Car Hire in San Francisco - Getting to San Francisco

San Francisco International Airport handles most of the city’s international air traffic but the bay area also benefits from two other airports; Oakland International Airport on the east side of the bay, and San Jose International Airport at the southern end of the bay. The latter two are sometimes more convenient for stateside travel and handle flights from selected destinations in Canada and Mexico. Shuttles and BART rail system make it easy to get to all major areas from each airport.

Greyhound is the only regular long distance bus company, and regular services depart from Transbay Terminal in SoMa. Typically trips to LA take 9 hours, Seattle (22 hours) and Lake Tahoe (8 hours). It is the cheapest but least comfortable menas of traveling in the US.

Amtrak is the US national train system, and its Bay Area terminal is at Jack London Square in Oakland. A free shuttle bus connects with San Francisco's Caltrain station and the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero.

The bay makes vehicular navigation a bit tricky, but having a car is worthwhile and the Californian highway system is extensive and fluid. Highway 101 runs south to Los Angeles and north to Oregon, but its bayside stretch is naturally congested, so try the Interstate 280, parallel and slightly to the west. Highway 1 is the slow but scenic coast route along the coast, but Interstate 5 is the fastest route south to Los Angeles. Interstate 80 takes you across the Bay Bridge to Berkeley and eventually Sacramento, before disappearing into Nevada (Reno). Use the 580 to get to Yosemite.