- San Francisco to Dubai
- San Francisco to London
- San Francisco to Tokyo
- San Francisco to Paris
- San Francisco to Delhi
- San Francisco to Singapore
- San Francisco to Sydney
- San Francisco to Istanbul
- San Francisco to Amsterdam
- San Francisco to Frankfurt
- San Francisco to Bangkok
- San Francisco to Dublin
- San Francisco to Mexico City
- San Francisco to Guadalajara
- San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta
- San Francisco to Los Cabos
- San Francisco to San Salvador
FAQ
SFO — common questions
Terminals, transfers and getting into the city.
How do you get from SFO to downtown San Francisco?
BART is the best option for most people: about 30 minutes to Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell or Civic Center, at a fraction of a taxi fare and unaffected by traffic. The station is at the International Terminal, so from a domestic terminal you first take the free AirTrain round to it. By road it is around fourteen miles up the 101, taking 25 minutes when clear and over an hour in the peaks.
Are SFO terminals connected behind security?
Several are. There are airside connections between some neighbouring domestic terminals, and the International Terminal's concourse A links towards Terminal 1 while concourse G links towards Terminal 3. Which specific pairs are joined has changed with successive renovations, so it is worth confirming for your particular connection rather than assuming. Where no airside link exists, the free AirTrain gets you round the ring landside and you clear security again.
Why is SFO prone to delays?
Its two main arrival runways are unusually close together, so in low visibility — which the Bay Area's summer marine layer produces regularly — aircraft have to be spaced much further apart on approach. That cuts the arrival rate sharply and creates delays that have nothing to do with your own flight's weather. It is a good reason to avoid the tightest connection on an SFO itinerary, particularly on a summer morning.
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