€51 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to San Diego – Compare and Save

Sometimes you just want a little solitude before getting on your flight. While waiting on your flight from San Francisco to San Diego, visit SFO’s yoga room in Terminal 2 where you can meditate, stretch, and exercise. There are also a number of lounges in the airport including the Delta Sky Club, United Club, and both the Admiral and Centurion Clubs (by American Express).

Around the airport are a number of great restaurants for dining. Within a couple of miles is a sushi spot (Zen Sushi Bistro), a steakhouse (Hangar Steak), and a Benihana. If you prefer something quick, consider Wendy’s on Gateway Boulevard, Hana Hawaiian Barbecue on San Mateo Avenue, or McDonald’s on Airport Boulevard.

If you’re only in town 2-3 days, you might want to just stay at or around the airport. Staying close to the airport is also convenient when you have a very early morning flight. There are several hotels less than a mile from the airport, including the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Holiday Inn Express.

Getting around SAN is not too difficult. The airport offers a simple design which includes three terminals. Terminal 1 houses Southwest, Frontier, and Allegiant Airlines. There are also numerous restaurants here for passengers such as Ciao Gourmet Market, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Emerald Express. British Airways, jetBlue, and Alaska Airlines are all located in Terminal 2. It also offers passengers a variety of dining options from Bubbles Seafood and Wine Bar to the California Pizza Kitchen. A shuttle is easily accessible and makes it convenient to get from one terminal to the other.

Among airlines operating San Francisco to San Diego flights:

• Frontier: offers free seat selection
• Alaska Airlines: offers extra legroom; offers free seat selection
• Southwest: offers free seat selection
• United Airlines: offers extra legroom; offers free seat selection
• American Airlines: offers free seat selection

Extra legroom and free seat selection availability depends on fare class and route.

4 airlines operate flights between San Francisco and San Diego. The airlines offering direct flights on this route include:

• United Airlines
• Southwest
• Alaska Airlines
• Frontier

Flights from San Francisco to San Diego usually depart from San Francisco (SFO) and arrive at San Diego (SAN).

Here are some options for this route, based on selected ticket types and cabin classes:

• Frontier: a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class
• Alaska Airlines: a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class
• Southwest: a cabin bag and a checked bag in Economy class

Bag allowance can vary by ticket type, cabin class, route, and airline, so travellers should check the fare details before booking.

Only Economy class is available on flights from San Francisco to San Diego.

On this route, stopover flights are cheaper than direct options on average. Stopover fares average €147 return via Salt Lake City (SLC), compared with €171 for direct.

There is no standard. Checked bag policies vary by airline on this route. Most carriers charge €34–€86 for the first checked bag in Economy. Premium fares and elite status bookings typically include a free checked bag.

The Boeing 737-800 Passenger/BBJ2 (winglets) family is used most often on this route, operated mainly by Southwest and Alaska Airlines. Other aircraft seen on the route include Airbus A320neo variants.

One-stop flights from San Francisco to San Diego most commonly connect through:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – 38% of one-stop connections
• Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl (LAS) – 29% of one-stop connections
• Denver Intl (DEN) – 24% of one-stop connections
• Salt Lake City (SLC) – 10% of one-stop connections

Los Angeles (LAX) handles the largest share of one-stop connections on this route.

Yes. Being flexible with your travel dates can save you up to 19% on the San Francisco to San Diego route. Tuesday is the cheapest departure day at €153 return on average, while Friday is the most expensive at €188, a difference of €35. KAYAK's flexible dates feature shows options up to 3 days before and after your selected dates, making it easier to compare nearby fares.

A flight is considered delayed when it departs 15 minutes or more after its scheduled time. This is the standard used by the US Department of Transportation and most airline industry reporting. On the San Francisco to San Diego route, 28% of flights were delayed in the past 3 months, with delays averaging 2 hours 3 minutes.

Morning is the busiest departure period on San Francisco to San Diego flights, with 42% leaving in that window. Afternoon departures account for 34%, Evening flights for 16%, and Night flights for 8%.

Some of the most popular sights in San Diego are InterContinental San Diego, San Diego Convention Center, and Mission Beach. These are among the most viewed places in San Diego on KAYAK.

These are the earliest and latest flight times available from San Francisco to San Diego:

• Earliest: departs at 05:30 and lands at 07:13
• Latest: departs at 22:44 and lands at 00:27.

The flight takes about 1h 43m.

Last-minute fares on this route (booked within 2 weeks of departure) run 47% above the route average of €171. Book 8 weeks before departure for the lowest fares.

A direct flight from San Francisco to San Diego takes 1h 43m, covering 1,156 km.

No. A passport is not required for this domestic route, but you will need a real ID-compliant driver's license, a state ID, or another TSA-accepted form of identification.

Yes. Based on fares seen in the past 5 days, return flight prices on this route showed a wide range, from about €90 to €577. That means the highest observed fare was about 6x higher than the lowest one.

One-way fares from San Francisco to San Diego are currently lower than usual. Average one-way flight prices are about €68, which is 42% below the typical average for this route.

United Airlines is slightly above the route average for timely arrivals, while Alaska Airlines has a lower on-time arrival rate. On-time arrival rates on San Francisco to San Diego flights are:

• United Airlines: 80% on time
• Alaska Airlines: 75% on time
• Frontier: 61% on time

On average, flights on this route are punctual 72% of the time.

Morning flights have the fewest delays on this route. Delays tend to pile up throughout the day as one late flight pushes the next, so earlier departures are usually more reliable.

Flying via Los Angeles (LAX) gives the shortest average 1-stop total travel time of 3h 43m, compared to 10h 46m via Salt Lake City (SLC) and 11h 23m via Las Vegas Harry Reid Intl (LAS).

San Diego Airport (SAN) hosts 5 major car hire companies, with daily rates starting from around €12 for economy cars. Top options include:
· Dollar
· Payless
· Europcar
· Thrifty
· Fox

Return flights from San Francisco to San Diego range from €115 to €247, with an average of €171 over the past 12 months. Anything below €115 counts as a good deal.

Two airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on San Francisco to San Diego flights:

• • Alaska Airlines
• • JetBlue