I flew into OAK when I visited San Francisco because flights were cheaper. Took the BART into SF and it was surprisingly quick and convenient. The trip planning feature on the Clipper app was very useful for a tourist such as myself. Thanks for this video! I had a great time and would love to come back again.
Last time I did the "OAK because it was cheaper" route the BART extension didn't exist as it is now, they had a bus bridge, but this was also well before Clipper cards too and they were like "It cost $2 and you need exact change" luckily for me and my girlfriend coming into OAK at 11pm I had a $5 bill and only had to overpay by a dollar.
@@AdamDoesNotExist A family member just flew out of Oakland and into Oakland. Less ...way less people. It was more calm and less busy. I have another friend that prefers Oakland airport as well due to it being less busy. Less people. It's easy to pull up to drop off passengers too. Not congested like San Francisco airport is. I am sure you heard but the In N Out closed right near the Oakland airport due to high crimes. I trust the airport more then the other places around it. Have you ever checked out the San Jose airport too? That's another one you missed it. I wonder how it compares to Oakland and San Fransisco. You also have Sacramento airport as well, but that's not bay area. Bay area would include San Jose airport.
@@boohere2 San Jose's airport is busier than Oakland, and it's probably nicer than Oakland's to wait for a flight - but you're at the far south end of the Bay Area and it stands on its own. I've done the San Francisco - San Jose airport trip; it's long and not terribly fun. You either take the 60 bus to Milpitas BART and head north, or take the 60 bus to Santa Clara Caltrain station and take Caltrain north. Caltrain is the more interesting route but 4th and King is on the opposite side of a lot of the city from a tourist perspective, plus there are no fast trains on weekends and (most) holidays.
You forgot to mention that if you had caught that initial BART train, your SFO time would have been -5 minutes, but even then Oakland would have beat it. I was not expecting that result either. Good video.
Only just barely and part of that is due to him getting lucky that the very next train at Embarcadero station was one that could take him to OAK. Pretty much a wash
There's also the drive time difference. SFO is quicker to get to than OAK because the bay bridge traffic is horrible just about any time of the day, but especially 6am to 11am and 3pm to 8pm. I've flown in and out of both, I only fly SFO because on the west side of the city, it's a 14 minute drive to SFO vs 45 minutes to over an hour for OAK. The same can be said if your renting a car, SFO is faster (and safer).
The reason that SFO costs so much is because there was a proposition that won that legally mandated BART go into SFO, and then after that the city of San Francisco said they have to pay 1 million dollars a year for the next 50 years to be in SFO. So that's why, they were held hostage into that deal.
Wow! I knew you were in The Bay but it honestly never crossed my mind that you might comment on one of my videos. Thank you! Perhaps our paths will cross one day!
Things you didn't mention is that Oakland being a smaller airport, it's a lot easier to get around it for gate changes and layovers. The security line is shorter/quicker (imo), and it's just all round less stressful to fly out of. I do understand why they want to change the name though. Many people from other areas hear the word "Oakland" and have a knee jerk reaction. The name makes people afraid.
Oakland has the highest robbery rate in ALL OF THE U.S. To any tourists, look up East Oakland crime. Daylight robberies even occur at Lake Merritt and home invasions in the rich parts called Oakland Hills.
Glad to see that San Francisco is still there. And you have your seal tap calibration technique nailed down. Don't forget the USS Pampanito submarine on Pier 45! I worked on that boat back in the day, you're making me miss SF a little bit more. I love the edits where you suddenly appear in frame. I think it works. Watched this with a big smirk on my face feeling a little nostalgic, a little cynical, and a little grateful for seeing the world and knowing the bay are is still a little part of me.
you should also add that oak is easier to get out of if you don't have checked luggage because it takes freaking forever. i honestly give an etra half hour from landing just to pick up luggage and that is perfectly realistic.
Ironically you walked right past the ferry terminal - the one that has a near direct ferry to The Oakland airport… much faster, cheaper and with an awesome view of the city.
@@kjhuang Neither was I, but it looks like you can go to Harbor Bay by ferry and then take the 21 bus. Quite interesting, but only available on non-holiday weekdays.
@@mikeschumacher I had never heard of any of that and I had to look it up. It is interesting, but if the ferry terminal isn't walking distance from the airport terminal and you have to take a bus to get there, I wouldn't count that as an option for service for OAK.
Fascinating video, Adam! Only been to SF once and I had a good time since it was for a friend's show. But I stayed in the Tenderloin which was so-so. I never knew homelessness was that bad, but that was in 2016. I just found your channel, but have binged all of them. Love your out of the box topics and talking to us. So fascinating. I have even shared them with friends who have moved from SF. And I love that you enjoy baseball too. As a Boston fan, I love seeing true passionate fans. If you ever come by Fenway, would love to say hi
Well glad to have you here! The tenderloin can be rough, but it does have some legendary places. And as a Yankees fan, you and I have a bit of a rivalry. But if you're a sports fan from Boston, you must root for the Red Sox, and I respect you for it!
@@AdamDoesNotExist I appreciate the like & comment. And yes, born and raised and still live in Boston. Sox/Yanks fans can respectfully get along. I have lots of respect and family who live in NY. I'd personally love to see the A's stay in Oakland too. That was the video of yours that popped up for me. But yes, it was a crazy time going to SF then, but back then I didn't plan or research much, so it was a culture shock. It was cool to be out in SF and around things I had only seen on TV/movies like Full House or Mrs. Doubtfire. I just wish I did more landmarks like in your video. If I go again, I'd definitely do it. Keep up the great work!
@@matttoy617 Thank you! I grew up on the east coast and can absolutely relate to the culture shock. The west coast and SF especially are just so different in so many ways.
@@AdamDoesNotExist Politicians and city leaders: Sorry! best we can do is have some promise of working infrastructure for tourists during the Olympics and dismantle it afterwards citing "lack of interest" after we cut back the number of routes and limit them running from 10am to 5pm! (Ignore our pockets lined by money from auto and oil industries)
God, dude, you put so much effort into these videos. Only having 12.7k subscribers is criminal. I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life, and seeing you do these videos is always a ton of fun. Hope to see your channel grow in size, because you definitely deserve it.
In 1994 I was flying from Philadelphia to SFO where my rental car was waiting. The red-eye flight in Philly got delayed for more than 2 hours and it got re-routed to Oakland via a layover in Vegas. When I finally landed (about 3:30 am PDT) I was informed that since my rental and an entire busload of other folks was at SFO that the airline would be busing us over to SFO. I got to see a carjacking on the way out of Oakland that delayed us for another hour and when I finally got to the Alamo rental car counter just as the sun was rising the agent at the counter asked why I didn't just get my rental in Oakland. There are so many stories I can tell about that pleasant (dripping with sarcasm) trip from Philly to San Francisco from the flight attendant trying to deny me my seat on the connecting flight to Oakland from Vegas to the rep from America's West Airlines in Philly trying to explain why the plane we were going to take to the West Coast was somehow in Dayton, OH at our scheduled time of departure to the guy in Philly demanding a first class upgrade only to be told that America West didn't have a first class section and on and on.
1) Yes SFO is not in SF proper, but SF did buy the land in San Mateo County, so technicality points maybe? 2) I would have taken BART to the Embarcadaro station and just taken the F line to Fisherman's Wharf, although Google maps can often let you know of where the Muni buses are and get you there quicker. 3) Slight correction it's not that BART charges you more at the airports is that the cities (SF & Oakland) charge you more for the airport, that's main reason why Oakland is doing this, more traffic means more money in their pocket. This doesn't just apply to BART, any taxi, uber or shuttle bus has to pay the toll to leave the airport. 4) A fairer competition is airport to BART station, the SAME BART station, which are surprisingly close, although SFO may have the edge in the long run, because the yellow line runs every 10 minutes, while all the rest run ever 20 minutes, so unless you get to the stations right as the train gets there, the yellow line might edge out the blue or green lines.
Lotta love for the F line, and it is really great. But I watched it pull up after I had already tapped the seal. I thought about doing this to the same bart station, but no tourist really does that. And tourists are the people that might be thrown off by the name change.
The City and County of San Francisco own the land SFO is on, in the sense of property ownership, rather than within city limits. It's still legally part of San Mateo County. They also operate the airport. It isn't uncommon for cities to own property outside their legal boundaries. For example, San Francisco also owns approximately 66,000 acres of watershed land in Alameda and San Mateo Counties and the Sierra Nevada, which it uses to supply water to the city.
@@Token_Nerd Perhaps, all lines used to be 15min, but then the loss of ridership after the pandemic swapped all but the yellow to 20min. Ridership needs to get very high for all lines to go to 10min.
@@Mike__B They're still implementing CBTC. Trains were running at 15 minutes because that's all they could allow through the Oakland Wye. 10 minute service is still the planned expansion, although it will likely require additional funding that will come with a ballot measure next year.
Great video! In the old pre-app days, MUNI drivers didn't want to be bothered with your trying to put the full fare in using bills. Shove in a dollar, sit your ass down and you're good. Loved it. Great shot of the streetcar. And kudos for going around in a BART cap. Hysterical.
Love your videos! Just one small point about the transit time there. For those of us that live here, if I take an Uber or drive to the airport I can get from downtown SF to SFO in about 20 mins outside of rush-hour. Between the bridge tolls and east bay highway traffic the trip is much longer to OAK. SFO is always the winner for me 😊
Nice summary for visitors and NorCal folks alike. For what it's worth, OAK's re-branding pales in comparison to the so-called "Paris-Beauvais" Airport; the 50-ish mile commute to or from the city center takes about 2 hours whether driving or using public transportation. That's only a little better than my typical journey to SFO from Sacramento, where downtown to Richmond station via Amtrak plus there to SFO via BART is a little under 3 hours.
As someone living in Sonoma County, I'm doing the SMART > Ferry > BART > SFO to catch a flight. Not the fastest way to SFO but certainly the most scenic, enjoyable and budget-friendly.
Hi Adam, I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your channel. I love your content style, and your personality. It’s very neat how you highlight lots of different-yet-similar things in your videos. Keep up the great work
I did that once. At night too. It was... an interesting experience... Let's just say, if you have the money (and or have other travelers with you, and/or are a woman, and/or are from out of town, and/or are generally not adapted to sketchy urban living), the 5 dollar upcharge might actually be worth it.
Adam! I'm a big fan of your videos. I'm born and raised in San Jose. But I commute all over the bay for my job, and I'm usually in SF every weekend! I love seeing familiar spots in your videos. Cheers.
Yes and No. It is probably more confusing once they leave the city, and are trying to find the airport. But it is also less confusing if you just want to find a flight to San Francisco
I think it's going to be less confusing than some are making it out to be. They're still SFO and OAK and that's what's going to be all over tickets and luggage. "Oakland International" is still in the name. etc. Tokyo has Tokyo International (Haneda - HND) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT). Paris has Paris-De Gaulle and Paris-Orly. I'm sure there are many examples of large cities with multiple international airports each using the primary city's name.
@@jemenfiche Good think you've brought up Paris, because there you can find of of the worst examples of this action. Paris-Beauvais Airport, which is closer to the belgian border than Paris. OAK is just as close to downtown SF than SFO, so labeling it as SF airport is fine. As for IATA codes, many airports through the world do not reflect the initials of the city they belong to.
@@HelloOnepiece I mean Beauvais isn't meant to serve the vast majority of tourists... it's probably more suited for folks living just north of Paris in the suburbs like Saint Denis etc. In which case, it's probably simpler and just as fast of a commute as OAK to SFO.
The re-naming makes sense from a marketing and awareness standpoint. Same reason Paine Field rebranded itself "Seattle Paine Field." I also wish Burbank and maybe even Long Beach also consider adding "Los Angeles" to their branding strategy for the same reasons. Think of all the potential inbound international (and also domestic) airfare searches that wouldn't have thought of Oakland or Burbank in their criteria when trying to get a price quote for SF or LA, respectively. Not all travel sites have the "alternate airports" feature. - Red
Sure, it makes sense, but there's a lot of concern that's it's going to confuse people. I accidentally flew in Milan Bergamot one time, and it was quite a hassle.
I think that you'd be faster from SFO if you just took the F there too. the F streetcars don't seem fast, but they are much faster than the busses through Chinatown and North Beach! the F line streetcars have a completely dedicated right of way on Market street and on Embarcadero all the way to Fisherman's Wharf. And the signals are actually timed to the streetcars. It's basically light rail, but with vintage PCC streecars! So there is no way for the busses on busy city streets to beat them, even if Muni's optimistic schedules say otherwise.
That's what I thought too. And you know I'll choose rails over wheels any day. But the bus got there on time. So did the F, a few minutes after I tapped the Seal.
That's exactly what I've done. (I live in NYC and grew up in the Bay Area. I just went to Fisherman's Wharf for the first time in years last year.) First I spend too much money/use the restroom at the Ferry Building, then I get an F. :)
@@beetpulse Lol, on the Ferry Building pit stop. I do that too, including the spending too much money part! two dolce de leche empandas from El Poreno, a ham and cheese croissant from Acme, and Blue Bottle coffee is my Ferry Building minimum! 😁
@@AdamDoesNotExist You also should've gotten off the F train at the Ferry Building and walked over to the Embarcadero BART station to save yourself some time. They often change drivers when they reach the stop after the Ferry Building, which can sometimes take what feels like forever. ;-)
@@jodajale8620Yep! I do this too. Always faster. Although, if you're coming from the airport with luggage you can minimize your walking drastically if you get off via the right BARt escalator. the F line stop is like 10 ft away from the stairs!
Great job on the video. As a tourist I'd say SFO is the better option because areas close to the airport are safer. For example San Bruno. And SFO is overall just a super enjoyable airport with its Sky Terrace for viewing of planes (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Its aviation museum is very cool too. And as you mentioned the BART station is so close to the customs exit point, and so close to International check-in.
7:02 I've been meaning to ask, what song is this?? The sax sound SO good. Gotta be the best royalty free song I've ever heard lol Also, Fisherman's Wharf was the first place I visited in SF too when I moved to south Bay a couple years ago :> Was it also your first time being so close to the water?
It's hjortron by bomull. Got it from epidemic sound. That's not an endorsement but they do have some nice tracks, that are a bit different than the RUclips audio library. The Wharf is a classic first destination. Certainly my first visit to a place like that!
I remember when the BART didn't connect to either airport, but OAK was much quicker because it was a quick bus ride to the nearest BART station to take you into downtown and SFO was quite a bit farther out. It was also cheaper to fly into Oakland too.
Hard to compare, apples and oranges. Both have more than adequate access to SF city center, a tossup depending specifically where you're going. SFO has more flights, especially international and nonstops to the East Coast. It's also plagued with massive weather delays stretching into hours and hours. Oakland has almost no weather delays of any kind, and is a better choice for nonstops to the western US, with adequate connectivity to the East Coast. The absolute thing to avoid is a connection thru SFO when SF isn't your destination, pick a non-stop or a connection over a different hub
I just got back from San Francisco to my home in SoCal. My first visit to SF was very annoying because I didn't do my research on the transit systems. Now that I did, and I learned about Muni's passes, I found it WAY more enjoyable and I never once touched my car to get around. If it wasn't for the fact I was travelling with my partner, I'd have brought my skateboard with me to make connections and general roaming way faster. I might go back next month and keep BART in mind since I don't plan on driving (Spending 8 hours on the road is torture when you have to take I-5 lol)
FYI - you can also get from the San Jose airport to Fisherman Wharf by either BART (East Bay) or Caltrain but it is not as well documented. Also the trip AI you used missed some much better routes. From SFO take BART to embarcadero then catch the trolies upstairs.
Getting to SJC via transit is a real pain though since none of the rail transit systems connect to it, even the new BART extension won’t be stopping there which is nuts to me. On top of that the Caltrain moves at a glacial pace all the way down the peninsula since there’s so many stops and only a few limited-stop trains. So yeah I’d say SJC really isn’t suitable unless you live close enough on the South Bay to take a cheap Uber or have a friend drop you off, otherwise you’re gonna have a real bad time getting to the airport compared to SFO or OAK
@@jimpad5608 I just looked at a VTA map and SJC is not directly served by VTA light rail. Bus 60 is required to get to the Green and Blue Lines on 1st Street (and it doesn't even look like there's a direct connection there).
SFO any day for me, I live right by Balboa Park/Daly City. 15 min ride on Bart, and one bus or light rail ride from either station The city's public transit is absolute fire
Adam from my knowledge, the BART station at SFO and Oakland Airport was built and owned by a private consortium where you have to pay a station access fee to pay for the construction and maintenance of the airport station facilities for the benefit of the city.
i still think the airports should invest in a new transbay tube to create a MEGA airport. SFO could have west and east terminals/gates. you can get from one side of the bay to the other in 15 minutes
Going to be hard. Lots of protests over preserving the bay waters and habitat will entail… plus the added costs passed onto passengers. SFO already has pretty high airport fees which is why other airports in the bay are getting some traffic
I love OAK. I travel from the City to the San Fernando Valley pretty frequently, and Southwest OAK -> BUR is cheap, easily available, and avoids the traffic problems inherent with going to or from LAX or SFO. Plus it's pretty easy to fly in and out of there with a pet in tow.
Alameda here. Really interesting test. I'm obviously biased towards OAK, but I always wonder what I should tell folks coming in to visit both me and the city. This was a really insightful look at the realities. Thank you!
I'm an SF local and I'm surprised that SFO is considered hard to travel by car, as you mentioned it's right next to the main highway out of SF. It should be about 35-40 minute drive from SFO to Fisherman's Wharf. I personally always take Uber to SFO and back, it's just faster and doesn't cost that much more with the high airport BART fee. The Uber drivers are locals so they know how to navigate the airport. The only issue with driving/Uber is dealing with traffic during rush hour, but you'd have same problem traveling to OAK from SF.
I've lived in the SF Bay Area since '93, so I've seen ALL the changes. I live in Berkeley now, and I've previously lived in Oakland for about 9 years, and SF for about 7, back in the late 90s through early aughts. Unless I'm flying internationally, OAK is my airport, period. It's just so much easier at any time of day, and there's even a car share option if I don't want to deal with BART, but honestly the BART ride from my place (I'm 1/2 mile from a station) is super easy.
A few things to note. 1.) Starting from the international terminal is probably not the most common starting point for someone deciding between SFO and OAK. There are very few international flights going into OAK. Most of it is budget domestic airlines. A better comparison would be starting at SFO terminal 1 baggage claim. In which case you need to tack on additional time for the air train to Bart. 2.) Although it would have been less appealing for the views, the San Francisco destination should have just been the Montgomery or Embarcadero Bart station. After getting there, the transit time has nothing to do with what airport you started from. 3.) If you are flying to the bay area on a domestic flight for anything other than going to San Francisco, OAK and SJC are almost certainly better options. 4.) Saying that the Oakland Airport renamed its self the San Francisco airport is disingenuous and something I have seen a lot of bay area publications put in their headlines for views and to get people riled up. They all like to conveniently leave the word bay out of the title, and you are guilty of the same. There is a difference between the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay. In fact, the Bay held the name San Francisco more than 100 years before the city claimed that title. San Francisco bay belongs to all of the Bay Area, not just the City of San Francisco. The Oakland Port Authority is well within its right to capitalize on the name recognition of the bay. And when it comes to worries of confusing tourists, as you have proven yourself, getting to the City of San Francisco is just as fast if not faster from OAK. If that is the case, I would argue that it is more informative than confusing, as it leads people to consider a new option that may actually be more convenient for them. All that being said, thank you for your video drawing more attention to this great area. All the hate of OAK changing its name is unfounded. Anything that can help increase tourism in the bay should be welcomed by all. I personally fly out of SFO, but not because it is more convenient, it certainly isn't. I fly out of SFO because I fly international a lot and my preferred airline does not fly out of OAK.
For most travelers, OAK is basically just Southwest at this point… they are over 80% of the traffic. That said, budget international flights (almost entirely to/from Mexico) are a growing part of the traffic at Oakland.
From SFO T1, it's competitive with the airtrain to walk to International A then across the international lobby to the G side where the BART station is connected directly. This takes about 8min but I can understand why someone with a lot of bags would prefer taking slightly longer on airtrain.
Your point #4 is what I have been trying tell the people this whole time. If SF doesn't want anyone to use the SF bay name, then rename the bay to something else.
its criminal that you've still never been to the exploratorium. i just went this week for the first time since my childhood, i recommend the 18+ nights so you don't have to feel like an obnoxious adult haha
You went to Pier 39, not Fisherman’s Wharf. If you want to go to the Wharf, you take the 30 Stockton. Your other alternative is take BART to Powell and take the Powell/Mason Cable Car over the hill, which ends pretty much right in-between Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39.
I feel like I choose SFO every time because its just an amazing airport. Security and immigration are friendly & easy, nice terminals, etc. Also I can easily take bart/caltrain south to home.
Great video! The Oakland Airport should really be seen as like the Burbank Airport of the Bay Area... A quieter municipal/regional airport that as long as you aren't leaving North America is a great option... YEG-BUR was a popular option with Flair here in Canada until it switched airports and then dropped off the map because Westjet already upped their flights to daily from 3X/week and offered the same price tickets with more amenities and leg room.
The only downside I found with BART was that it may not operate as early (or late) as your flights....I had an early Sunday morning flight out of SFO and that meant taking a cab all the way from Powell Street. I love me some San Francisco though. Even went to Oakland just to check out the Coliseum before it turns out the lights for good.
Bruv, that feeling of watching the BART pull away from you at SFO, too real… also BART as “almost always on time” is very very funny but i assume you don’t usually have to take the Red line
9:48 wtf i didn't know this...was just planning a trip out of OAK (cheaper than SJC) for October and was gonna take BART to and from...good to know. Kinda tho slimy tbh
It's really frustrating. There may be some legitimate reasons like higher cost of operating at an airport, etc. But you can getting off in Millbrae, one station past BART is less expensive than getting off at SFO. So they charge more... because they can.
I live in the Portola district in SF (which is on the southern edge of the city) and when coming home from a flight at SFO, ride share works best for me. I’m very familiar with SFO so after landing I can typically get home in about 40 minutes.
I remember taking the OAK connector one time with my brother and dad to go tour UC Berkeley and go to a curling class (yes, this is very random). The airport was very nice.
@@AdamDoesNotExist I know exactly what you're talking about, they're very good. If you do go, I suggest stretching your legs before hand as I developed some pretty bad muscle cramps after the first couple of sessions
Hey. Good comparison video. But Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 are two completely different places. And driving I think would have been considerably quicker. Should do that video too. Of course time of day makes all the difference.
Hey there! I'm a North San Jose guy and I don't really use Mineta at all to be honest. SFO has way more flights. I've never been to Oakland, but from what I heard, it doesn't sound very good. I definitely agree with you on this one.
Lol; as a native: depends on the time of day and method of travel. BART, SFO is probably faster just because the connector between OAK and the BART system adds some time. Morning rush hour traffic, SFO to SF is faster. Night rush hour, OAK to SF is probably faster.
Haha thank you! That might be tough considering I do criticize them in the same video. But I love BART and I've gotta tell the truth both good and bad.
Yep, that streetcar has fully grade separated lanes and timed traffic signals. It's always faster than the busses no matter what Muni's imaginary bus schedules say!
From Marin (North across the GG Gate), OAK is so much more convenient. While having to drive there, unless there is a backup on I-80, it's easy to get in and out of OAK. There are fewer transportation alternatives for getting to and from OAK. Once, when our son was coming home from So. Cal., there was a huge backup on I-80. He just jumped on a BART train and came to a station in Berkeley where my wife picked him up. If you need long-term parking there are lots of places available although most are outside of the airport proper. Of course, there is parking onsite. The downside is the fewer available flight destinations from OAK. But, if I have a choice it's always OAK!
Good to know! I dream of one day living in Marin. So beautiful up there! There is a "Marin Airporter" bus that goes to SFO, but I don't know much about it.
Say what you want about Charlotte Douglas, but as a local, even with our significantly less robust transit system, I can get from our downtown to the airport in 30 minutes or less. Even biking would take 42 mins. I’m not using this to knock San Francisco or anyone’s city, but I do aim to say that if you have an airport within your city limits, and close to your CBD, treasure that. As someone who’s been to Denver a number of times, it would’ve been amazing if Stapleton Airport had managed to remain so close to downtown.
Thank the stars I live in Solano County so I have the choice of flying out of Sac or Oakland. I rarely fly out of SFO because it's a pain to get to, long-term is *really* expensive, and the Bay Bridge is a *PITA* during rush hour(s) or ball games. Yes, the Hegenberger retail corridor sucks, what's left of it, but I just use 98th to get to 880 (or 580 to 13 to 24 if I want to go thru Concord). If I want to get something to eat, well, that's what Alameda is for :) Sacramento is even easier to get to from here; generally no more than 1 hour, no bridge tolls and 101 traffic to have to deal with.
I don't live in the Bay at the moment, but down here in Los Angeles, public transit is capped at 1.75. I can get from Burbank airport to my apartment in central LA for 1.75. Same distance on BART from OAK costs triple. It's wild how expensive it is now
People keep trying to pretend that BART is a subway. It's not one. It's regional rail more similar to the LIRR in NYC and Metra in Chicago. BARt takes you between three major cities over distances that are more often seen on national railroads in midsized European countries! It physically can't cost as little as a subway/metro system. It's just not that type of system. BART is half as expensive as Caltrain for the same distances and 1/3 the price of the Capitol Corridor on the stretches where they compete directly.
1 hour from SFO to fisherman wharf is awesome! As a planner, I love what you did. Truly exemplify the beauty of Transit. Born and raised in Oakland (International Blvd brat), I say avoid Oakland for now...
We live in Sacramento but take flights from SFO, OAK or SJC just as often due to the lack of direct flights from SMF. I’d rather drive 2 hours for a direct flight than to risk missing connections / bags on a SMF flight.
I've always wondered that. But your destination is pretty remote in the city. Probably half the time on the SFO trip was taking the bus through congested downtown, chinatown, and north beach and the OAK trip taking the streetcar. The street car is nice but it's not meant to be fast. I would nave liked to see the BART only times compared from the same downtown SF station. You used two different stations. Montgomery or Powell Station for SFO and Embacadero Station for OAK. Which if you're going to Oakland is 1 or 2 stops closer to your destination and cut 6 mins. or so off your OAK time. From say Embarcadero Station, I bet the BART time to OAK may be shorter than to SFO. It speeds under the bay and has fewer stops. But the bay tunnel does take a while to get through. So, I don't know. Could still be close.
You can just check the BART schedules to compare times to the same station. Powell would make sense given it's proximity to Union Square. But Fisherman's Wharf was my first stop, so that's where I went!
I'd love to see what the actual time is from San Jose Mineta Airport (SJC) to Pier 39. Given the new Caltrain improvements I think the general time should be around 1:30-ish, which isn't much longer than SFO/OAK crazy enough.
9:31 He REALLY said paying was optional I’m dead 😭dawg you’re not suppose to make it a tourist recommendation🤣
Fr it's a locals only deal, kinda like library cards
Irony is every once in blue moon they will have 50% off the BART fares. They know its a rip-off. Unless you are traveling alone its more than an Uber.
BRING BACK THE TURNSTILES
I am appalled that you've never been to the exploratorium.
Imagine how I feel!
was just about to comment this - legit the best museum in the history of the world (other contender is Cal Academy)
@@AdamDoesNotExistgoing on after dark nights when there's no kids is a huge play would recommend
@@watobatoI know he should go on Thursday night !! The adult night he’d love it !’
I work there if you want to visit!
I flew into OAK when I visited San Francisco because flights were cheaper. Took the BART into SF and it was surprisingly quick and convenient. The trip planning feature on the Clipper app was very useful for a tourist such as myself. Thanks for this video! I had a great time and would love to come back again.
Thanks for sharing! Love to hear it!
Last time I did the "OAK because it was cheaper" route the BART extension didn't exist as it is now, they had a bus bridge, but this was also well before Clipper cards too and they were like "It cost $2 and you need exact change" luckily for me and my girlfriend coming into OAK at 11pm I had a $5 bill and only had to overpay by a dollar.
@@AdamDoesNotExist A family member just flew out of Oakland and into Oakland. Less ...way less people. It was more calm and less busy. I have another friend that prefers Oakland airport as well due to it being less busy. Less people. It's easy to pull up to drop off passengers too. Not congested like San Francisco airport is. I am sure you heard but the In N Out closed right near the Oakland airport due to high crimes. I trust the airport more then the other places around it. Have you ever checked out the San Jose airport too? That's another one you missed it. I wonder how it compares to Oakland and San Fransisco. You also have Sacramento airport as well, but that's not bay area. Bay area would include San Jose airport.
@@boohere2getting from San Jose airport to Fisherman's Wharf entirely by public transportation will be relatively long and hellish.
@@boohere2 San Jose's airport is busier than Oakland, and it's probably nicer than Oakland's to wait for a flight - but you're at the far south end of the Bay Area and it stands on its own.
I've done the San Francisco - San Jose airport trip; it's long and not terribly fun. You either take the 60 bus to Milpitas BART and head north, or take the 60 bus to Santa Clara Caltrain station and take Caltrain north. Caltrain is the more interesting route but 4th and King is on the opposite side of a lot of the city from a tourist perspective, plus there are no fast trains on weekends and (most) holidays.
You forgot to mention that if you had caught that initial BART train, your SFO time would have been -5 minutes, but even then Oakland would have beat it. I was not expecting that result either. Good video.
Only just barely and part of that is due to him getting lucky that the very next train at Embarcadero station was one that could take him to OAK. Pretty much a wash
There's also the drive time difference. SFO is quicker to get to than OAK because the bay bridge traffic is horrible just about any time of the day, but especially 6am to 11am and 3pm to 8pm. I've flown in and out of both, I only fly SFO because on the west side of the city, it's a 14 minute drive to SFO vs 45 minutes to over an hour for OAK. The same can be said if your renting a car, SFO is faster (and safer).
@@heyaisdabomb
Hello!
We are talking about taking BART not driving
The reason that SFO costs so much is because there was a proposition that won that legally mandated BART go into SFO, and then after that the city of San Francisco said they have to pay 1 million dollars a year for the next 50 years to be in SFO. So that's why, they were held hostage into that deal.
Great video ideas recently, thanks for putting this together! From a fellow SF-er
Wow! I knew you were in The Bay but it honestly never crossed my mind that you might comment on one of my videos. Thank you! Perhaps our paths will cross one day!
Things you didn't mention is that Oakland being a smaller airport, it's a lot easier to get around it for gate changes and layovers. The security line is shorter/quicker (imo), and it's just all round less stressful to fly out of. I do understand why they want to change the name though. Many people from other areas hear the word "Oakland" and have a knee jerk reaction. The name makes people afraid.
Oakland has the highest robbery rate in ALL OF THE U.S. To any tourists, look up East Oakland crime.
Daylight robberies even occur at Lake Merritt and home invasions in the rich parts called Oakland Hills.
SFO is very often cheaper for international flights.
Okalandistan, my guy... if you've ever been near that oakland airport you know it's sketcy AF.
@LostandFurious when I returned at 11 to my car in an off airport lot... I could hear gun shots...
@LostandFurious but it is darn cheap for parking. I parked my car for 9 days for $100 including taxes/fees off site
Glad to see that San Francisco is still there. And you have your seal tap calibration technique nailed down. Don't forget the USS Pampanito submarine on Pier 45! I worked on that boat back in the day, you're making me miss SF a little bit more. I love the edits where you suddenly appear in frame. I think it works. Watched this with a big smirk on my face feeling a little nostalgic, a little cynical, and a little grateful for seeing the world and knowing the bay are is still a little part of me.
I actually remember the last time you mentioned appearing in frame. It's just fun to edit like that. Glad you liked this one!
The consistent upload schedule is amazing and each video idea is phenomenal for people either commuting in the bay or love to see the sights.
Thank you! This one was tough to get out because of some travel but I'm trying to keep them coming!
you should also add that oak is easier to get out of if you don't have checked luggage because it takes freaking forever. i honestly give an etra half hour from landing just to pick up luggage and that is perfectly realistic.
Ironically you walked right past the ferry terminal - the one that has a near direct ferry to The Oakland airport… much faster, cheaper and with an awesome view of the city.
Haha I always forget about the ferries! Mostly useful for commuters, but the OAK connection is definitely helpful too
Wait, how? Which ferry terminal stop on the Oakland side do you use? Harbor Bay is weekday only.
I'm not aware of any ferry that goes to OAK.
@@kjhuang Neither was I, but it looks like you can go to Harbor Bay by ferry and then take the 21 bus. Quite interesting, but only available on non-holiday weekdays.
@@mikeschumacher I had never heard of any of that and I had to look it up. It is interesting, but if the ferry terminal isn't walking distance from the airport terminal and you have to take a bus to get there, I wouldn't count that as an option for service for OAK.
Fascinating video, Adam! Only been to SF once and I had a good time since it was for a friend's show. But I stayed in the Tenderloin which was so-so. I never knew homelessness was that bad, but that was in 2016. I just found your channel, but have binged all of them. Love your out of the box topics and talking to us. So fascinating. I have even shared them with friends who have moved from SF. And I love that you enjoy baseball too. As a Boston fan, I love seeing true passionate fans. If you ever come by Fenway, would love to say hi
Well glad to have you here! The tenderloin can be rough, but it does have some legendary places. And as a Yankees fan, you and I have a bit of a rivalry. But if you're a sports fan from Boston, you must root for the Red Sox, and I respect you for it!
@@AdamDoesNotExist I appreciate the like & comment. And yes, born and raised and still live in Boston. Sox/Yanks fans can respectfully get along. I have lots of respect and family who live in NY. I'd personally love to see the A's stay in Oakland too. That was the video of yours that popped up for me. But yes, it was a crazy time going to SF then, but back then I didn't plan or research much, so it was a culture shock. It was cool to be out in SF and around things I had only seen on TV/movies like Full House or Mrs. Doubtfire. I just wish I did more landmarks like in your video. If I go again, I'd definitely do it. Keep up the great work!
@@matttoy617 Thank you! I grew up on the east coast and can absolutely relate to the culture shock. The west coast and SF especially are just so different in so many ways.
This channel has really been addictive! Wish we had streetcars like the olden days here in LA! Love SF!
Thank you! Maybe you'll get some for the Olympics!? You never know!
@@AdamDoesNotExist Politicians and city leaders: Sorry! best we can do is have some promise of working infrastructure for tourists during the Olympics and dismantle it afterwards citing "lack of interest" after we cut back the number of routes and limit them running from 10am to 5pm! (Ignore our pockets lined by money from auto and oil industries)
God, dude, you put so much effort into these videos. Only having 12.7k subscribers is criminal. I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life, and seeing you do these videos is always a ton of fun. Hope to see your channel grow in size, because you definitely deserve it.
Thank you! That means a lot!!
In 1994 I was flying from Philadelphia to SFO where my rental car was waiting. The red-eye flight in Philly got delayed for more than 2 hours and it got re-routed to Oakland via a layover in Vegas. When I finally landed (about 3:30 am PDT) I was informed that since my rental and an entire busload of other folks was at SFO that the airline would be busing us over to SFO. I got to see a carjacking on the way out of Oakland that delayed us for another hour and when I finally got to the Alamo rental car counter just as the sun was rising the agent at the counter asked why I didn't just get my rental in Oakland. There are so many stories I can tell about that pleasant (dripping with sarcasm) trip from Philly to San Francisco from the flight attendant trying to deny me my seat on the connecting flight to Oakland from Vegas to the rep from America's West Airlines in Philly trying to explain why the plane we were going to take to the West Coast was somehow in Dayton, OH at our scheduled time of departure to the guy in Philly demanding a first class upgrade only to be told that America West didn't have a first class section and on and on.
1) Yes SFO is not in SF proper, but SF did buy the land in San Mateo County, so technicality points maybe?
2) I would have taken BART to the Embarcadaro station and just taken the F line to Fisherman's Wharf, although Google maps can often let you know of where the Muni buses are and get you there quicker.
3) Slight correction it's not that BART charges you more at the airports is that the cities (SF & Oakland) charge you more for the airport, that's main reason why Oakland is doing this, more traffic means more money in their pocket. This doesn't just apply to BART, any taxi, uber or shuttle bus has to pay the toll to leave the airport.
4) A fairer competition is airport to BART station, the SAME BART station, which are surprisingly close, although SFO may have the edge in the long run, because the yellow line runs every 10 minutes, while all the rest run ever 20 minutes, so unless you get to the stations right as the train gets there, the yellow line might edge out the blue or green lines.
Lotta love for the F line, and it is really great. But I watched it pull up after I had already tapped the seal. I thought about doing this to the same bart station, but no tourist really does that. And tourists are the people that might be thrown off by the name change.
The City and County of San Francisco own the land SFO is on, in the sense of property ownership, rather than within city limits. It's still legally part of San Mateo County. They also operate the airport. It isn't uncommon for cities to own property outside their legal boundaries. For example, San Francisco also owns approximately 66,000 acres of watershed land in Alameda and San Mateo Counties and the Sierra Nevada, which it uses to supply water to the city.
With time, both the Green and Blue lines will be going to 10 minute service along with the Red Line, but that's subject to a BM
@@Token_Nerd Perhaps, all lines used to be 15min, but then the loss of ridership after the pandemic swapped all but the yellow to 20min. Ridership needs to get very high for all lines to go to 10min.
@@Mike__B They're still implementing CBTC. Trains were running at 15 minutes because that's all they could allow through the Oakland Wye. 10 minute service is still the planned expansion, although it will likely require additional funding that will come with a ballot measure next year.
Great video! In the old pre-app days, MUNI drivers didn't want to be bothered with your trying to put the full fare in using bills. Shove in a dollar, sit your ass down and you're good. Loved it. Great shot of the streetcar. And kudos for going around in a BART cap. Hysterical.
Love your videos! Just one small point about the transit time there. For those of us that live here, if I take an Uber or drive to the airport I can get from downtown SF to SFO in about 20 mins outside of rush-hour. Between the bridge tolls and east bay highway traffic the trip is much longer to OAK. SFO is always the winner for me 😊
For locals it's all about flight availability and where you live. I lived in Bernal Heights a few years back and OAK was rarely even a consideration.
Nice summary for visitors and NorCal folks alike. For what it's worth, OAK's re-branding pales in comparison to the so-called "Paris-Beauvais" Airport; the 50-ish mile commute to or from the city center takes about 2 hours whether driving or using public transportation.
That's only a little better than my typical journey to SFO from Sacramento, where downtown to Richmond station via Amtrak plus there to SFO via BART is a little under 3 hours.
Your videos just popped up in my recommended. Absolutely love seeing your adventures around the Bay and CA!
Awesome! Thank you!
Man your videos are so chill to watch! Keep the work up, I love the great quality of your videos
Thank you!
As someone living in Sonoma County, I'm doing the SMART > Ferry > BART > SFO to catch a flight. Not the fastest way to SFO but certainly the most scenic, enjoyable and budget-friendly.
Hi Adam, I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your channel. I love your content style, and your personality. It’s very neat how you highlight lots of different-yet-similar things in your videos. Keep up the great work
Thank you so much! I really really appreciate comments like this, especially from people who know what it takes to make a video!
@@AdamDoesNotExist You’re most welcome, I’m glad that I could bring some positivity to your day :)
If you're price sensitive, you can also take a 73 AC Transit bus from Coliseum Bart to the airport.
Good suggestion.
I did that once. At night too. It was... an interesting experience... Let's just say, if you have the money (and or have other travelers with you, and/or are a woman, and/or are from out of town, and/or are generally not adapted to sketchy urban living), the 5 dollar upcharge might actually be worth it.
this man just does anything for fun
You know it!
Adam! I'm a big fan of your videos. I'm born and raised in San Jose. But I commute all over the bay for my job, and I'm usually in SF every weekend! I love seeing familiar spots in your videos. Cheers.
Thank you! That really means a lot to me!!
It seems that the only thing that the oakland airport changing the name to san francisco bay international airport will just confuse tourists.
Yeah it feels a little bit shady. But I do see their points.
Yes and No. It is probably more confusing once they leave the city, and are trying to find the airport. But it is also less confusing if you just want to find a flight to San Francisco
I think it's going to be less confusing than some are making it out to be. They're still SFO and OAK and that's what's going to be all over tickets and luggage. "Oakland International" is still in the name. etc.
Tokyo has Tokyo International (Haneda - HND) and Tokyo-Narita (NRT). Paris has Paris-De Gaulle and Paris-Orly. I'm sure there are many examples of large cities with multiple international airports each using the primary city's name.
@@jemenfiche Good think you've brought up Paris, because there you can find of of the worst examples of this action. Paris-Beauvais Airport, which is closer to the belgian border than Paris. OAK is just as close to downtown SF than SFO, so labeling it as SF airport is fine. As for IATA codes, many airports through the world do not reflect the initials of the city they belong to.
@@HelloOnepiece I mean Beauvais isn't meant to serve the vast majority of tourists... it's probably more suited for folks living just north of Paris in the suburbs like Saint Denis etc. In which case, it's probably simpler and just as fast of a commute as OAK to SFO.
I love all of the transit options in the bay and I absolutely love these vids!
Keep it up my friend!
Glad you like them!
6:19 Loved that you did a shout out to Stinkin' Rose!
The re-naming makes sense from a marketing and awareness standpoint. Same reason Paine Field rebranded itself "Seattle Paine Field." I also wish Burbank and maybe even Long Beach also consider adding "Los Angeles" to their branding strategy for the same reasons. Think of all the potential inbound international (and also domestic) airfare searches that wouldn't have thought of Oakland or Burbank in their criteria when trying to get a price quote for SF or LA, respectively. Not all travel sites have the "alternate airports" feature.
- Red
Sure, it makes sense, but there's a lot of concern that's it's going to confuse people. I accidentally flew in Milan Bergamot one time, and it was quite a hassle.
@@AdamDoesNotExist Yeah, those Ryanair mistakes are NOT the same. Not even close! 🤣
I think that you'd be faster from SFO if you just took the F there too. the F streetcars don't seem fast, but they are much faster than the busses through Chinatown and North Beach!
the F line streetcars have a completely dedicated right of way on Market street and on Embarcadero all the way to Fisherman's Wharf. And the signals are actually timed to the streetcars. It's basically light rail, but with vintage PCC streecars! So there is no way for the busses on busy city streets to beat them, even if Muni's optimistic schedules say otherwise.
That's what I thought too. And you know I'll choose rails over wheels any day. But the bus got there on time. So did the F, a few minutes after I tapped the Seal.
That's exactly what I've done. (I live in NYC and grew up in the Bay Area. I just went to Fisherman's Wharf for the first time in years last year.) First I spend too much money/use the restroom at the Ferry Building, then I get an F. :)
@@beetpulse Lol, on the Ferry Building pit stop. I do that too, including the spending too much money part!
two dolce de leche empandas from El Poreno, a ham and cheese croissant from Acme, and Blue Bottle coffee is my Ferry Building minimum! 😁
@@AdamDoesNotExist You also should've gotten off the F train at the Ferry Building and walked over to the Embarcadero BART station to save yourself some time. They often change drivers when they reach the stop after the Ferry Building, which can sometimes take what feels like forever. ;-)
@@jodajale8620Yep! I do this too. Always faster.
Although, if you're coming from the airport with luggage you can minimize your walking drastically if you get off via the right BARt escalator. the F line stop is like 10 ft away from the stairs!
Fantastic and informative! Your vids are a great watch.
Great video! I'd love to see some sort of SJC challenge vs SFO and OAK.
Another great video! Thanks for showing people the real Bay Area.
Glad you like them!!!
Great job on the video. As a tourist I'd say SFO is the better option because areas close to the airport are safer. For example San Bruno. And SFO is overall just a super enjoyable airport with its Sky Terrace for viewing of planes (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Its aviation museum is very cool too. And as you mentioned the BART station is so close to the customs exit point, and so close to International check-in.
Love your content man. Makes me love the bay a little more with every video.
You can't imagine how happy that makes me feel. Thank you!
Really enjoyed this video! As an SF resident its always something that crosses my mind as which airport is best for getting home after traveling.
7:02 I've been meaning to ask, what song is this?? The sax sound SO good. Gotta be the best royalty free song I've ever heard lol
Also, Fisherman's Wharf was the first place I visited in SF too when I moved to south Bay a couple years ago :> Was it also your first time being so close to the water?
It's hjortron by bomull. Got it from epidemic sound. That's not an endorsement but they do have some nice tracks, that are a bit different than the RUclips audio library. The Wharf is a classic first destination. Certainly my first visit to a place like that!
You leaving p39 and saying “I’m taking a bus” and me knowing you were taking a streetcar made me grin. I do p39 almost weekly.
I remember when the BART didn't connect to either airport, but OAK was much quicker because it was a quick bus ride to the nearest BART station to take you into downtown and SFO was quite a bit farther out. It was also cheaper to fly into Oakland too.
Hard to compare, apples and oranges. Both have more than adequate access to SF city center, a tossup depending specifically where you're going. SFO has more flights, especially international and nonstops to the East Coast. It's also plagued with massive weather delays stretching into hours and hours. Oakland has almost no weather delays of any kind, and is a better choice for nonstops to the western US, with adequate connectivity to the East Coast. The absolute thing to avoid is a connection thru SFO when SF isn't your destination, pick a non-stop or a connection over a different hub
Best 2 location script / back and forth I have ever seen, good job.
Thank you!
Underrated youtuber. Simple as that
I appreciate that!
I just got back from San Francisco to my home in SoCal. My first visit to SF was very annoying because I didn't do my research on the transit systems. Now that I did, and I learned about Muni's passes, I found it WAY more enjoyable and I never once touched my car to get around. If it wasn't for the fact I was travelling with my partner, I'd have brought my skateboard with me to make connections and general roaming way faster. I might go back next month and keep BART in mind since I don't plan on driving (Spending 8 hours on the road is torture when you have to take I-5 lol)
I’m from the Bay and also a fan of Jet Lag the Game. Loving your videos and can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Awesome! Thank you!
FYI - you can also get from the San Jose airport to Fisherman Wharf by either BART (East Bay) or Caltrain but it is not as well documented. Also the trip AI you used missed some much better routes. From SFO take BART to embarcadero then catch the trolies upstairs.
Getting to SJC via transit is a real pain though since none of the rail transit systems connect to it, even the new BART extension won’t be stopping there which is nuts to me. On top of that the Caltrain moves at a glacial pace all the way down the peninsula since there’s so many stops and only a few limited-stop trains.
So yeah I’d say SJC really isn’t suitable unless you live close enough on the South Bay to take a cheap Uber or have a friend drop you off, otherwise you’re gonna have a real bad time getting to the airport compared to SFO or OAK
I know for sure BART doesn't reach SJC and I don't think Caltrain does either.
@@kjhuang - SJC is served directly by VTA light rail which has direct connections to both BART and Caltrain.
@@jimpad5608 I just looked at a VTA map and SJC is not directly served by VTA light rail. Bus 60 is required to get to the Green and Blue Lines on 1st Street (and it doesn't even look like there's a direct connection there).
SFO any day for me, I live right by Balboa Park/Daly City. 15 min ride on Bart, and one bus or light rail ride from either station
The city's public transit is absolute fire
I'm jealous! That's about as good as it gets for getting to any airport.
Great video it’s always nice to see the Bay Area
thank you!
Adam from my knowledge, the BART station at SFO and Oakland Airport was built and owned by a private consortium where you have to pay a station access fee to pay for the construction and maintenance of the airport station facilities for the benefit of the city.
Fascinating! One unexpected lesson is to wait halfway along the BART platform \m/
i still think the airports should invest in a new transbay tube to create a MEGA airport. SFO could have west and east terminals/gates. you can get from one side of the bay to the other in 15 minutes
Going to be hard. Lots of protests over preserving the bay waters and habitat will entail… plus the added costs passed onto passengers. SFO already has pretty high airport fees which is why other airports in the bay are getting some traffic
I love OAK. I travel from the City to the San Fernando Valley pretty frequently, and Southwest OAK -> BUR is cheap, easily available, and avoids the traffic problems inherent with going to or from LAX or SFO. Plus it's pretty easy to fly in and out of there with a pet in tow.
I'd take OAK over SFO but I live in Oakland. I end up in SFO a lot because the just have more flights.
Alameda here. Really interesting test. I'm obviously biased towards OAK, but I always wonder what I should tell folks coming in to visit both me and the city. This was a really insightful look at the realities. Thank you!
Thank you!
#1 Bay Area RUclipsr 🌉🌉💯
Thank you!
third! i live in the bay area and this is great. i tried bart speedrunning too, i watch you religiously now. you are awesome.
Thank you for saying that! I really appreciate it.
I'm an SF local and I'm surprised that SFO is considered hard to travel by car, as you mentioned it's right next to the main highway out of SF. It should be about 35-40 minute drive from SFO to Fisherman's Wharf. I personally always take Uber to SFO and back, it's just faster and doesn't cost that much more with the high airport BART fee. The Uber drivers are locals so they know how to navigate the airport. The only issue with driving/Uber is dealing with traffic during rush hour, but you'd have same problem traveling to OAK from SF.
I really wish OAK had more flight options. I live in OAK and find myself going to SFO 90% of the times.
Yeah same. Even on Southwest I end up at SFO sometimes.
Great video as always adam. Any plans on covering calltrain's electrification?
Happy transit month!
Thank you! No plans right now, but I do expect to see some new BART speed run records as a result.
Great video. Hope you can do more on Bay Area restaurants so I can go eat
Eventually!
love the video I fly out of both airports last year and I love both airports
Both absolutely get the job done.
I've lived in the SF Bay Area since '93, so I've seen ALL the changes. I live in Berkeley now, and I've previously lived in Oakland for about 9 years, and SF for about 7, back in the late 90s through early aughts. Unless I'm flying internationally, OAK is my airport, period. It's just so much easier at any time of day, and there's even a car share option if I don't want to deal with BART, but honestly the BART ride from my place (I'm 1/2 mile from a station) is super easy.
I live in Solano County, so even better, I can fly out of Sac as well. But yeah, OAK is better, easier, faster even if you take BART.
Yes! More public transit speedruns!
Cheers!!!
A few things to note.
1.) Starting from the international terminal is probably not the most common starting point for someone deciding between SFO and OAK. There are very few international flights going into OAK. Most of it is budget domestic airlines. A better comparison would be starting at SFO terminal 1 baggage claim. In which case you need to tack on additional time for the air train to Bart.
2.) Although it would have been less appealing for the views, the San Francisco destination should have just been the Montgomery or Embarcadero Bart station. After getting there, the transit time has nothing to do with what airport you started from.
3.) If you are flying to the bay area on a domestic flight for anything other than going to San Francisco, OAK and SJC are almost certainly better options.
4.) Saying that the Oakland Airport renamed its self the San Francisco airport is disingenuous and something I have seen a lot of bay area publications put in their headlines for views and to get people riled up. They all like to conveniently leave the word bay out of the title, and you are guilty of the same. There is a difference between the city of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay. In fact, the Bay held the name San Francisco more than 100 years before the city claimed that title. San Francisco bay belongs to all of the Bay Area, not just the City of San Francisco. The Oakland Port Authority is well within its right to capitalize on the name recognition of the bay. And when it comes to worries of confusing tourists, as you have proven yourself, getting to the City of San Francisco is just as fast if not faster from OAK. If that is the case, I would argue that it is more informative than confusing, as it leads people to consider a new option that may actually be more convenient for them.
All that being said, thank you for your video drawing more attention to this great area. All the hate of OAK changing its name is unfounded. Anything that can help increase tourism in the bay should be welcomed by all. I personally fly out of SFO, but not because it is more convenient, it certainly isn't. I fly out of SFO because I fly international a lot and my preferred airline does not fly out of OAK.
For most travelers, OAK is basically just Southwest at this point… they are over 80% of the traffic. That said, budget international flights (almost entirely to/from Mexico) are a growing part of the traffic at Oakland.
From SFO T1, it's competitive with the airtrain to walk to International A then across the international lobby to the G side where the BART station is connected directly. This takes about 8min but I can understand why someone with a lot of bags would prefer taking slightly longer on airtrain.
Your point #4 is what I have been trying tell the people this whole time. If SF doesn't want anyone to use the SF bay name, then rename the bay to something else.
its criminal that you've still never been to the exploratorium. i just went this week for the first time since my childhood, i recommend the 18+ nights so you don't have to feel like an obnoxious adult haha
You went to Pier 39, not Fisherman’s Wharf. If you want to go to the Wharf, you take the 30 Stockton. Your other alternative is take BART to Powell and take the Powell/Mason Cable Car over the hill, which ends pretty much right in-between Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39.
Yeah, this guys video is riddled with mistakes. Still a tourist!
I feel like I choose SFO every time because its just an amazing airport. Security and immigration are friendly & easy, nice terminals, etc. Also I can easily take bart/caltrain south to home.
Psssd, visitors, the somewhere else gas is in Alameda. Safeway is usually pretty reasonable and you can take Otis to OAK without going back to 880.
There’s barely ever traffic at SFO, I fly out of there every week, and it’s extremely easy to get to the ride share pick up spot.
Great video! The Oakland Airport should really be seen as like the Burbank Airport of the Bay Area... A quieter municipal/regional airport that as long as you aren't leaving North America is a great option... YEG-BUR was a popular option with Flair here in Canada until it switched airports and then dropped off the map because Westjet already upped their flights to daily from 3X/week and offered the same price tickets with more amenities and leg room.
Dang had no idea time to get to both airports is so similar. Very informative and fun vid!
Thank you!
The only downside I found with BART was that it may not operate as early (or late) as your flights....I had an early Sunday morning flight out of SFO and that meant taking a cab all the way from Powell Street.
I love me some San Francisco though. Even went to Oakland just to check out the Coliseum before it turns out the lights for good.
Bruv, that feeling of watching the BART pull away from you at SFO, too real… also BART as “almost always on time” is very very funny but i assume you don’t usually have to take the Red line
as a local its so interesting to see tourists come here and go to places like pier 39. i promise you there are better places to go
9:48 wtf i didn't know this...was just planning a trip out of OAK (cheaper than SJC) for October and was gonna take BART to and from...good to know. Kinda tho slimy tbh
It's really frustrating. There may be some legitimate reasons like higher cost of operating at an airport, etc. But you can getting off in Millbrae, one station past BART is less expensive than getting off at SFO. So they charge more... because they can.
I live in the Portola district in SF (which is on the southern edge of the city) and when coming home from a flight at SFO, ride share works best for me. I’m very familiar with SFO so after landing I can typically get home in about 40 minutes.
I remember taking the OAK connector one time with my brother and dad to go tour UC Berkeley and go to a curling class (yes, this is very random). The airport was very nice.
I was actually just talking about curling lessons yesterday. They do beginner lessons at the ice rink in downtown Oakland. I want to go!
@@AdamDoesNotExist I know exactly what you're talking about, they're very good. If you do go, I suggest stretching your legs before hand as I developed some pretty bad muscle cramps after the first couple of sessions
I love that bart cap you wearing 👌🏼
Amazing video
Thank you!
Weird being from here and seeing a YTuber showoff things I see every week haha. Great video Adam 👍
Someone should be showing it off! Glad you liked it!
yeah same!
Another *Adam Awesome* adventure👌👍😀💯 That BART hat suits you very well 😀 👍 💯
Hahah. Thank you!
Hey. Good comparison video. But Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 are two completely different places. And driving I think would have been considerably quicker. Should do that video too. Of course time of day makes all the difference.
Hey there! I'm a North San Jose guy and I don't really use Mineta at all to be honest. SFO has way more flights. I've never been to Oakland, but from what I heard, it doesn't sound very good. I definitely agree with you on this one.
Lol; as a native: depends on the time of day and method of travel. BART, SFO is probably faster just because the connector between OAK and the BART system adds some time.
Morning rush hour traffic, SFO to SF is faster. Night rush hour, OAK to SF is probably faster.
Oakland airport rocks…in and out no problem
It's so easy. Love it for that!
If you don’t get mugged. I prefer not to have drive surface streets to the airport.
@@pcatful Just don't stop for gas near the airport, otherwise, you'll have no trouble.
man I love these videos. BART! sponsor this gentleman!
Haha thank you! That might be tough considering I do criticize them in the same video. But I love BART and I've gotta tell the truth both good and bad.
Yes, please do! He's doing an incredible job showing people how to use BARt and the Bay's transit system in general!
Yeah, I was surprised you didn’t take the streetcar from the beginning from sfo. It’s normally faster than the bus. And I love OAK. Very simple
Yep, that streetcar has fully grade separated lanes and timed traffic signals. It's always faster than the busses no matter what Muni's imaginary bus schedules say!
Ya know, I do wish OAK gets more flights. They used to have some direct flights to Europe that were better options than what SFO had.
From Marin (North across the GG Gate), OAK is so much more convenient. While having to drive there, unless there is a backup on I-80, it's easy to get in and out of OAK. There are fewer transportation alternatives for getting to and from OAK. Once, when our son was coming home from So. Cal., there was a huge backup on I-80. He just jumped on a BART train and came to a station in Berkeley where my wife picked him up. If you need long-term parking there are lots of places available although most are outside of the airport proper. Of course, there is parking onsite. The downside is the fewer available flight destinations from OAK. But, if I have a choice it's always OAK!
Good to know! I dream of one day living in Marin. So beautiful up there! There is a "Marin Airporter" bus that goes to SFO, but I don't know much about it.
@@AdamDoesNotExist Bring money, you'll need it for Marin County. But yeah, SFO from let's say, Mill Valley takes *forever*.
Say what you want about Charlotte Douglas, but as a local, even with our significantly less robust transit system, I can get from our downtown to the airport in 30 minutes or less. Even biking would take 42 mins. I’m not using this to knock San Francisco or anyone’s city, but I do aim to say that if you have an airport within your city limits, and close to your CBD, treasure that. As someone who’s been to Denver a number of times, it would’ve been amazing if Stapleton Airport had managed to remain so close to downtown.
Love the BART hat Adam!
Thank the stars I live in Solano County so I have the choice of flying out of Sac or Oakland. I rarely fly out of SFO because it's a pain to get to, long-term is *really* expensive, and the Bay Bridge is a *PITA* during rush hour(s) or ball games. Yes, the Hegenberger retail corridor sucks, what's left of it, but I just use 98th to get to 880 (or 580 to 13 to 24 if I want to go thru Concord). If I want to get something to eat, well, that's what Alameda is for :) Sacramento is even easier to get to from here; generally no more than 1 hour, no bridge tolls and 101 traffic to have to deal with.
I don't live in the Bay at the moment, but down here in Los Angeles, public transit is capped at 1.75. I can get from Burbank airport to my apartment in central LA for 1.75. Same distance on BART from OAK costs triple. It's wild how expensive it is now
People keep trying to pretend that BART is a subway. It's not one. It's regional rail more similar to the LIRR in NYC and Metra in Chicago. BARt takes you between three major cities over distances that are more often seen on national railroads in midsized European countries! It physically can't cost as little as a subway/metro system. It's just not that type of system.
BART is half as expensive as Caltrain for the same distances and 1/3 the price of the Capitol Corridor on the stretches where they compete directly.
1 hour from SFO to fisherman wharf is awesome! As a planner, I love what you did. Truly exemplify the beauty of Transit. Born and raised in Oakland (International Blvd brat), I say avoid Oakland for now...
Thank you! I think it shows that either can be an option if you're going to SF!
Good video about showing which airport is better! But I gotta say Bubba Gump Shrimp is delicious 🤷♀️ saw it in the video and had to comment that
I've been, it is a really cool experience!
I have used Oakland airport for years, going to the Bay. The flights are cheaper than going through SFO.
Love the ba Bart hat!
Very interesting video. Thank you!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
love your channel dude keep crushing it
Thank you! That means a lot
I love your videos as a homesick individual from the Bay
Thank you! I'm not glad to hear you're homesick. But if I'm making people who've lived here happy, that's pretty much the best thing to hear.
We live in Sacramento but take flights from SFO, OAK or SJC just as often due to the lack of direct flights from SMF. I’d rather drive 2 hours for a direct flight than to risk missing connections / bags on a SMF flight.
I've always wondered that. But your destination is pretty remote in the city. Probably half the time on the SFO trip was taking the bus through congested downtown, chinatown, and north beach and the OAK trip taking the streetcar. The street car is nice but it's not meant to be fast. I would nave liked to see the BART only times compared from the same downtown SF station. You used two different stations. Montgomery or Powell Station for SFO and Embacadero Station for OAK. Which if you're going to Oakland is 1 or 2 stops closer to your destination and cut 6 mins. or so off your OAK time. From say Embarcadero Station, I bet the BART time to OAK may be shorter than to SFO. It speeds under the bay and has fewer stops. But the bay tunnel does take a while to get through. So, I don't know. Could still be close.
You can just check the BART schedules to compare times to the same station. Powell would make sense given it's proximity to Union Square. But Fisherman's Wharf was my first stop, so that's where I went!
@@AdamDoesNotExist BORING. I was nerding out on times, trains, and distances. Now, not so much. Don't think I'm interested in any more videos.
I'd love to see what the actual time is from San Jose Mineta Airport (SJC) to Pier 39. Given the new Caltrain improvements I think the general time should be around 1:30-ish, which isn't much longer than SFO/OAK crazy enough.
I bet you're probably about right. If you're headed to somewhere near King st. it might be an even better option to fly into SJC.