Oakland International Airport to Port of San Francisco
Getting from Oakland International Airport to Port of San Francisco — 35-60 min, 20 miles
Transfer Options
Rideshare & taxi
Pier 27 fronts directly onto The Embarcadero, and the Port allows taxis and vehicles to drop cruise passengers at the terminal hall entrance. Within the city a rideshare from downtown or the wharf is a short hop; from the airports it is the fastest option when traffic is light and the least predictable when it is not.
SFO publishes approximate taxi fares of $57 downtown and $66 to Fisherman's Wharf and notes that up to five people can share a ride for the price of one, which is what makes a cab competitive with four BART fares for a family. If you need a wheelchair accessible taxi at SFO, the airport says to contact the taxi coordinator or dial *1107 from any courtesy phone.
Hotel shuttles & park-and-cruise
No hotel we checked publishes a shuttle to Pier 27 or Pier 35. What the airport hotels do publish is parking: Crowne Plaza San Francisco Airport advertises an Airport Park and Fly Package covering up to seven days, and The Dylan Hotel at SFO a Park, Stay & Fly Package covering up to ten. Both are written for airline passengers, and both leave the trip to the pier to you.
Match the allowance to your itinerary before you book — a seven-night Alaska round trip fits inside Crowne Plaza's window, and a ten-day Mexican Riviera does not. Both hotels sit within reach of Millbrae BART, which is what makes them work: park the car, ride through to Embarcadero, then cover the last mile by streetcar. Aggregators sell park-and-cruise bundles at several downtown San Francisco hotels, but those are third-party products rather than anything the hotels publish themselves, so confirm the terms with the hotel before you rely on them.
From Oakland International (OAK)
OAK's own BART station is a short walk from both terminals. Ride the connector to Coliseum, then take a Blue or Green line train to Embarcadero; BART's trip planner puts the whole journey, change included, at 36 to 37 minutes. You tap once rather than twice — BART says you pay for the trip when you reach Coliseum platform 3, and the through fare already includes the connector. Coming back, ride a Green or Blue line train to Coliseum and go upstairs to platform 3. By road it is 20 miles and a 35-60 min drive, because the Bay Bridge approach routinely doubles the free-flow time.
The connector is the expensive part of a cheap trip: $7.95 of the $13.45 covers a nine-minute ride. It is still the simplest way in without a car. Note that BART publishes no real-time tracking and no PDF timetable for the OAK connector, and that Sunday service does not start until 8:00am — the same early-morning gap as SFO.
F Market & Wharves streetcar
The F line runs historic streetcars from Castro along the length of Market Street, around the Ferry Building, and then north up The Embarcadero past the piers. For Pier 27 the stop is The Embarcadero & Sansome Street, which is across the road from the terminal rather than a walk from it; for Pier 35 it is the next stop north, The Embarcadero & Bay Street. Both are the stops the Port itself names. SFMTA publishes headways of 12 minutes midday and evening and 20 minutes morning and late night, the same on weekdays and weekends.
The route page headline says 7am to midnight, but the published timetables start earlier — the first inbound car leaves Castro at 6:00am on both the weekday and Sunday tables, reaching the Embarcadero stops around 6:30. Trust the timetable rather than the headline if you have an early boarding. Two other notes: SFMTA is withdrawing single-ride passes from MuniMobile from 1 September 2026, so use Clipper or contactless for a later sailing, and the E Embarcadero line that some guides still list as an alternative was showing as suspended with no current service when we read its route page on 2026-08-17.
Driving & Port Parking
There is no parking at either cruise terminal. The Port states that temporary or overnight parking is not provided at the cruise terminals, and names Metropolis as the operator of cruise parking at 55 Francisco Street and 80 Francisco Street, a little under a half-mile from Pier 27 and slightly closer to Pier 35. Both are prepaid, dated products booked against your ship and sail date rather than drive-up parking. The Impark surface lot physically on Pier 27 is not an option on a sailing day: the operator's listing states that no parking is allowed when a cruise ship is docked.
Book the dated cruise product rather than turning up. The garages close at 7:00pm and their own lot data records that overnight parking is not permitted unless you are a cruise passenger, so the drive-up maximum is not a price you can actually use for a week away. Check the clearance before you set off: 80 Francisco Street posts 6 feet 5 inches, 55 Francisco Street posts 7 feet, and the Port names both garages equally without saying which one you will be assigned — so if you drive something tall, confirm the address with Metropolis rather than the Port. Two stale figures circulate widely and should be ignored: Princess's embarkation PDF still prints $18 a day for Impark, and its file was last modified in 2017.
Cost Comparison
| Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Rideshare & taxi | CostSFMTA's metered taxi rate is $4.15 for the first fifth of a mile, then $0.65 for each additional fifth and $0.65 a minute in waiting or traffic, with up to $1 per piece of luggage that does not fit inside. Rides originating at SFO carry a $6.00 exit surcharge. Uber and Lyft publish no fare estimate for the route, so we quote none. | Best ForArriving with heavy luggage, a group splitting one fare, or any time the transit connection would mean two changes |
| Hotel shuttles & park-and-cruise | CostCrowne Plaza's package includes parking for up to 7 days with additional days at $10; The Dylan's covers up to 10 days at $11 per additional day and adds a $25 transportation credit at checkout. Both read from the hotels' own pages on 2026-08-17. | Best ForDrivers who want the car off their hands for the length of the cruise and do not mind reaching the ship by rail |
| From Oakland International (OAK) | CostBART publishes $13.45 one way from OAK to Embarcadero (Youth and Clipper START $6.70, Senior and Clipper Access $5.00), read 2026-08-17. Driving in, the Bay Bridge toll is $8.50 for a standard two-axle vehicle, or $4.25 for carpools of three or more during carpool hours, and it is collected westbound only — so the trip toward San Francisco is tolled and the trip back is not. | Best ForAnyone who found a better fare or a nonstop into Oakland, and is willing to make one cross-platform change |
| F Market & Wharves streetcar | Cost$2.85 on Clipper, MuniMobile or a contactless card; $3.00 in cash on board, which needs exact change. Either buys 120 minutes of travel. A Day Pass is $5.70, and a 1-Day Visitor Passport $15.00. Seniors 65+ and disabled riders pay $1.40 on Clipper, and riders 18 and under travel free on regular Muni service. Read from sfmta.com on 2026-08-17. | Best ForThe last mile from Embarcadero BART, and for anyone staying downtown or along Market Street |
| Driving & Port Parking | CostMetropolis publishes a drive-up rate of $4.00 per 30 minutes with a $21.60 maximum for the day, alongside a separate flat-rate cruise product sold per sailing. Read from Metropolis's own zone pages on 2026-08-17. The Port publishes no rate of its own and says to confirm with the parking company before the trip. | Best ForDrivers within a few hours of the city who would rather leave the car than fly |
Local Tip
Oakland International is about 20 miles from Pier 27 by road, and roughly 36 to 37 minutes from it by rail. OAK has its own BART station a short walk from both terminals: ride the connector to Coliseum, then take a Blue or Green line train through to Embarcadero. You tap once rather than twice, because BART charges a single through fare — $13.45 one way to Embarcadero, of which $7.95 covers the nine-minute connector leg. Coming back, take a Green or Blue line train to Coliseum and go upstairs to platform 3. From Embarcadero it is the same last mile as from the airport: about a 20 minute walk by the Port's measure, or the F Market streetcar to The Embarcadero/Sansome Street. If you drive instead, budget for the Bay Bridge toll of $8.50 for a standard two-axle vehicle, collected westbound only, so the trip into San Francisco is tolled and the trip back is not. Note that BART publishes no real-time tracking and no timetable PDF for the OAK connector, and that Sunday service does not begin until 8:00am.
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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