Search Flights from San Francisco to Lisbon

Located 21 km from the city center, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a major transit center for passengers, particularly those traveling from Asia. San Francisco International is the second busiest airport in California, following Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Every year SFO handles a significant number of both domestic and international flights. There are a variety of transportation alternatives passengers can utilize to get to and from the airport.  

San Francisco International Airport stands out for the comfortable and exceptional services it offers. The airport features services aimed at meeting your every need, from comfortable passenger lounges, to restaurants that offer a wide variety of cuisines and a vibrant array of stores where you can go shopping.

San Francisco International Airport is accessible by taxi, bus, train, rental car, and personal car as the airport contains parking lots that offer short-term and long-term parking options.

Train

There are two rail systems that you can use to get to San Francisco International Airport from the city center. The first is the rapid-rail system, the BART. The BART starts running in the early hours of the morning, providing easy and fast transportation between SFO and the northern and southern parts of the city.

The other rail system that you can use to get to SFO is the CalTrain. This train departs on the hour, every hour, every day of the week, until 10 pm. This train provides transportation between San Francisco and San Jose and SFO.

Taxi

One of the most convenient and fastest transportation alternatives to get to SFO from the city center is by taxi. Taxi fares are calculated based on the kilometers traveled. A taxi from downtown San Francisco can cost between 42 and 62 dollars and takes about 20 minutes. For more information on taxi companies and their contact information please visit San Francisco International Airport’s website.

Bus

SamTrans buses provide transportation between the San Francisco city center and the airport. These public buses are operated by San Mateo County and run between San Mateo, various parts of San Francisco and San Francisco International Airport. SamTrans lines KX, 292, 397, and 398 run directly to the airport terminals. Buses stop at the arrivals and baggage claim level of Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 and at Level 1 of the International Terminal.

Rental Car

Renting a car is another transportation alternative to get to the airport. There are many rental car companies located in the city. You can drop off your rental vehicle at the Rental Car Center before your departure. From the Rental Car Center the AirTrain Blue Line provides access to the airport terminals and it operates 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Rental car companies that you can choose from include Alamo, Dollar, Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, National, Budget, Fox and Thrifty.

Bike

San Francisco International Airport contains bike assembly stations and parking areas for those who want to access the airport by bike. The BART and SamTrans rapid rail systems provide passengers with bike/transit options and the airport features marked bicycle routes. Bike lovers can easily access the airport by bicycle.   

Airport Information

San Francisco International Airport is located 21 km from the city center. The airport covers an expansive area and operates domestic and international flights out of 4 terminals, Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3, and the International Terminal. The AirTrain automated system provides free transportation between each terminal, as well as the Rental Car Center and BART station. The AirTrain Red Line links all terminals, terminal garages and the BART Station. The AirTrain Blue Line links the Rental Car Center with all terminals, terminal garages, and the BART Station. SFO also contains a variety of services and amenities to meet passengers’ pre-flight and post-flight needs.

The airport features health services in the terminals, rental car offices, banks, a lost and found, wireless internet, charging stations, clothing stores where you can go shopping, restaurants and cafes, the Aviation Museum & Library, rotating exhibitions, spa services, children’s play areas, free yoga rooms, a market, and much more. 

You have options such as metro, bus, airport shuttle, and taxi and car rental to reach your destination from this airport which is just 7 kilometers from the city center.

Metro

The fastest and cheapest way to get to the city center from the airport is taking metro. The red line of the Lisbon metro goes up to the airport and departs every 6 to 9 minutes. The red line starting from the airport stops at "Encarnaçao", "Moscavide", "Oriente", "Cabo Ruivo", "Olivais, Chelas", "Bela Vista", "Olaias", "Alameda" and "Saldanha", and reached Sebastiao station. Some of these stops intersect with the green, yellow and blue lines of the Lisbon metro. You can change to the green line at "Alameda" stop, to yellow line at "Saldanha" stop, and to the blue line at "S. Sebastiao "stop. For example, if you would like to go to the city center, Baixa-Chiado, upon your arrival without going to your hotel, you need to get off at the "Alameda" stop and change to the green line. You can also change to the train line in the city at the Oriente stop and go to other cities of Portugal from here. When you arrive at the city you can explore the metro by taking a metro map or browsing the internet. It is a quite regular system that can take you to many places in the city easily and quickly. The duration of the journey varies depending on your destination. You can get to the financial center in 15 minutes and the city center in 25 minutes on average. The Lisbon metro runs between 6.30 am and 1 am. You have to get one of the pre-paid 7 Colinas or Viva Viagem electronic cards. If you buy a daily or 3-day unlimited use ticket, depending on the length of your stay, you can travel more economically in the city. You can also use these cards in buses.

Bus

You can also take advantage of the buses that arrive at the airport's arrival terminals. But you cannot take these buses if you have much luggage. There is a limit on the size of your luggage and you only have one hand luggage allowance. The journey can last about 30 to 50 minutes depending on your destination and the traffic conditions. Nevertheless, if you want to use the bus,  bus number 744 works between "Marques Pombal" - "Airport" and "Moscavide" and passes through many important tourist stops of the city every weekday from 5.35 am to 8.40 pm. You can also take a short city tour with this bus. In addition, you can also use buses number 705 (Oriente - Airport - Rome / Areeiro) and 783 (Amoreiras-Airport-Portela), operating between 6.40 am and 8.10 pm, working days only. These buses do not operate at night. After midnight, you can take the bus number 208 which runs between "Cais Sodre" - "Airport" and "Oriente" till 05.30 in the morning. In order to take advantage of the buses, you have to buy the prepaid "7 Colinas" or "Viva Viagem" electronic cards. If you buy a daily or 3-day unlimited use ticket, depending on the length of your stay, you can travel more economically in the city.

Airport Shuttle

If you have a lot of baggage, you can take AEROBUS, airport shuttle that operate between the airport and city center or the financial center every day of the week. You can take the AEROBUS from both terminals of the airport.  AEROBUS Line 1 runs between "Airport" and "Cais do Sodre" stops. These buses departing every 20 minutes stop at "Entrecampos", "Compo Pequeno", "Av. REpublica", "Saldanha", "Picoas", "Fontes Pereira de Melo", "Av. Da Liberdade", "Restauradores", "Rossio"(City Center), "P. Comercio", and reach "Cais do Sodre" stop. The shuttle operates between 7 am and 11.20 pm. The AEROBUS Line 2 departs every 40 minutes and after the airport, stops at "Entrecampos", "Catholic University", "Sete Rios", "Praça de Espanha", "Av. Jose Malhoa (Sul)" and reaches “Av. Jose Moalhoa” stop. The working hours for this line are between 7.30 am and 11 pm.  After 8 pm, the shuttle does not depart every 40 minutes, but every hour. AEROBUS stops are metro stops at the same time. You can get off at these stops and change to metro. If you are not traveling alone, the fare that you would pay to the taxi might be close to the fare you would pay to AEROBUS. For this reason, we recommend you to compare the fares of these alternatives. Discounts are provided for those travelling as a group of four, to children and to those who buy return ticket. You can buy tickets online, at the bus, or at the airport's arrival terminal.

Taxi

As soon as you leave the arrival terminal of the airport you can take one of the taxis waiting for the passengers. However, you may encounter the problem of finding a taxi at busy times. In such cases, you can take the elevator to the departure terminal and take a taxi from here. Moreover, you pay less if you get your taxi from the departure terminal. You may need a taxi especially at night, when the metro and AEROBUS shuttles do not operate. Nightly buses remain as an alternative to public transport at night, but there are baggage restrictions in these buses. In Lisbon, airport taxis charge extra per luggage. In addition, at weekends, official holidays and night time fares increase by 20 percent.

Car Rental

If you are evaluating car rental option, which provides you flexibility on your journeys, you can find the offices of Avis, Europcar, Guerin, Hertz and Goldcar car rental companies at Lisbon Airport. If Lisbon is your starting point for your trip in Portugal, which is already a rather small country, and if you are traveling in groups of several people, renting a car may be an even better option. Also remember that you have to pay for many parking areas in the city.