SAN - DTW

$161 Find Cheap Flights from San Diego to Detroit - Compare and Save

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Diego to Detroit departing on 8/29. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$305
Typical prices: $293-$539
Frontier
Wed 8/19Thu 8/27
SAN - DTW • 2 stops
Cheapest non-stop
$509
Typical prices: $539-$809
Delta
Fri 11/13Mon 11/16
SAN - DTW • Non-stop
Nonstop flights
You can fly direct with Delta. Average duration is 4h 34m
Direct flights
Direct flights
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Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Avoid delays
Most punctual • 92% on-time
Best time • Fewest delays
Insights
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Top layover airports
Cheapest • Avg $268 (round-trip)
Shortest trip • 6h 15m (one-way)
Insights
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Insights
Insights
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 4 weeks in advance save around 34% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
Cheapest • 22% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
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Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from San Diego to Detroit (SAN-DTW)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Diego to Detroit that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Diego to Detroit

Wed, Aug 19 - Thu, Aug 27
Frontier Logo
6:25 am - 6:55 pm
SAN
-
DTW
9h 30m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
7:55 pm - 11:44 pm
DTW
-
SAN
6h 49m
1 stop
$305Frontier
Thu, Aug 20 - Tue, Aug 25
Frontier Logo
6:25 am - 6:55 pm
SAN
-
DTW
9h 30m
2 stops
Frontier Logo
12:20 pm - 11:51 pm
DTW
-
SAN
14h 31m
1 stop
$305Frontier
Thu, Sep 3 - Mon, Sep 7
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:00 am - 6:16 am
SAN
-
DTW
17h 16m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:46 pm - 12:09 pm
DTW
-
SAN
18h 23m
2 stops
$315Multiple Airlines
Fri, Nov 13 - Mon, Nov 16
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:47 am - 11:56 pm
SAN
-
DTW
10h 09m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
2:03 pm - 6:29 pm
DTW
-
SAN
7h 26m
1 stop
$316Multiple Airlines
Sat, Sep 12 - Mon, Sep 21
JetBlue Logo
10:23 am - 11:56 pm
SAN
-
DTW
10h 33m
1 stop
JetBlue Logo
5:30 pm - 8:01 pm
DTW
-
SAN
29h 31m
1 stop
$383JetBlue
Tue, Sep 15 - Mon, Sep 28
Southwest Logo
1:40 pm - 11:10 pm
SAN
-
DTW
6h 30m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:30 am - 12:00 pm
DTW
-
SAN
9h 30m
1 stop
$403Southwest
Sat, Aug 22 - Sat, Aug 29
Southwest Logo
10:40 pm - 10:20 am
SAN
-
DTW
8h 40m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:35 pm - 9:05 pm
DTW
-
SAN
6h 30m
1 stop
$403Southwest
Thu, Nov 19 - Sun, Nov 22
JetBlue Logo
12:20 pm - 11:56 pm
SAN
-
DTW
8h 36m
1 stop
JetBlue Logo
8:10 pm - 7:44 pm
DTW
-
SAN
26h 34m
1 stop
$407JetBlue
Fri, Nov 13 - Mon, Nov 16
Delta Logo
1:25 pm - 8:48 pm
SAN
-
DTW
4h 23mnonstop
Delta Logo
8:26 pm - 10:26 pm
DTW
-
SAN
5h 00mnonstop
$509Delta
Fri, Sep 11 - Mon, Sep 14
Delta Logo
11:30 am - 6:57 pm
SAN
-
DTW
4h 27mnonstop
Delta Logo
8:25 pm - 10:06 pm
DTW
-
SAN
4h 41mnonstop
$509Delta
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for San Diego to Detroit flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Diego to Detroit to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport departing in August.

Flight prices are typical for this route right now.

Flights to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport from San Diego usually cost between $293 and $539 in August.
The lowest price found in the past 5 days was $305 on Frontier (Aug 19-Aug 27).

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from San Diego to Detroit?

The average price of all round-trip flights from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

When flying from San Diego to Detroit, you should consider leaving on a Friday and avoid Mondays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to San Diego, you’ll find the best rates on Saturdays and the most expensive ones on Sundays.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is August, where tickets cost $391 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and December, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $613 and $599 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 34% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 26 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from San Diego to Detroit

 
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Our travel experts
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on Delta

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Brandon Schultz

Brandon Schultz

Expert on SAN

Brandon Schultz is an award-winning food and travel writer based in New York City. His work has appeared in Forbes, AAA, Thrillist, Travel + Leisure, and The Daily Meal, among many others, and he is the author of 6 books, including 3 cookbooks.

Ramsey Qubein

Ramsey Qubein

Expert on DTW

An avid traveler and aviation expert who has visited 173 countries, all 50 states and seven continents, Ramsey Qubein flies nearly 400,000 miles a year. As a North Carolina-based freelance journalist for publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, USA Today and Bloomberg among others, he explores the latest trends in aviation, hospitality, cruises and business.

Good to know

Low season

February

Cheapest flight

$161
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 5% increase in price.
Flight from San Diego to Detroit

When to book flights from San Diego to Detroit

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from San Diego to Detroit based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking San Diego to Detroit flights

  • Can I rent a car at DTW?

    You can easily rent a car at DTW, as it features locations for car rentals like Alamo, Budget, Avis, National, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, and Thrifty. As their counters are within the airport’s terminals, you won’t need ground transportation to get to your preferred car rental counter.

  • What is the fastest way to travel to SAN from downtown San Antonio?

    To travel to SAN from downtown San Antonio, you can board a bus or a taxi. Between the two, the taxis travel faster. Hence, if you’d like to travel to SAN from downtown San Antonio as fast as you can, you should board a taxi.

  • Does SAN have a prayer room?

    In case you’d like to pray before boarding your flight to Detroit, you’re in luck, as this airport features a prayer room. Located Airside in Terminal 2, this prayer/meditation room is open to all, regardless of religion.

  • Where is the pharmacy at DTW?

    DTW’s pharmacy, Mills Pharmacy, is near Gate B2 in McNamara Terminal. It offers traditional medications and is usually open from 5 am to 10 pm.

  • What is the cheapest flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport?

    In the last 5 days, the lowest price for a flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport was $161 for a one-way ticket and $305 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between San Diego and Detroit?

    A passport is not required to fly from San Diego to Detroit.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from San Diego to Detroit?

    All the following airlines offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the San Diego to Detroit flight route: Delta, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada, and United Airlines.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from San Diego to Detroit?

    The Airbus A321-100/200 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the San Diego to Detroit flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from San Diego to Detroit?

    SkyTeam is the only airline alliance operating flights between San Diego and Detroit.

  • On which days can I fly direct from San Diego to Detroit?

    There are nonstop flights from San Diego to Detroit on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from San Diego to Detroit, Southwest or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from San Diego to Detroit are Southwest and Delta. With an average price for the route of $521 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. Delta is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $607 and an overall rating of 7.8.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Diego to Detroit?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Diego to Detroit.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Diego to Detroit?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Detroit from San Diego is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Diego to Detroit?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Detroit with an airline and back to San Diego with another airline. Booking your flights between San Diego and DTW can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Diego to Detroit?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Detroit from San Diego up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $165 or less one-way and $393 or less round-trip.
  • While waiting for your flight to Detroit at San Diego International Airport (SAN), you can relax at Airspace Lounge a short distance from Gates 22 and 23 in Terminal 2, United Club on the Mezzanine Level of Terminal 1, or Delta Sky Club next to Gate 37 in Terminal 2. At any of these lounges, you’ll enjoy access to a comfortable seat, several entertainment sources, clean washrooms, a selection of drinks, and a wide range of snacks. Kindly note that to enter Delta Sky Club or United Club, you’ll have to show proof that you’re flying with the airline they are affiliated with.
  • If you’d like to withdraw some cash at SAN, you can do so without hassle, as this airport is home to several ATMs. In Terminal 1, the ATMs are near Gates 1, 2, 5, and 13, whereas in Terminal 2, they are near Gates 23 and 36.
  • You can grab a meal at SAN while waiting for your flight to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW), given that this remarkable airport is full of dining options. You can enjoy custom-built burgers at The Counter, a hot drink at Pacifica Breeze Café, and a quick meal at Urban Crave in Terminal 1, while in Terminal 2 West, you can order a Mexican-cuisine dish at Qdoba Mexican Grill, a Thai dish at Saffron Thai, and an American-styled dish at PGA Tour Grill. For snacks, you should check out Terminal 2 East, which features several fast-food restaurants and cafes.
  • If you travel with your baby to DTW, you can comfortably breastfeed before departing this airport, as it features several nursing rooms. In the McNamara Terminal, these nursing rooms are near Gates A15, A25, A53, A63, and C2, while in the North Terminal, they are found near Gates D8, D15, and D24.
  • Before exiting DTW, you can enjoy relaxing spa services at the Be Relax Spa, near Gate A45 in McNamara Terminal. Don’t worry about incurring a massive bill if you visit it, given that this spa offers its services at affordable rates.

Prefer to fly direct from San Diego to Detroit?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County.
Find which airlines fly direct from San Diego Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

San Diego to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County

Monday

Delta

Delta

Tuesday

Delta

Delta

Wednesday

Delta

Delta

Thursday

Delta

Delta

Friday

Delta

Delta

Saturday

Delta

Delta

Sunday

Delta

Delta

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County to San Diego

Monday

Delta

Delta

Tuesday

Delta

Delta

Wednesday

Delta

Delta

Thursday

Delta

Delta

Friday

Delta

Delta

Saturday

Delta

Delta

Sunday

Delta

Delta

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from San Diego to Detroit

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Diego to Detroit. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Diego to Detroit? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4227 reviews
7.0Food
8.6Crew
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

Red eye from San Diego. Temperature of the cabin was way too warm and the air duct flowed very little air.

6.0 GoodGordon, Jul 2026
SAN - MCO
Read more Southwest reviews

Red eye from San Diego. Temperature of the cabin was way too warm and the air duct flowed very little air.

Great job Southwest! My family doesn't fly often but we felt safe the whole time.

Comfortable. Easy. No problems. Just wish they had gf options for snacks.

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

The seats are now more narrow. I paid for front row the seats in the front are even more narrow than before.

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

San Diego airport is brand new, spacious, airy and very smooth checkin at SW baggage drop.

Southwest like most American domestic airlines, is a mediocre airline. But it is among the cheapest. Oh well.

No trays in our seats, we sat in first row, purchased a business class fare. Had to hold our drinks and snack in our hands. No plugs for our cell phones. Had to pay for it a drink cocktail each. Seats so uncomfortable.

The plane was not very clean. Lots of napkins and kleenex on the floor and in the seat pocket

Delta staff was exceptionally helpful and considerate. However, the first two of three flight legs were delayed making connections tentative and stressful.

Unprepared to rebook a flight of people. Uncommunicative. When I received updates in the app it was well after the announcement in the hold room. Offered a single $12 meal voucher, not enough for a sandwich at DEN, for a 17 hour delay. No one was able to explain their meal or hotel reimbursement policy for this cancellation, just handed a card to call the Help desk. My previous flight went through several delays and was finally cancelled, without explanation. The customer help desk closed while there was a long line. I then waited in line for a gate agent almost an hour while simultaneously on hold and trying to text with a remote Delta agent. Communicating with the text agent was almost impossible; they could not find any flights that got me back to my original city before the following evening. Kept offering itineraries that did not get me back to my origin airport or involved additional layovers. In 50 minutes on hold, never got through to an agent by phone. Finally spoke to one of the gate agents who was able to rebook on a red eye that had only one stop and got me back in the afternoon the next day, rather than late evening. Later by email, Delta offered 10,000 loyalty points for the inconvenience of the cancellation. The crew on the red eye flight were delightful. I don’t remember any food or entertainment on that flight.

Easy on easy off and the staff onboard were wonderful. Left on time, arrived a bit early.

No entertainment on flight, no food service, could not connect to WiFi

Very good flight. Crew was great. No issues and we even arrived early.

Loved the crew! Sucks that we went from 1 hour and 8 minute layover to a 3 hour layover. But weather sucks like that.

Flight late, the waited for a long time for “personal” to arrive at gate to dock the plane in Rochester. So annoying. This flight was expected, why aren’t personel available for the jet bridge?

The landing was bad and the hostess came two times and i was sleeping but when she served the person that nexts to me I woke up and she didn’t even asked me if I need any drink or snacks two times!!!!

Waited 3 hours on a plane to de-ice due to manpower issues. Waited another hour and a half once we landed because of a gate issue. Missed my connections. Created. A total of 13 hours of delay.

Gate agent was a terrible person out to make people miserable

The seats were roomier than other airplanes I’ve been on.

Seats were great, the staff was great, and the food was about the best I've had on a plane, and is especially the best of any US-based carrier I've flown. Free Wi-Fi was also great.

It was inexplicably canceled and we are stuck in LA, haven't gotten home and it has been an inconvenience having lost work (on unpaid leave for my husband).

We had better-than-average leg room and I loved the access to shows and movies. During boarding, we could not hear the agent even though we were close to the boarding door, which was kind of scary when we realized that half of the passengers had already boarded. Also, the entertainment was awesome, but I could not hear the movie as well as I would have liked, because my headphones were crappy. It would have been better if I could connect my own ear buds via Bluetooth or if JetBlue provided headphones.

It was good. I’m very disappointed that they don’t give commentary ear pods for the movie. I forgot mine at home

Boarding was quick and efficient. The flight crew were friendly. There were limited food options available on the flight. The pocket guide said there would be salad and sandwich sections available on flights over 3.5 hours. The only food available were snack boxes. And those were limited as well. My flight was over 5 hours. The entertainment system worked well. I had both extra legroom seats and regular coach seats. The seats were not very comfortable. The entertainment controls in the armrest made it difficult to rest my arm without changing the channel on my neighbors TV. Overall, my experience was mediocre.

Crew was very friendly. Did not like being jammed in the back middle seat. Don’t understand why I can not select an aisle for free based on first come first serve. Also first time I’ve been on a flight which attempted land then circled Detroit airport multiple times.

Entertainment and wifi were very sub-par - audio issues and no wifi

I was denied a plastic fork to eat my food and was told plastic forks are for paying customers who buy Jet Blue’s food. So I had to make a utensil out of a cup so nourish my body. Like a refugee. Because decency is dead.

Flights with JetBlue from San Diego to Boston are a miserable experience. The flight was delayed about 1.5 hours due to “weather” supposedly but the flights for other airlines left on time so it just have been some kind of weather that only affects JetBlue. I had a small carry on - purse. The crew stored it in a bin 2 rows down from me because they were using the bin next to my seat for other people’s stuff. The TV screen in the emergency row seats does not work. It just was awful from start to finish. When we landed, we had to sit inside the plane for a very long time because the plane had to be moved to a different gate.

It was awful everything about it terrible I will never ever ever ride it again

Both legs of the flight were changed. The day of the flight and length of the trip.

They switched my flight to Spirit, Never using Kayak again,

We had an awful experience getting our bags checked in. Frontier’s check in on the app manipulated us into buying the business package because that was the only option available for a checked bag which included two checked bags per person which we did not need. Upon arriving to the airport, we stood in line for what seemed like forever at the baggage check in and there was no one available at the counter. We were first in line and we were afraid we were going to miss our flight due to the baggage attendant being late. After realizing there were a lot of other people waiting at the baggage check in and no one available. I reached out to Frontier and could not get any customer service so I had to call the airport to page the baggage attendant to send someone to the counter to check in our bags before we were able to go through security , I finally spoke to the attendant at the counter and explained to her that we had to pay for two checked bags person a total of six bags when we only had a total of three bags between three people she said to reach out to Frontier and they would issue a refund for the three bags that we paid for and did not need. I reached out to Frontier which I was not able to reach anybody by phone so I had to go through their automated chat feature, which sent me around in circles until I finally reached a representative to assist me. I explained to them what happened and they explained that they were not able to assist me. I continued to push the issue with them as this was very frustrating and they finally put in a customer service ticket where we were issued a flight credit and we were so disappointed because after this experience, we NEVER want to fly Frontier again, and we do not want a credit that we will not use. Frontier charged us almost $500 for us to check three bags which is absolutely absurd! The customer service agents were not able to offer anything else other than a flight credit and I do not feel like my frustrations were truly heard , we will never use Frontier Airlines again ! Truly Theft by Manipulation! They should be ashamed!

Every day about it was very different all the boarding pass where all wrong l miss flight no refund all crazy

The trip was good but the last minute changes I didn’t like because I had already talked to the attendee and they didn’t help me with my ticket I was having trouble checking in and when the time was up they help me but charge me for that and last minute luggage it was a small bag. After I was in the airplane I realized you were charging because the flight was almost empty and you have to get the money some how. Thanks for everything.

There were a lot of issues at the gate in Atlanta — which caused delays in boarding and getting to our destination. The aircraft and crew were excellent.

It was fine. The flight was delayed for 3 hours. I had things scheduled in Detroit, and I let a lot of people down by not being there on time.

Our flight was delayed by four hours without notice, the app for getting my boarding pass is super confusing, and I wasn’t able to check a suitcase without paying for a higher cost package

Flight was canceled as soon as I got to the airport

Everything you need to know for your flight from San Diego to Detroit

Information on your arrival and departure airports