Flying Into San Francisco

Located 13 miles south of downtown, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the seventh busiest airport in the nation. The ring-shaped airport is divided into four terminals: Terminal 1, 2, and 3 for domestic departures, and the International terminal handles flights to/from foreign destinations. Last year, SFO saw above 55 million fliers passing through its halls in terms of annual traffic.

San Francisco (SFO) serves as a west-coast hub for United Airlines who is the airports biggest tenant holding a 44% market share at the airport. After acquiring Virgin America, Alaska Airlines has expanded its presence at the airport. After taking over Virgin's previously owned slots and aircraft, Alaska now uses SFO as one of its secondary hubs. The airports West Coast location lends itself as a great trans-Pacific gateway for flights arriving and departing from destinations in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

The easiest way to get from San Francisco International Airport to downtown is by the BART train line, which departs the airport approximately every 15 minutes, taking around 30-minutes to reach the city center. Bus service to the downtown is also available by SamTrans, and taxis and ridesharing companies are also a suitable option for those in a rush.

Getting Around San Francisco

If you don't mind hills and inclines, then San Francisco is a very walkable city on foot. But for those who don't want to trudge up steep streets, then the iconic San Francisco cable cars and trolleys will check off two boxes at once: a classic tourist experience and a great mode of transportation. The regional BART's (Bay Area Rapid Transit) network of subway and rail lines makes it easy to get from point-to-point amongst San Francisco's major points of interest and even across the bay into neighboring Oakland. Fuel-efficient Muni buses and light rail trains can also be used to get you to spots and neighborhoods where the BART system doesn't reach

As a tech capital, many of your favorite ride-sharing apps are headquartered in San Francisco, so you shouldn't have any issues connecting with a driver via your handheld device. If you prefer the old-school approach, taxis are abundant in the city and can be hailed or found at taxi ranks near popular attractions.

Things to Do in San Francisco

Now that you've got your selfie on the trolley sorted it's time to see the rest of the City by the Bay. As far as sightseeing goes, the Golden Gate Bridge is a must-do for almost every traveler, as well as a boat trip out to Alcatraz Island. In addition to those famous landmarks, seeing the Victorian styled houses dubbed the “Painted Ladies” and swerving down hairpins turns on Lombard Street are also on many visitors checklist.

For shoppers, San Francisco has a more eclectic vibe than other major cities. While there are the usual high-end shops near Union Square, the city is more suited for boutique and locally crafted goods. Haight-Ashbury and SoMa districts have plenty of unique shops worth checking out where you can pick up something will have a story behind it and not feel generic.

With the oldest Chinatown in the nation, visitors to SF must pay a visit to one of the many authentic restaurants in the neighborhood. Other great areas to score a delicious meal in the city are the Mission for Mexican, especially burritos and if you can't decide what you want the SoMa StrEat Food Park, has a plethora of food trucks to choose from. Vegetarian and Vegans will feel right at home; San Francisco is one of the best cities in the nation when it comes to plant-powered plates options.

What to Know About San Francisco

If you think California is all sunshine and beaches, San Francisco might throw you a curveball. Cool ocean currents coming in from the Pacific that regularly wafts in a low-lying fog control the city's climate. Summertime in San Francisco is generally cooler than anywhere else in California, leaving the best months to visit in September and October when the temperatures tend to warm up. Overall the city sustains a reasonably mild climate with no huge variations throughout the year, but it's recommended to dress in layers for daily temperature swings.

San Francisco's tech boom has skewed prices to the higher end, so be prepared to pay way above the national average on meals, drinks, transportation, accommodation, and just about everything else. While one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, it's not the most budget-friendly.

San Francisco is generally a safe city, but it does have a high population of homeless inhabitants, while mostly harmless you should be aware of beggars and scams in certain parts of the city. San Francisco proper is quite condensed and has close to 900,000 residents, but the Bay Area and surrounding suburbs bring the total to a whopping 7 million.