San Francisco International Airport to Downtown San Francisco: Routes to the Knights Inn

San Francisco city centre is about 8 minutes away by car from the hotel. For your airport plan, that means the hotel and downtown are separate destinations: choose whether to travel first to central San Francisco or directly to your accommodation.

The available room types are listed on the rooms page.

BART is the rail option from SFO to downtown: its station is in the International Terminal on Level 3, and SFO gives a travel time of about 30 minutes to downtown San Francisco. If you arrive at a domestic terminal, use the airport’s AirTrain to reach the BART station.

The airport says Yellow Line trains toward Antioch and Red Line trains toward Richmond serve the four downtown San Francisco BART stations. Powell Street Station is at 899 Market Street, near Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens, Moscone Convention Center and the Theatre District. San Francisco Muni and the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable cars also serve Powell Street.

BART’s general service hours are weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to midnight, Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to midnight.

You can pay with a contactless credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Clipper; Clipper cards are available at the airport station. All BART stations have elevators and extra-wide fare gates for large luggage and people with disabilities.

For local transportation after you arrive, getting around San Francisco includes options for moving between city districts.

SamTrans Route 292 stops directly at airport terminals. Routes EPX and 142 serve the Rental Car Center, which you can reach from the terminals on the AirTrain Blue Line.

SamTrans operates from the airport 24/7, with limited late-night service on Routes ECR Owl and 397. The airport describes those routes as serving north toward San Francisco and Daly City and south toward Palo Alto.

SamTrans terminal stops are on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim Level at Terminals 2 and 3. At the International Terminal, stops are at Level 1 at Courtyard A and curbside beside Courtyard G. Check the official site before you go for current route and service details.

SFO taxi pickup is at designated roadway-center-island zones on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim Level of every terminal. Uniformed taxi coordinators are stationed there from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Fares are metered; San Francisco taxi fares originating at SFO include a $6.00 exit surcharge, and drivers must accept fares to all Bay Area destinations. You can request a wheelchair-accessible taxi from a coordinator or call *1107 from an airport courtesy phone.

For Lyft, Uber and Wingz, pickup locations depend on the terminal. At domestic terminals, Lyft and Uber pickups are on Level 5 of the Domestic Garage; at the International Terminal, all three services use roadway-center-island zones 12–17 on the Departures/Ticketing Level.

For a downtown stop, BART gives you a rail connection with elevators and extra-wide gates for luggage. If your flight arrives at a domestic terminal, allow for the AirTrain transfer to the International Terminal station.

SFO says AirTrain runs around the clock, is wheelchair accessible and has elevators at all stations; boarding is free, with departures as frequent as every four minutes.

SamTrans is another option if you want a bus pickup at the terminals, though the route you use depends on your destination. Taxis and rideshares pick up at designated locations rather than wherever a car can stop at the curb.

SFO says vehicles may not wait at terminal curbside or on airport roadways; drivers can wait for up to one hour at the Cell Phone Waiting Lot.