USA: San Jose, California
How to get to and from hundreds of the world's airports by car, bus, train and other forms of public transport. Updates and requests for inclusion in these pages are welcomed. Information is from many sources including personal visits and may no longer be accurate.
Legal Disclaimer Last Update 06-Sep-12San Jose - Mineta Intl (SJC):
Location: 5 km/3 Miles NW of the city centre.
Airport Overview: 2 Terminals, A & C, a 10 minute walk apart, or connected by a free shuttle bus. An International arrivals terminal is attached to Terminal A. All terminals are on one level only. Terminal A is for American Airlines, American Eagle, Hawaiian, Mexicana & Southwest. Terminal C is for America West, Continental, Horizon Air, Northwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue & United.
By Road: To San Francisco Airport 61 km/38 Miles.
| By Taxi: | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Taxis can be found outside both terminals. |
| Taxi Meters: | First tenth of a mile $2, then $0.25 for each tenth of a mile thereafter. All trips to or from San Jose airport are subject to an extra $1.50 airport tax. |
| Typical taxi costs: | Cupertino $25-38, Daly City $80-100, Dublin $75-90, Fremont $25-50, Gilroy $70-90, Half Moon Bay $80-90, Hayward $65-75, Livermore $75-85, Los Gatos $29-40, Menlo Park or Morgan Hill $55-65, Millbrae $70-75, Milpitas $18-30, Mountain View $25-35, Oakland Airport $85-95, Palo Alto $40-45, San Francisco Airport $90, San Francisco city center $110-120, San Jose City center $14-20/10-15 mins, Santa Clara $15-30, Santa Cruz $80-95, Saratoga $29-40, Scotts Valley $60-65, Sunnyvale $19-35, Woodside Hills $60-65 & Union City $45-55. |
| Taxi Companies: | Alpha Cab (408) 295 9500, Checker Cab (408) 286 3400 or 777 7777, City Cab 998 3333, Computer Cab 737 1234, Golden Star Cab 573 7777, Milpitas Cab 945 8500, National Cab 298 4374, Rainbow Cab 271 9900, Santa Clara Cab 773 1900, United Taxicab 971 1111, USA Express Cab (866) 441 6300 & Yellow Checker Cab (408) 293 1234. |
| By Bus: | |
|---|---|
| VTA SJC Airport Flyer - Route #10 to train stations: | Bus Stop Locations: Terminal A: Go to baggage claim area 3 & 4, exit the double glass doors. Turn left and walk to the bus shelter marked VTA. Terminal C: Go to the island with the Courtesy Shuttle Shelter across the road from the airport information desk in arrivals. Route: The Airport Flyer makes a continuous loop in both directions between the Metro/Airport Metro Light Rail Station (for light rail to downtown San Jose and beyond), the Santa Clara Caltrain Station (for CalTrain to San Francisco or San Jose), long term parking and the Airport Terminals. Check the front of the bus to make sure you are going in the right direction. The bus will display either 'Santa Clara Caltrain' or 'Metro Light Rail'. Getting on the wrong bus can mean a delay of 20-40 mins. Timings: Runs every 15-20 mins 0449-2359 daily. Travel Time: Takes 10 mins from the CalTrain station to the Terminals. Cost: Free. |
| Santa Cruz Airporter: | Route: San Francisco Airport - San Jose Airport (terminal A & C) - Scotts Valley - Santa Cruz - Capitola - Soquel -Aptos - Watsonville. Timings: Buses leave San Jose Airport heading for Santa Cruz and beyond daily at 1100, 1300, 1500, 1700, 1900 & 2100. Buses leave Santa Cruz every 2 hrs 0730-1730. Cost: To Santa Cruz and beyond $40. To SFO airport $20. Contact: Tel (831) 423 1214 or 1 800 497 4997. Advance reservations recommended. NOTE: Notes from a traveler April 2008: A service with the same name (excluding the term 'bus") was in business but now no longer answers its phones. I scheduled a pickup for my daughter at the S. Jose airport on 4/2/08. The service never showed. The message on their phone and the info at the airport had indicated that they came every 90 minutes. My daughter waited over 3 hours. Finally she took the AAA shuttle for the same amount and less stress. However, the SC Airporter now has billed my VISA twice for the cost of the pickup that never occurred - and I cannot contact them. |
| Monterey Airbus: | Route: San Francisco Airport - San Jose Airport (Terms A, Intl Arrivals & C) - Prunedale Chevron Station - Marina - Monterey Transit Plaza. Note: Passengers traveling from San Jose Airport to SFO airport can only board at Terminal C. Timings: Buses leave San Jose airport heading for Monterey daily at 0730, 0900, 1030, 1200, 1330, 1500, 1630, 1800, 1930, 2100 & 2245. Buses leave Monterey daily at 0400, 0530, 0700, 0830, 1000, 1130, 1300, 1430, 1600, 1730 & 1900. Buses leave Prunedale 30 mins later. Buses leave SFO airport daily at 0645, 0815, 0945, 1115, 1245, 1415, 1545, 1715, 1845, 2015 & 2200. Travel Time: To San Francisco Airport 45 mins, Prunedale 1 hour & Monterey 1:30. Cost: To SFO airport $15, to Monterey $30, to Prunedale $25. Contact: (831) 373 7777. Reservations on this bus are strongly recommended. |
| VTA Bus #44 to North 1st & River Oaks: | Timings: Buses depart from the bus stop opposite terminal A Intl Arrivals Mon-Fri only at 0652, 0740, 0806 & 0840 only. Cost: Adult $1.75, Adult Express $3.50, Youth (5-17) $1.50, Senior (65+) & disabled $0.75. Contact: VTA Customer service Tel (408) 321 2300. |
| By Shuttle Van: | |
|---|---|
| General: | Door to door vans operate in the San Jose area to various cities. Prices below are for the first passenger. The cost for extra passengers traveling to the same address is usually $5. You are guaranteed a maximum wait of 10 mins for the shuttle to depart. |
| Typical Fares: | Alameds $69, Burlingame $55, Castro Valley $69, Colma $65, Cupertino $26, Daly City $65, Dublin $79, Fremont $39, Gilroy $59, Half Moon Bay $79, Livermore $79, Los Gatos $29, Menlo Park $39, Millbrae $55, Monterey $99, Mountain View $26, Oakland Hills $79, Palo Alto $39, Pleasanton $69, Redwood City $39-55, Richmond $99, San Bruno $59, San Francisco Airport $65, San Francisco city $79, San Jose $35-59, San Leandro $59, San Mateo $55, Santa Clara $21, Santa Cruz $69, Saratoga $30, Oakland Airport $75, Woodside Hills $55 & Union City $49. |
| Door to Door Shuttle Companies: | 1 A Best Airport Shuttle 866 333 2378, AAA ABE Express (408) 836 4302, ABC Airporter 1 800 840 0522, Air Link Shuttle (408) 309 0979, Bay Area Shuttle (510) 324 3000, California Airporter Shuttle (510) 638 2660, City Express Shuttle 1 888 8SHUTTLE, Citywide Shuttle Service (510) 336 0090, Classic Airport Shuttle (650) 922 7337, San Jose Express Shuttle (408) 370 0701, The Shuttle 888 978 7379 & VIP Airport Shuttle (408) 885 1800. |
| By Train: | |
|---|---|
| Caltrain to San Francisco, Santa Clara & San Jose: | Trains run from nearby Santa Clara CalTrain station to San Francisco, Millbrae (for San Francisco Airport), San Jose and other points in between. To get to the Caltrain station from the airport, take the free Airport Flyer Bus #10 (see bus section above). The Caltrain station in San Francisco is not conveniently located for the city centre, being at 4th/Townsend. It is best reached by taxi (from Union Square: 10 mins $6-7) or by bus (Buses 15, 30 or 45 from Union Square). Route: San Francisco Caltrain station - 22nd St - Bayshore - South San Francisco - San Bruno - Millbrae (change here for the BART train to San Francisco Airport. $1.50/5 mins) - Burlingame - San Mateo - Hayward Park - Hillsdale - Belmont - San Carlos - Redwood City - Menlo Park - Palo Alto - California Avenue - San Antonio - Mountain View - Sunnyvale - Lawrence - Santa Clara (change here for the free shuttle bus to San Jose Airport) - College Park - San Jose Diridon - Tamien (not all trains). Timings: Trains leave Santa Clara station heading North towards San Francisco & Millbrae Mon-Fri at 0435, 0510, 0602, then every 20-40 mins or so until 1855, 2015, 2115 & 2235. Saturdays at 0705, 0805, then every hour until 2105 & 2235. Sundays at 0805, then every hour until 2105. Trains leave Santa Clara station heading South towards San Jose Mon-Fri at 0617, 0647, 0734, then every 20-40 mins or so until 2042, 2147 & 2322. Saturdays at 0928, then every hour until 2328 & 0129. Sundays at 0129, 0928, then every hour until 2228. Trains leave San Francisco Caltrain station heading South towards Santa Clara & San Jose Mon-Fri at 0455, then every 20-40 mins or so until 1920, 2025, 2200 & 0001. Saturdays at 0800, then every hour until 2200 & 0001. Sundays at 0800, then every hour until 2100. Travel Times: From Santa Clara to San Francisco 1:30, Millbrae 1 hour. San Jose 8 mins. Cost: Fares are on a zonal basis, and tickets must be bought before boarding the train. To Redwood City, Millbrae & Burlingame $5.75, San Bruno $7.50, South San Francisco $6, San Francisco $6. Menlo Park $5.75 & San Jose $4. Day passes are available. Tickets cannot be bought on the train. Contact: Tel 1 800 660 4287 or see www.caltrain.com. |
| VTA Metro Light Rail to San Jose: | To get to the Metro/Airport Light Rail station from the airport, take the free Airport Flyer Bus #10 (see bus section above). Route: Trains run from Metro/Airport all over the San Jose area including the Convention Center, San Jose Diridon (change here for CalTrain or Amtrak trains), Winchester, Santa Teresa, Alum Rock, Downtown Mountain View & Tasman. Timings: Train run from the Metro/Airport station Mon-Fri every 15-30 mins 0442-2356. Weekends every ~30 mins 0508-0022. Travel Times: To San Jose Convention Center 15 mins, San Jose Diridon 22 mins, Winchester 30 mins, Downtown Mountain View 40 mins & Tasman Transfer Station 8 mins. Cost: Adult $1.75, Adult Express $3.50, Youth (5-17) $1.50, Senior (65+) & disabled $0.75. Contact: VTA Customer service Tel (408) 321 2300. |
| Bay Area Rapid Transit Train all over the Bay Area: | BART is a metro train system which runs all over the San Francisco Bay area including downtown San Francisco & Oakland Airport. It is fast, clean and efficient. The nearest BART train station to the airport is Fremont, some 21 km/13 Miles North. It is reached by taking the free Airport Flyer Bus #10 (see bus section above) to the Metro Light Rail station, then taking the light rail to Civic Center. Cross the street here and take Express bus #180 to Fremont BART (30 mins). The most useful station for downtown San Francisco (city center) is Powell St. Tickets must be bought from a machine in the station. Contact: Tel 1 800 676 1611 or (650) 992 2278. |
| Rental Cars: | |
|---|---|
| Airport Rental Car Providers: | Most majors are located at the rental car center. This cannot be reached by walking: rental car shuttles run every 10-11 minutes 0500-midnight, and take 5 mins to reach the center. Outside these times, call x3661 from a white courtesy phone. There are 2 different rental car buildings in the center, each with different companies inside. The bus calls at both buildings, which are a 3 minute walk apart. Building 1 is for AVIS, HERTZ, and off airport rental car companies. Building 2 is for ALAMO/National, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, PAYLESS, Thrifty & FOX. |
Airport to Airport: To San Francisco Airport: By Bus: Santa Cruz Airporter (see bus section above, $20), South Bay Flyer Bus 31 (888 463 5937) & Monterey/Salinas Airbus (see bus section above). By Train: Take the free shuttle bus to Santa Clara CalTrain station, then use CalTrain to Millbrae. From there take the BART train to SFO terminals. Total time ~75 mins. By Taxi: Taxi $90-124.
Car Parking: Short Term: Opposite each airport terminal: $1 per 20 mins, $30 daily maximum. Long Term: On Martin avenue and reached by the Airport Flyer Bus or parking shuttles: $1 per 20 mins, $15 daily maximum. Contact: (408) 277 4SKY. Off Airport Parking: De La Cruz Parking, (408) 988 3403, offers parking from $10 per day. Park N Travel Airport Parking (408) 971 3010. Park Shuttle & Fly 295 5300.
Airport Hotels: The following hotels offer shuttles to the airport for guests: Executive Inn Airport (408) 453 1100, Holiday Inn (408) 793 3300, Best Western Gateway Inn (408) 435 8800, Clarion Hotel San Jose Airport 1 800 453 5340, Courtyard Marriott (408) 441 6111, Crowne Plaza (408) 321 9500, Doubletree Hotel (408) 453 4000, Fairfield Inn (408) 453 3133.
Notes: ATM/Cash machines in both terminals A & C. Information desks in both terminals. Baggage Carts are available for rent from machines at $3 each.
Airport Website: www.sjc.org
Airport Tel No: +1 408 277 4SKY.
Updated Apr10 D Gradwohl. Last Visit May07
