San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
BART trains connect SFO with downtown San Francisco, downtown Oakland and many other Bay Area destinations. BART is the best way to avoid sitting in Bay Area traffic. Trains depart from the SFO International Terminal, and it's just 30 minutes to downtown San Francisco. Plan your trip with the Trip Planner.
The BART station is located in the International Terminal, a short walk from Terminals 1 and 3.
You can also take the free SFO AirTrain from all terminals directly to the BART station. Follow the signs upstairs and board an AirTrain to the BART station.
Purchasing Fare:
Plan ahead and add Clipper to your phone in advance of arriving to the station instead of having to wait in lines to buy a paper ticket or Clipper card at the station. Clipper is available for mobile phones through either Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Every rider ages 5 and up needs their own digital card. Clipper is a regional transit card that can be used on all transit in the Bay Area. If you are going to ride the Cable Car, ferry, or buses, put Clipper on your phone.
BART no longer sells paper tickets.
Headed to the airport?
Follow this guide to purchase long-term parking (now known as single/multi-day parking) on the official BART app. You can reserve multiple days of parking in advance and leave your vehicle overnight.
Download the official BART app:
If you fly into the International Terminal, turn right when leaving customs, and take the escalator up to the departures level. Walk straight ahead and turn left at the art exhibit and you’ll see the station entrance.
To Downtown San Francisco
Board an Antioch (Yellow line) train or Richmond (Red line) train to one of the four downtown San Francisco BART stations. From there, it’s an easy walk or short cab ride to most San Francisco hotels and the Moscone Convention Center.
Find your hotel on this map of downtown San Francisco.
To Downtown Oakland
Board an Antioch (Yellow line) train or Richmond (Red line) train to the City Center/12th Street Station and you'll be right in downtown, a few blocks from Oakland Chinatown and Jack London Square.
Returning to SFO
Take any SFO-bound train. Direct service is available from downtown San Francisco and Downtown Oakland on the Antioch to SFO (Yellow) line and the Richmond to Millbrae + SFO (Red) line. SFO will always be listed in the name of the train and line. From other areas, it may be necessary to transfer to an SFO-bound train. Check the BART System Map for transfer points.
Upon arriving at SFO, walk, or take the AirTrain Red Line from BART to Terminal 1, 2 or 3 for domestic flights. The International Terminal check-in counters are a short walk from the BART station main entrance.
BART Fares
Fare Payment:
Children 4 and under ride free.
Purchasing Fare:
Plan ahead and add Clipper to your phone in advance of arriving to the station instead of having to wait in lines to buy a paper ticket at the station. Clipper is available for mobile phones through either Apple Pay or Google Pay. Every rider needs their own digital card. Clipper is a regional transit card that can be used on all transit in the Bay Area. If you are going to ride the Cable Car, ferry, or buses, put Clipper on your phone.
Step by Step instructions on how to add a Clipper card to your Apple Wallet.
Step by Step instructions on how to add a Clipper card in Google Pay.
Clipper cards are like debit cards with stored value.
BART's fare structure is built on a mileage-based formula. Weekly or monthly passes are not available. If using BART's fare calculator, add 50 cent each trip to the total. The SFO station has paper ticket fare charts.
To enter the BART system, hold your phone loaded with Clipper in your digital wallet over the fare gate card reader.
The correct fare will be deducted automatically when you exit the system. If your card has too little value, a sign on the fare gate will tell you to go to a nearby Addfare vending machine where you can add enough value to exit the BART system.
BART Schedule
Use the BART Trip Planner to look up BART departure and arrival times.
BART Weekday Airport Service Hours
5:11 a.m. (first train departing SFO) to Midnight.
BART Weekend Airport Service Hours
Sat: 6:25 a.m. (first train to departing SFO) to Midnight
Sun: 7:02 a.m. (first train to departing SFO) a.m. to Midnight
Please make alternative airport travel plans if you need to catch an early morning Sunday flight.
Luggage and Accessibility
Luggage may be stowed under your seat or held in your lap. Please keep the doorways clear. Some cars have space near the doors to accommodate wheelchairs, bikes or strollers. If the space is not being used by a person with a disability, you may store your luggage there, but please keep it under your control at all times.
All BART stations have elevators and extra wide fare gates for large luggage and for use by people with disabilities.
Single/Multi-Day Reserved Parking
Airport parking can be a hassle and is always expensive, except at BART stations. We offer inexpensive multi-day parking at many stations with easy online reservations.
Multi-Day Reserved parking is for consecutive overnight stays of up to 20 weekdays. Purchase on the official BART app or pay by website. You will need to provide the license plate of the car you plan to drive and a phone number.
Park in the designated Reserved area. There is no need to print anything in advance or display anything inside your car.
Another option to get to SFO via BART is to purchase Multi-Day Reserved parking and drive to Millbrae Station then take a quick ride from Millbrae to SFO Airport.
Multi-day reserved parking may be purchased up to 60 days in advance, and twenty weekdays of parking may be purchased at a time. Parking on weekends is free. Visit the Parking section for more information.
You may cancel your reservation on the official BART app or the Reserved parking website by clicking on the “cancel” button next to where your active reservation is shown. For single/multi-day parking, you may cancel up to 11:59 p.m. on the night before the reservation. You can elect to cancel the entire reservation or only specific days. You will be assessed a $2 fee for each cancellation action, and the refund (minus the fee) should appear on your payment method within 72 hours. Please note that the transaction cannot be cancelled until it has been settled with your bank, which can take up to 24 hours.