rudbech

Hi forum,

I am considering the timing for my booking of a rental car rental in SFO.
Flying in from Frankfurt and I will have to go through immigration etc...

How much time should I plan from ETA to the car rental desk at the airport?


Thanks
Christian

obscure2k

Please follow this thread as I move it to the San Francisco Forum
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

JerryFF

If you are concerned about what time to tell the car rental company you will pick up the car, just give them your flight information - flight #, scheduled arrival time - and they will note your reservation and hold the car. If you are planning some subsequent activity, it can vary greatly, depending on how busy immigration and customs are, but I would say it would be reasonable to assume you could be in your car 90-120 minutes after arrival time in most cases.

Lost

Yeah, as long as they have your flight info, they'll know when to expect you. Just put down a good guess as to when you think you'll show up. Just did a quick check of Avis, Hertz, and National, and all are open 24/7. I'm sure most/all of the other brands are as well.

Last time I rented at SFO (last summer) I arrived about midnight and there were probably 30-40 customers in the rental car center picking up cars.

darthbimmer

I've been through SFO immigrations & customs a few dozen times-- as a US citizen, though, not a foreigner. I'm surprised at your estimate of 90-120 minutes. I would have guessed 60-75 for a non-citizen, especially for travelers who have all their paperwork in order.

Eastbay1K

But then they have get up to the train and go out to the rental car center. I'd say 90 minutes is a fair estimate, followed by a conservative "worst case" (well, except in case of computer failure) scenario.

JerryFF

As Eastbay1K said, I was including the additional time to get out to the car rental center, not just getting through immigration and customs.

docbert

Having done this dozens of times as a non-citizen, I'd say anywhere between 10 minutes and 90 minutes from when you get off the plane to getting through immigration. Add an extra 10 minutes to the minimum if you have checked bags. And another 10+ minutes to get to the train and to the rental car center.

SFO is one of the better airports as far as immigration, but as with most airports it can vary wildly depending on who lands before you, and even how quickly you get off the plane.

As others have said, the best option is to give the rental company your flight details, so they will hold your reservation if your flight is delayed. All of the major rental companies at SFO will only start your rental time when you actually pickup the car, not at the time your booking was for.

Aidan

Wanting to revive this as I want to know who long to get out of SFO on a domestic flight from LAX. I will have checked baggage aswell.

Thanks,

dhuey

Aidan

dhuey

SFO777

Getting to the rental car center is the least of your worries coming off of an LAX-SFO flight. SFO ATC delays are frequent and very weather dependent. If it is raining or there is cloud cover at SFO, you risk significant inbound ATC delays from LAX or other short-haul west coast cities.

SFO777

Note that SFO has a $20 or so per day rental car facilities charge, which can be avoided by renting from a city location. Depending on how long you are staying and where you are going, it is often cheaper to take a taxi to your destination and then renting. This works especially well if you are staying in the city, near Union Square.

Eastbay1K

Not to mention that City hotel parking is in the $70+/day range in many places, so renting a car, by the day, on the days needed, may be beneficial for those staying in central locations within SF.