Visiting SF from Houston need mass transit advice (San Jose, Oakland: hotels, home)

[TexasMade5717]

So some friends and I are visiting your very cool city for the 1st time in October and attending the Texans-49ers game. I had a question about mass transit. So we're checking flights and have noticed that there are some cheaper alternatives if we fly into Oakland or San Jose. I did some research and looks like the "BART" connects Oakland to SF and the "CALTRAIN" SF into San Jose? If I read the fares right, looks like BART will be about $3 one way and CALTRAIN about $9? Any advice on whether or not it's a good idea to fly into OAK or San Jose, or should we just go into SF airport? Like is it easy to get around the mass transit system? Any advice would be helpful, thanks!
Oh and we are considering hotels but want to stay out of the touristy areas as we know hotel prices will be inflated around there. Any suggestions on an area outside the tourist traps with access to a trolly or the BART lines that would be easy to get to the tourist areas? Thanks again guys...and gals!

[humboldtrat]

There is a BART station inside the SFO terminal and there is also a BART station in Millbrae just outside the airport. There are plenty of motels in Millbrae along El Camino Real (Hwy 82). Try the Millbrae Travelodge about 2 blocks from the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station. There are also plenty of restaurants along El Camino.

Take BART to SF and and get off at any of the 4 subway stations in downtown SF. Change to a "T" light rail streetcar to go to Candelstick Park and change again to a bus. This is a bad neighborhood near the stadium and caution should be taken, especially at night. 49ers Football Service | SFMTA

[California Vagabond]

The Oakland airport is much smaller than SFO, and less frequently affected by bad weather. (Or that's my impression, anyway; I'm too lazy to hunt the internet for statistics to back me up.) I have often used it as an alternative to SFO.

SFO has its own BART station, as humboldtrat pointed out. OAK patrons can board AirBART, which connects the terminal to the Coliseum BART station. Arriving Oakland International Airport (OAK) has more information.

You can look up fares on the bart.gov home page.

Enjoy your trip!

[TexasMade5717]

Cool. I will certainly check it all out. Thank you, and yes we've heard about the area around the stadium lol. Living in Houston you learn to be aware of your surroundings, will use caution, thanks.

[TexasMade5717]

Originally Posted by California Vagabond

The Oakland airport is much smaller than SFO, and less frequently affected by bad weather. (Or that's my impression, anyway; I'm too lazy to hunt the internet for statistics to back me up.) I have often used it as an alternative to SFO.

SFO has its own BART station, as humboldtrat pointed out. OAK patrons can board AirBART, which connects the terminal to the Coliseum BART station. Arriving Oakland International Airport (OAK) has more information.

You can look up fares on the bart.gov home page.

Enjoy your trip!

Sweet, thank you! Will get on and do more research. GO TEXANS!

[ccm123]

Have a great trip! Go Niners!

Originally Posted by TexasMade5717

GO TEXANS!

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Take BART to SF and and get off at any of the 4 subway stations in downtown SF. Change to a "T" light rail streetcar to go to Candelstick Park and change again to a bus. This is a bad neighborhood near the stadium and caution should be taken, especially at night. 49ers Football Service | SFMTA

There is no need for any transfers, just take a Candlestick express bus. These are special routes for game days.

75X Candlestick Express – from Balboa Park BART
77X Candlestick Express – from California and Van Ness
78X Candlestick Express – from California and Funston
79X Candlestick Express – from Sutter and Sansome

Since there is an express bus from California and Van Ness, you could stay at the Holiday Inn on Van Ness. There are also less expensive motel type places on Lombard St.

If you are staying outside the city, on game day take the Bart to Balboa Park and take the express bus to Candlestick.

[dalparadise]

BART from OAK requires a $3 AirBART shuttle transfer. Then, its about $4 into the Financial District. From there,if you are staying away from the FiDi or Union Square, you'd need to transfer to Muni for $2 or catch a cab for about $10-$15, depending on your final destination. A SuperShuttle is $15 from the airport to your door.

I think the idea of staying in the Van Ness/Lombard area makes a lot of sense. The Muni express service on game day is reliable and easy to use. I think it costs $7, round-trip, if I remember correctly. You can walk easily from the hotels along Van Ness to the pickup points.

By the way, check out McTeague's, on Polk at about Bush St. before and after the game. It's the closest you will get to a Texans bar in SF. They have Shiner on tap and Lone Star in bottles and always show Texas teams on their TVs.

The only time I root against the Niners is when they play the Texans. Go Texans!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Life would be much easier if you can afford to just fly into SF, since BART is right there.

2nd choice would be Oakland, as it's just across the bay, so wouldn't be as time-consuming as San Jose.

San Jose would be do-able, but you'd have to take a bus from airport to the Cal-Train station (which is actually really close by in Santa Clara), then Cal-train to BART. None of that would be scary or dangerous, and Cal-Train is a nice ride. It would just be added hassle and a time-waster, IMO.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Have a great trip! Go Niners!

Go Go Santa Clara 49ers!!!!!!