Arrivals
A San Francisco layover is worth leaving the airport for from about 6.5 hours, and the train into town starts inside the terminal.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) sits on the bay south of the city. Flights from abroad arrive at the International Terminal, called the Dianne Feinstein International Terminal on SFO’s maps, and the BART station is in the same building, on the Departures level, so there’s no shuttle to find.
- Bags. Everyone arriving from abroad collects their checked bags after passport control and takes them through customs. On one ticket, hand them back at the baggage desks just outside the arrivals hall, through the doors marked “Connecting Flights”, then head up to BART. On separate tickets you keep them: the Airport Travel Agency in the International Terminal stores bags from 6am to 11pm, priced by size.
- Tickets. Nothing to buy in advance. Tap a contactless bank card or phone at the BART gate on the way in and again on the way out: US$11.80 each way to downtown. Each traveller needs their own card.
- Phone. Wi-Fi is free in every terminal: pick the network called #SFO FREE WIFI. An eSIM set up before you fly keeps maps working once you’re out.
- Arriving on a US domestic flight? You land at Terminal 1, 2 or 3 with no border to clear. The free AirTrain takes you round to the BART station.
Left luggage, lounges and Wi-Fi: at the airport.
eSIM
Data before you land
Set up a US eSIM before you fly and your phone has data as you walk out of customs, for the BART times, maps and messages home.
Get an eSIM from Airalo (opens in a new tab)Get a Saily eSIM (opens in a new tab)
Border
SFO has no transit zone, so every international arrival enters the US and needs the right document before boarding.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
- Visa Waiver passports. UK, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese and most EU passports need an approved ESTA, US$40.62 on CBP’s official site. Apply as soon as you book. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania aren’t in the programme, so their citizens need a visa.
- Canadian and US citizens. Your passport is all you need.
- India and other visa passports. A US visitor visa (B-1/B-2) lets you leave the airport. A C-1 transit visa is meant for the connection itself, so if you hold one, check with your airline or a US consulate before planning to leave the airport.
- Only changing planes? You still need the same document: you pass the border and collect your bags whether you go into town or not.
- Time. Allow about 90 minutes from landing to sitting on a BART train: the walk to passport control, the queue, your bags and customs. SFO publishes no queue times, so this is our allowance. Mobile Passport Control, CBP’s free app, may be open to you; check the app.
Who needs which document: visa and transit rules.
Into San Francisco
BART is the way in: about 30 minutes from the International Terminal to Powell Street, downtown, for US$11.80.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
From the arrivals hall, go up to the Departures level and follow the BART signs to the station on the G gates side.
| Ride | Into town | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| BART to Powell Street, the best for most | About 30 minutes | US$11.80 |
| BART to Embarcadero, for the Ferry Building | About 32 minutes | US$11.80 |
| Taxi | 25 to 35 minutes off-peak, our estimate | On the meter, with a US$6 airport charge included |
Board a train heading into San Francisco, not one for Millbrae. The first leaves the airport at 5am on weekdays, 5:48am on Saturdays and 7:48am on Sundays, and the last ones back leave Powell Street at 12:43am, every night.
The station, fares, first and last trains and taxis: getting into the city.
What to do
The Ferry Building and the bay are right outside Embarcadero station, and Union Square, Chinatown and the cable cars are a few minutes’ walk from Powell Street.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
The fastest plan for a short layover
- Take BART to Embarcadero, about 32 minutes from the airport.
- Cross the plaza to the Ferry Building, the old ferry terminal with the clock tower, now a marketplace of food stalls, cafés and shops. The building is open daily from 6am to 10pm, though each shop keeps its own hours.
- Walk along the Embarcadero, the flat promenade by the water, for as long as you have.
- Leave Embarcadero station 2 hours 40 minutes before your flight.
Prefer someone else to handle the timing? GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab) and Viator (opens in a new tab) list San Francisco tours, and Viator’s include private layover tours that meet you at arrivals. Check where each tour starts and ends before you book.
Watch the calendar
- Wednesdays. SFMOMA, the modern art museum, is closed. The Ferry Building, Chinatown and the cable cars run every day.
- Market mornings. The farmers market fills the Ferry Building’s plaza on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm.
- Sundays. BART starts later: the first train leaves the airport at 7:48am.
- Holidays. On Thanksgiving (26 November 2026), Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, BART runs its Sunday timetable. The Ferry Building Marketplace and SFMOMA are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
- 14 and 15 November 2026. Buses replace BART trains on part of the line to the airport, with delays of up to 30 minutes, so allow that much more each way.
- Weather and daylight. Bring a layer: the bay is often cool and foggy. Until 14 March 2027 the Golden Gate Bridge’s walkway closes at 6:30pm, around nightfall.
Timed plans from 6.5 to 24 hours, including the cable car, the Golden Gate Bridge and a morning at the Ferry Building after a night by the airport: itineraries.
Layover tour
San Francisco tours and tickets
Walking tours, bay cruises and private layover tours that collect you at arrivals. Check where each one starts and ends before you book, and keep the airport time in mind.
See tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)See tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)
Head back
Be back at SFO 90 minutes before departure, with your onward boarding pass.
Not needed when you stay at the airport.
- Time. Leave Powell Street or Embarcadero 2 hours 40 minutes before your flight: about 70 minutes for the wait, the ride and the walk into the terminal, then 90 minutes at the airport. With about 90 minutes to get out after landing, that makes 6.5 hours the realistic minimum, for about 2 hours in town; 8 hours gives about 3.5.
- Why 90 minutes is enough. There’s no passport check on the way out of the US. With your bags checked through and your boarding pass in hand, you need only security and the walk to your gate. The usual advice to arrive 3 hours before an international flight allows for checking in; if you still need to check in or drop a bag, allow longer, and check your airline’s cut-off.
- Flying on within the US? Stay on BART to the airport, then take the free AirTrain to Terminal 1, 2 or 3. Terminal 3’s own AirTrain stop is closed until 2027, so for Terminal 3 get off at the one for Terminals 2 and 3.
- Late at night. The last trains back leave Powell Street at 12:43am every night and reach SFO at 1:14am, which matters only for a flight after about 3:20am. After that, take a taxi or ride-hail and allow about 50 minutes, our estimate with the wait for a car.
How long each layover gives you in town: the time-in-town table.
Departures
Best for your layoverNot going into town? You clear the border at SFO either way, and past security there are lounges, a yoga room and museum exhibitions.
A connection at SFO means passport control, customs and a second security check, so the rooms before security are as easy to reach as the lounges after it:
- Free. Terminal 2 has a yoga room between the C and D gates, open 4am to 11pm. The SFO Museum puts on exhibitions in every terminal, and its Aviation Museum and Library in the International Terminal opens daily from 10am to 4:30pm.
- Lounges. The Club SFO in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 sells entry for US$80 and showers for US$25 (seen November 2026), and takes Priority Pass if you book online. Walkways past security link every terminal, so you can use it before a flight from the International Terminal.
- Nap rooms and showers. Freshen Up! in the International Terminal, before security, is open 24 hours: nap rooms from US$150 for 3 hours and showers for US$30 (seen November 2026).
- Hotel. The Grand Hyatt at SFO is on the AirTrain, before security, with 351 rooms. It publishes no day rates, so book a night.
Nap rooms, lounges, the hotel, showers and left luggage: at the airport.
Hotel
Hotels near SFO
You clear the border at SFO whatever you do, so a bed costs you no extra paperwork. The Grand Hyatt at SFO is a short AirTrain ride from every terminal.