Originally Posted by
Blackadder1402
Hi all
Will be arriving on an international flight into SFO (QF 73 arr 0905 7/26) , then a 5hr Connection before a Alaskan Airlines flight to SNA.
Now assuming once I clear Customs/Immigration , I can get my bags transferred to the AS flight as it will be all on One Ticket?
Then the question what to do in the remaining time? I was thinking BART to Union Sq , then Cable Car to Fishermans Wharf , a quick look around then back to Union Sq , then BART to the airport?
Any suggestions or advice, would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Unfortunately, 5 hours between international arrival and departure is not ideal. It might be as much as an hour between when your plane arrives at the gate and you re-check your bag after Customs (you need to retrieve the bag from carousel, take it through Customs, and then hand it off to Alaska right outside of Customs). You should arrive at SFO security Terminal 2 at least an hour before your Alaska flight. So that leaves you with three hours. You should budget for maybe 45 minutes each way from SFO to your destination in S.F. (could be less, but don't count on it). That leaves you with about 90 minutes to actually do something in S.F. I'm not sure it's worth the effort.
I should add,
Blackadder1402, that if you have to be stuck at an airport for a few hours, SFO is not a bad place to be. There are threads in this forum about the art displays, museum and other facilities at SFO. The restaurants are mostly local and better than average. You can shower over at Freshen Up! in the International Terminal, landside, for a fee (not sure how much). Were I in your shoes, I'd stay at SFO.