$26 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California

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Low seasonJanuary
High seasonDecember
Cheapest flight$26
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 12% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 15% increase in price.
Flight from San Francisco to San Diego

Flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from San Francisco Bay Area to California 
SarahFlew with Alaska AirlinesSFO-BURFeb 2025
Go early in the day so if your flight is canceled, you might have better alternatives than I did when my 12:30 flight was canceled.
Verified travelerFlew with Spirit AirlinesSJC-LAXNov 2024
Make sure to arrive at the airport early. On my recent flight from LAX to San Jose, the plane departed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. It seemed like all passengers were on board, and the aircraft was ready for takeoff.
MohammadFlew with Spirit AirlinesSJC-BURSep 2024
The TSA process is very short and quick. No need to come 2 hours ahead.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSTS-SANOct 2024
An hour before flight was enough time for departing from Santa Rosa. (I doubt anyone is at the airport and working at 4:30am).
JamesFlew with Alaska AirlinesSJC-SANJun 2024
It’s pretty simple there. It’s one of the better airports.TSA has never been a problem for me there it moves and is mostly efficient… I was happy that we didn’t have to takeoff our shoes, which surprised me. They’re always seems to be long walk to the gates coming and going not sure why that is
IreneFlew with SouthwestSFO-LAXJun 2024
Arrive a least 1 hour before boarding if you’re checking bags. Light layers due weather variation
JohnjimyFlew with ANASFO-LAXAug 2024
Layover from NRT(JPN), to SFO (US), to LAX(US) Easy if you are a United States Citizen, when you go to US Border & Customs, bring your Passport if you arrive Internationally. Remember to pick up your check baggage before moving into domestic flights, as they will check the tag for the plane you are boarding in. (They will check your baggage again). Bring your ID/DL (Real-ID COMPLIANT) with you to pass security/TSA, passport works too. SFO is pretty strict as well as LAX.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSFO-PSPJun 2024
SFO ~ most convenient People should prepare themselves for cold temperature inside the cabin, bring coat/jacket and food in case flight is delayed.
FatimaFlew with FrontierSFO-LAXJun 2024
Frontier requires 3hr preflight check in even on domestic flights
JulieFlew with SouthwestSFO-LAXJun 2024
Avoid flying into LAX. It’s a nightmare. Baggage claim took 40 minutes. And then the shuttle to the car rental place took an hour because there are two shuttles. The first is a local bus that makes a stop at every seven terminals and then it takes you to another place where you have to wait for your smaller shuttle to the car rental place.
JoonwonFlew with Alaska AirlinesSJC-SANApr 2024
The airplane is a quite small one, compared to the regular size, so pls be ready for some restrictions on carry on bags.
KateFlew with Alaska AirlinesSFO-PSPApr 2024
Fly in the morning when it’s not windy.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSTS-SNAFeb 2024
Book directly from the airline and/or get refundable tickets.

FAQs for booking flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California?

    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 Francisco Bay Area to California.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco Bay Area to California?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from San Francisco Bay Area to California 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 Francisco Bay Area to California?

    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 from San Francisco Bay Area to California with an airline and back with another airline.

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

    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 from San Francisco Bay Area to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in California?

    Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in California is Ontario Airport (ONT), with an average flight price of $88.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Friday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $241. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $491 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $170 on average. Morning departures are around 17% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $386.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from San Francisco Bay Area found in the last 72 hours was to Ontario, at $37 round-trip. The most popular route is Oakland (OAK) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $94.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco Bay Area to California?

    The cheapest month for flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California is December, when tickets cost $116 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and May, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $224 and $218 respectively.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from San Francisco Bay Area to California?

    To get a below average price on the flight from San Francisco Bay Area to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 5 weeks before departure.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from San Francisco Bay Area to California takes 2h 17m, covering a distance of 335 miles. The shortest route is San Francisco (SFO) to Sacramento (SMF) with an average flight time of 0h 51m.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Las Vegas (29% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Los Angeles (27%) and San Diego (13%). Searches for flights to Santa Ana (13%), to Ontario (7%) and to Burbank (6%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco Bay Area to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco Bay Area to California? 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
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 10000 reviews
7.8Comfort
8.5Crew
8.1Boarding
7.1Food
7.1Entertainment
Airline reviews

It was my first time flying Alaska Airlines and first time flying from Santa Rosa airport. The staff was very professional and friendly. Their instructions were clear and any question was answered satisfactorily. My seat was comfortable and the in-flight beverage service very adequate for the duration of the flight. We arrived ahead of the scheduled landing time and deplaning was simple. I look forward to flying with Alaska again.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Apr 2025STS - LAX
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

It was my first time flying Alaska Airlines and first time flying from Santa Rosa airport. The staff was very professional and friendly. Their instructions were clear and any question was answered satisfactorily. My seat was comfortable and the in-flight beverage service very adequate for the duration of the flight. We arrived ahead of the scheduled landing time and deplaning was simple. I look forward to flying with Alaska again.

Flight attendant took my carefully folded coat and flung it across the aisle to the bin across the way. Where one of the passengers rescued it for me, because that just wasn’t right!!

the flight was delayed twice and then delayed from taking off.

I’m New to Alaska Airlines. I was not able to connect to WiFi on either leg of my flights to/from Santa Rosa. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable ride.

All good. Great food and entertainment when there isn’t any on a one hour flight

Flight was delayed twice, I was forced to check my bag, and the only offered water or apple juice on the flight

The flight was delayed over two and a half hours thus causing me to miss my best friend’s funeral. All because the flight crew had to get more rest. That was the reason stated. I understand however very unfortunate. Glad everyone is well rested and resting in peace.

All good except both the outbound and return flights were delayed about 1 1/2 hrs.

Not great. My flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem and I could not get rebooked for the same day. I needed to get to my destination yesterday, not today. I was able to book with another airline but it was a layover and ultimately a 1 hour flight took me 12 hours. Normally I like Alaska much more than Southwest, but Southwest came through with a not terrible price for same day.

The plane was late arriving. The Alaska people did a great job of turning it around quickly and getting us off. We took off about 35 minutes after it reached the gate.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Fine, but how to board on SW versus othrr airlines, is just lame. Goood staff though and all was solid otherwise.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a hell hole of an airport. It is the new LaGuardia. Everything Cobbled together. Security gates closed. Terri directional signage

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

The plane arrived 25 minutes late, and the Wi-Fi was slower than it usually is.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Great experience…left a bit behind schedule but made up fir that in the air and landed 10 minutes early 😁

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

The gate was too far away for the connecting flight

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

The agents was very rude and they charged me $50 for a carry-on bag saying that it was too big and then I saw someone going on a plane with the same size bag as me

For the most part united was a good experience, how ever when they came by with the snacks and water, they completely passed by my wife and I. As we were in separate rows. On a 5 hr flight we were not offered water

Fantastic crew. Flight was delayed at last minute but we were given updates every 20 minutes and the crew was so friendly and considerate. I miss the touch screens on the back of the seats, wish they would bring that back though.

Awful. Worst airline I have ever been on. Crew were among the rudest people I have ever dealt with. United staff members were rude and disrespectful. My flight was delayed, causing me to miss a connecting flight. I understand things happen, but when staff start lying about what actually happened, that is when I have an issue. Just be honest, really it isn’t that hard. I’m being very honest with this review and I don’t find this difficult what so ever. In fact, because of United Airlines, my Christmas holiday was off to a really rocky start. As someone who has traveled across the world, it has only been United that I have had a truly awful experience.

Boarding was a breeze, however, two of the flights that I boarded with Spirit did not have Wi-Fi available.

Very good. Nothing more or less than expected. No complaints.

My experience with the spirit as a first time it was OK, but the seats need a little cushion, the problem I had the most impacted me was when checking in the scales were so off and wrong. It will tell that you would have more weight, which was not true. The scale was say that it had Thirty Eight Pounds, when get in the labels when we send the luggage into the band. It says that it was overweight. I really really dislike that because the scales are not accurate. If I use Spirit and I have that issue again. That will be my last time flying with the spirit, even though I like so much to service the planes, and everything else

hahaha we are delayed for one hour plus.. but thx we arrived San Diego safe

Worst airline ever! The guy weighing my bag had his foot on the metal plate and when I called him out on it, I got this stupid little smirk. La is a scam and so is Spirit Airlines. All the flight attendants looked like they hated our flight just as much as we did.

Unclear pricing; ended up being charged an extra $52 just to get onboard

Spirit is awful. Too expensive for what you get. Stop nickel and diming.

would be great to get basic water, soda at least and stop charging for carry ons

Your crew is a representation of your Standards and Values. The crew from Seattle to LAX, was very disappointing. The crew was more interested in hanging out at the lobby area. Talking, laughing loudly and eating all the snacks. They did not do regular rounds to see if customers needed anything. This was a huge disappointment. I will no longer be flying with your airlines moving forward.

- flight attendants not very friendly. - Paid for WiFi and plane didn’t have it working , never got a refund.

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

Plane was down graded and I lost my uncharged exit row with more leg room. No mention or offer of refund from podium. Flight attendant was nice to explain this happens often and that I could request a refund via online form submission. I did this and have heard nothing back.

Horrendous. I do not recommend Frontier. The passengers lack manners and decency, and the flight attendants lack professionalism. If I wasn’t in a bind to fly with 48 hours notice for a job interview, I would not have selected a flight with Frontier and I never plan to fly with them in the future.

The seats were hard molded plastic covered in plastic vinyl. And the scam to charge people extra to sit together. Don’t they know we can just ask someone to trade seats. And watching the staff separate young children from parents… super classy. We had to guilt them into offering up our seats. This companies policies suck. Don’t give them your money.

The seats were awful, hard plastic covered in sheet vinyl. The airline tries to scam you into paying extra to get seat together when the flight wasn’t full. They were going to separate a family with young children but my wife who had a row to herself gave up her seat so the young mom could be with her young boys. I’m never giving this airline my money again.

It was a short flight so no food or entertainment….

Frontier had yet another flight cancellation. Have never made a complete round trip with this airline without at least one leg getting cancelled. Miserable flights - dirty, uncomfortable planes that apparently always have issues since I've had multiple delays and cancellations with them.

Flight was delayed 3 times, would have been nice to have received text message instead of email notifications. Frontier app wasn’t even updated accordingly, no gate number disclosed. No agent at front desk of gate to inform of delay. Very confused and left if the dark

Everything went as planned. Crew was great. Seats were still not that comfortable.

Book cheap flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

7/1Tue
nonstopHawaiian Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
7/10Thu
nonstopHawaiian Airlines
1h 39mSAN-SFO
$56
7/16Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 27mSFO-ONT
7/22Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 27mONT-SFO
$57
7/10Thu
nonstopSouthwest
1h 35mSFO-SAN
7/16Wed
nonstopSouthwest
1h 35mSAN-SFO
$57
7/10Thu
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 35mOAK-LAS
7/17Thu
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 29mLAS-OAK
$66
7/30Wed
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 35mOAK-LAS
8/6Wed
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 29mLAS-OAK
$67
7/13Sun
nonstopFrontier
1h 41mSFO-LAS
7/23Wed
nonstopFrontier
1h 48mLAS-SFO
$70
7/14Mon
nonstopFrontier
1h 46mSFO-LAS
7/15Tue
nonstopFrontier
1h 50mLAS-SFO
$71
7/7Mon
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 43mSFO-SAN
7/9Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 39mSAN-SFO
$77
7/30Wed
nonstopSouthwest
1h 35mSFO-SAN
8/5Tue
2 stopsSouthwest
5h 55mSAN-SFO
$82
10/13Mon
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 42mSFO-LAS
10/16Thu
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 39mLAS-SFO
$89

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Recent one-way flight deals

7/1Tue
nonstopHawaiian Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
$26
7/23Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 29mSFO-ONT
$29
8/7Thu
nonstopSouthwest
1h 30mSFO-SAN
$29
7/19Sat
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 35mOAK-LAS
$32
7/13Sun
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
$33
7/8Tue
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 33mOAK-LAS
$33
8/13Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
$39
7/4Fri
nonstopFrontier
1h 31mSJC-LAS
$46
6/23Mon
nonstopFrontier
1h 38mSFO-SAN
$46
9/16Tue
nonstopSouthwest
1h 30mSFO-LAS
$48

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Last minute flights from San Francisco Bay Area to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

6/21Sat
nonstopFrontier
1h 38mSFO-SAN
6/27Fri
nonstopFrontier
1h 43mSAN-SFO
$79
6/21Sat
nonstopFrontier
1h 38mSFO-SAN
6/28Sat
nonstopFrontier
1h 43mSAN-SFO
$91
6/22Sun
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 30mSJC-LAS
6/25Wed
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 28mLAS-SJC
$116
6/22Sun
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 30mSJC-LAS
6/27Fri
nonstopSpirit Airlines
1h 28mLAS-SJC
$117
6/19Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 40mSFO-SAN
6/21Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 38mSAN-SFO
$135
6/20Fri
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
6/25Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 39mSAN-SFO
$137
6/21Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 40mSFO-SAN
6/21Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
1h 38mSAN-SFO
$145
6/20Fri
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 42mSFO-SAN
6/24Tue
nonstopAlaska Airlines
1h 39mSAN-SFO
$157
6/21Sat
nonstopSouthwest
1h 30mSFO-SAN
6/24Tue
multi-stopSouthwest
5h 00mSAN-SFO
$167
6/21Sat
nonstopSouthwest
1h 30mSFO-SAN
6/24Tue
nonstopSouthwest
1h 40mSAN-SFO
$187

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Everything you need to know for your flight to California

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