Anyone done BA279 (SJC) & traveled in to San Fran?
 

Hi Folks

In August my wife and I are travelling CW to San Jose on the BA279, the flight lands at 17.40.

Does anyone have experiences of the best options for transit from SJC to San Francisco itself off the back of the BA flight? We will have one checked bag each.

Options we are considering:
- Super Shuttle
- Uber
- Some sort of private transfer

We looked at Caltrain but it doesn't look feasible with checked luggage.

Uber by far is the most convenient. The only downside is due to it's popularity in the silicon valley area, surge pricing is common around rush hour times. That said if you are landing at 17:40, you will likely miss the rush hour by the time you get through immigration and customs.

Depends how much you wish to spend really, Uber / Taxi / Private transfer will be more convenient but all will be relatively pricey as it's more than 50 miles. It's also not a great time of day (though will depend on immigration - my experience in SJC is only Global Entry though which is super quick, can't speak for other options).

SJC is unfortunately not a great option for San Francisco proper, any specific reason for flying there rather than SFO? (I almost always find SJC is more expensive than SFO personally)

We are flying to SJC on Thursday staying over and planning on getting the Caltrain into San Francisco on Friday morning.

Seams pretty painless but will let you know.

BK

Rent a car and use it the next day for sight seeing in San Francisco @:-)

It is, and if HBO or not taking too much luggage, it is the only way to go, if everything goes to plan you can be in central San Francisco 90 minutes or so after landing, which on the roads in rush hour would be a pipe dream. I'm assuming the OP has significant luggage since there is a dedicated Airport Flyert bus service from the airport to the station which runs every 15 minutes to Santa Clara station

I wonder how much luggage they have, if the Caltrain is not an option. It sounds as if it would be a struggle anywhere, LHR, JFK, SFO with a lot of luggage.

Personally, large suitcase per person, not a problem on Caltrain. Has luggage racks too. If its the matter of getting it onto the train, due to steps and not being able to lift it, it could be a thing. I can't quite recall if there were significant steps onto it, I might well be confusing it with the Amtraks about the area, which I've used a lot more.

Caltrain, as mentioned, is incredibly easy. Assuming you're going to a fairly central hotel in San Fran, it should take a little over 2 hours from airport to hotel. If you have too much luggage to take the train practically, Uber or Lyft will get you there for $70-$80, depending on traffic. It can get rather busy at times, but things will hopefully have started to calm down by the time you clear immigration and collect your bags.

Super Shuttle to that area from SF was the most uncomfortable, circuitous transit ride I have ever experienced. Over 3 hours in a broken-down seat in a clapped out van. I would never use them again in either direction.

The Caltrain works fine. If you can lift bags in and out of a car, baggage is not a problem getting in and out of the trains. It's fast, comfortable, and cheap (certainly compared to road traffic).

Taxi to the Caltrain station is an option from most of the Valley including SJC, then train to SF. Car all the way is not optimal.

I don't use Uber, but I've gone from SF to the San Jose area and back in cars in various ways and frankly I'd rather take the train.

There was a free shuttle to the caltrain. Or did we pay for it? I can't remember. I might be getting confused with Dulles...

Super Shuttle is the absolute pits anywhere and anytime. If money is a problem, I would downgrade to WTP before sitting in a van which may take anywhere from 2-4 hours and where you may be the unlucky people who drive all over the place dropping others off. A rental is an idea, but ask yourself whether you are up to freeway driving after that length of a flight and perhaps a bit of booze.

On the other hand, I see no particular value in booking a high-end car service. If you are inclined, both Uber & Lyft have a "black car" service which will be more than the standard fare but less than something high-end.

Take your pick between Uber & Lyft and which of the many gradations as to size and luxury. It will take somewhere between 2-4 minutes for one to materialize, so not even something you need to concern yourself with until you are ready to go.

As this a question about transport from SJC rather than about BA, we’ll move it to our San Francisco forum where there’ll be greater expertise and experience.

/mod

You're not confused. I used the Valley Transit Authority Airport Flyer bus this past August to get from SJC to the Caltrain location in Santa Clara. I had checked luggage, a golf bag, that was easily stored on the train. The train takes you into the Caltrain station at 4th and King in San Francisco. Taxis/Uber/Lyft or you can use the light rail that runs from the Caltrain station down along the Embarcadero. The two-hour estimate given in another post for the exit from the SJC terminal to your destination in San Francisco is pretty accurate.

I would NOT suggest taking a rental car into San Francisco, especially if you've never been there before. Rush hour traffic is horrendous and as with many large cities, the street layout can lead to great confusion. Overnight parking fees at hotels in SF are also commensurate with other cities of its size, meaning you'll probably pay more for parking the rental car per day than using the rental car per day.

I would assume it's too late for the OP to switch to a flight to SFO. As observed above, SJC is far less convenient than SFO or OAK if your destination is SF.

Hope for a schedule change and then call BA immediately.