Layover in San Francisco: what to do

Yes, if you have enough time and the right entry documents. The United States has no sterile transit: every international arrival, including a connecting passenger, must clear US immigration and customs at the first US airport. At SFO that means passport control, collecting your bag unless it is tagged through, and a security re-check before your onward flight.

The practical limit is time, not permission. Immigration and customs can take 30 minutes or well over an hour at peak arrivals. Add BART or a rideshare each way, and a 6-hour layover leaves almost nothing. Treat 8 hours as the floor for a city trip and 10 hours or more as comfortable.

If your layover is under 6 hours, stay airside or in the terminal. SFO has lounges, food and showers in some areas, and the AirTrain connects terminals without leaving security.

There is no US transit visa. Anyone connecting through the United States, even for a few hours, needs either a valid US visa or an approved ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program. A Schengen or UK visa does not help.

Visa Waiver travellers must have an approved ESTA before boarding, and ESTA is not guaranteed: applications can be refused. If you hold a US visa, check it is valid for the date of travel and that you have the right category for a transit stop.

Rules and eligibility change; confirm with the US embassy or consulate in your country and with your airline before booking.

SFO has no large, guaranteed public left-luggage facility in every terminal, so plan ahead. Options: ask your airline whether your bag can be checked through to the final destination (then you carry only a day bag), use a paid storage or bag-drop service in downtown San Francisco, or book a hotel day room that holds bags.

If you must collect and re-check your bag, allow extra time. Re-checking usually means going back through security, and some airlines close check-in 60 minutes before departure.

Carry-on only makes a short layover far easier. If you are checking a bag, confirm at the first check-in whether it is tagged through to your final stop.

BART is the default. The Yellow and Red lines run from SFO station, reached by AirTrain from all terminals, into downtown San Francisco in about 30 minutes. Fares are roughly US$10 one way (2026 estimate); buy a Clipper card or tap a contactless card or phone. Trains run frequently through the day and less often late at night.

A rideshare or taxi takes 20–40 minutes to downtown depending on traffic, and costs far more than BART, often US$40–70 (2026 estimate). Traffic on US-101 is heavy at peak times; BART is usually faster into the city.

For the return, leave downtown with a buffer. Aim to be back at SFO two hours before an international departure and 90 minutes before a domestic one. BART stops running overnight, so a very late or very early flight may need a taxi or rideshare.

Six hours: stay at SFO. Clear immigration, find your onward gate, eat, and use a lounge if you have access. Leaving and returning eats the whole window.

Twelve hours: take BART to Embarcadero or Montgomery, walk the waterfront to the Ferry Building, ride a cable car on Powell Street, and eat in Chinatown or North Beach. Leave downtown with a two-hour buffer.

Twenty-four hours: add the Golden Gate Bridge (bus or rideshare from downtown), a walk in Golden Gate Park or the Mission for a meal, and consider an airport hotel or a downtown hotel for the night. Book the hotel in advance; San Francisco rates are high.