Should I stay (at the airport) or should I go (explore)?

youssou B.

@youssou_berlinХонокаа, Гавайи, США

Should I stay (at the airport) or should I go (explore)?

Hi Oaklanders & friends,

So my situation is, on my way to Hawaii I have a 15 hour overnight stop at Oakland International Airport (Mar 01 15:40 - Mar 02 07:00).

To be honest I'm not exactly a fan of airports. I would much rather go explore the surroundings. Though, I'm not even sure what would be the best thing to see (so, that would be another question for you). And then find a place to crash before going back to the airport in the morning.

But if I have to check in at 5 am, it might even be difficult to get to the airport without breaking the bank. As far as I have read, cabs are good for groups, but I'm not a group.

And then I read about the BART option and everybody on trip advisor says don't go near the Coliseum, it's not safe. So, I might skip that then. Also BART only starts operation at 5am so that might be too late then.

And at least to a northern European everything looks so dreadfully far away - or am I exaggerating?

Please, let me know what you think how I should best spend these 15 hours?

Best regards,

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Seva S.

@ImHugeInEuropeСан-Франциско, Калифорния, США

After you land, take bart to San Francisco Powell street and explore san francisco. Then take the last bart to your airport which I think is 12am, but double check. I have a list of good places to see in my profile. good luck!

youssou B.

@youssou_berlinХонокаа, Гавайи, США

Hi Seva,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! :-)

It hadn't even occurred to me to go to San Francisco by BART, actually I didn't even know it went there. So thanks, for that tip. And getting back to the airport before the service stops for the night sounds like a good solution to me.

Great idea to put your list of good places to see online. I should have done this with my lists for people who visited me in London. Also great tip where to leave the luggage. Super useful.

Wish you a great day!

All the best,

Alix

Josh H.

@SOCAL_KIDСан-Франциско, Калифорния, США

I'm with Seva. If you're that close why not hop over here to SF. From the airport to downtown San Francisco it's less than an hour usually. Only thing I would say is that I don't think around Powell is the best representation of San Francisco anymore. It's just a ton of corporate retails shops surrounding Union Square and when people get lost there they get intimidated by the Tenderloin District. I recommend getting off at the first San Francisco stop which is called Embarcadero. It's beautiful walk along the water in either directions and you can also walk from there into North Beach and Chinatown which have a lot more character. Enjoy!

youssou B.

@youssou_berlinХонокаа, Гавайи, США

Cool! Thanks, Josh. I'll definitely give it a go. Okay, Embarcadero it is. Sounds marvelous. And I bet I could do with some fresh air after having been either on planes or airports the past 24 hours. (I've got another gigantic stop at Stockholm, Sweden). Thank you!!!

Ian W.

@IanWillsonРичмонд, Калифорния, США

https://www.bart.gov/guide/airport/inbound_oak the people mover will take you from the airport directly to BART. you better catch a train back to Oakland from SF at 11pm if you want to get on the last people mover to the airport: Weekdays 5 am - Midnight 5 am – 11 pm: Every 6 minutes 11 pm – Midnight: Every 20 minutes find someone in berkeley to crash with and the first BART train to the airport is 4:33am, that will get you to the airport at 5:11am.

youssou B.

@youssou_berlinХонокаа, Гавайи, США

Oh great! Thanks for the people mover tip and the time table. Very useful information. Hmm makes me think, because 5:11 should be alright really. I'll check it out! Thank you!!!

Brian H.

@brian-hicks-7Окленд, Калифорния, США

You've gotten some good advice from people. But if you have a single evening, Oakland has wonderful restaurants and other places to spend time - look them up! But, San Francisco IS special - a great place to walk (I suggest the North Beach area for that - you can walk from BART and find a good restaurant).

youssou B.

@youssou_berlinХонокаа, Гавайи, США

Thanks, for answering my question. Will do when I'm back there. All the best!