$629 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to San Francisco departing on 11/19. 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.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flights from South Africa to San Francisco

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from South Africa to San Francisco 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 South Africa to San Francisco

Tue, Sep 23 - Tue, Sep 30
Virgin Atlantic Logo
9:55 pm - 6:48 pmJNB-SFO
29h 53m1 stop
Virgin Atlantic Logo
9:20 pm - 10:20 amSFO-JNB
28h 00m1 stop
$902Virgin Atlantic
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Tue, Sep 9 - Tue, Sep 16
Delta Logo
8:40 pm - 7:30 pmJNB-SFO
31h 50m1 stop
Delta Logo
9:20 pm - 10:20 amSFO-JNB
28h 00m1 stop
$934Delta
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Wed, Oct 29 - Sun, Nov 16
United Airlines Logo
7:50 pm - 3:35 pmCPT-SFO
28h 45m2 stops
United Airlines Logo
8:35 am - 6:00 pmSFO-CPT
23h 25m1 stop
$968United Airlines
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Wed, Sep 17 - Tue, Sep 30
United Airlines Logo
9:20 pm - 7:00 pmJNB-SFO
30h 40m2 stops
United Airlines Logo
7:25 am - 5:45 pmSFO-JNB
25h 20m2 stops
$969United Airlines
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Thu, Nov 20 - Mon, Nov 24
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:10 pm - 4:45 pmJNB-SFO
31h 35m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
6:50 pm - 10:50 amSFO-JNB
30h 00m1 stop
$991Turkish Airlines
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Tue, Feb 3 - Fri, Mar 13
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:10 pm - 4:45 pmJNB-SFO
31h 35m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
7:50 pm - 10:50 amSFO-JNB
30h 00m1 stop
$1,006Turkish Airlines
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Thu, Jan 29 - Fri, Mar 13
British Airways Logo
10:00 pm - 3:00 pmJNB-SFO
27h 00m1 stop
British Airways Logo
9:40 pm - 7:35 amSFO-JNB
24h 55m1 stop
$1,033British Airways
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Fri, Jan 30 - Fri, Mar 13
British Airways Logo
7:35 pm - 3:35 pmJNB-SFO
30h 00m2 stops
British Airways Logo
9:40 pm - 7:35 amSFO-JNB
24h 55m1 stop
$1,045British Airways
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Fri, Oct 10 - Fri, Oct 17
Qatar Airways Logo
1:55 pm - 1:35 pmJNB-SFO
32h 40m1 stop
Qatar Airways Logo
3:55 pm - 4:10 pmSFO-JNB
39h 15m1 stop
$1,125Qatar Airways
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Wed, Nov 5 - Sun, Nov 9
Qatar Airways Logo
12:25 pm - 12:40 pmDUR-SFO
34h 15m2 stops
Qatar Airways Logo
3:28 pm - 10:55 amSFO-DUR
57h 27m3 stops
$1,561Qatar Airways
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Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to San Francisco

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to San Francisco to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest month to fly to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights to San Francisco, 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 to San Francisco is February, where tickets cost $957 on average for return flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and January, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is $1,191 and $1,125 respectively. For one-way flights, the best month to travel is February with an average price of $957.

How far in advance should I book a flight to San Francisco?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to San Francisco, 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, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 14% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 20 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$629
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 0% lower on average.
Flight from Johannesburg to San Francisco

FAQs - booking San Francisco flights

  • How far is San Francisco Airport from central San Francisco?

    You’ll need to travel 12 miles to reach the San Francisco city center from San Francisco Airport.

  • What is the name of San Francisco’s airport?

    All flights to San Francisco land at San Francisco Airport. The airport code is SFO,and it can also be referred to as San Francisco or San Francisco Intl.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to San Francisco?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to San Francisco is Monday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $1,085. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Wednesday, where round-trip prices are $1,247 on average.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to San Francisco?

    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 to San Francisco.

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

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

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco 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 to San Francisco?

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

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to San Francisco?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to San Francisco is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $1,033 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to San Francisco is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,177.

  • How many direct flights to San Francisco are there each week?

    Each week there are around 3,432 direct flights from within South Africa to San Francisco. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 15% of flights taking off on this day.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to San Francisco

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest San Francisco flight deals.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from South Africa to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to San Francisco. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from South Africa to San Francisco. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to San Francisco? 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.
7.9
DeltaOverall score based on 7977 reviews
7.9Comfort
7.3Food
8.5Crew
7.9Entertainment
8.2Boarding
Airline reviews

The flight crew was friendly. I tried to adjust my seat online ahead of time but no option existed without additional fees. My friend asked at the gate about a seat change and was able to make it happen. That was great! The flight crew moved a very tall gentleman and his companion which allowed us to have more space which was nice. Overall, good experience. Appreciated the blanket and pillow.

8.0 ExcellentSusan, Aug 2025SYD - LAX
Read more Delta reviews

The flight crew was friendly. I tried to adjust my seat online ahead of time but no option existed without additional fees. My friend asked at the gate about a seat change and was able to make it happen. That was great! The flight crew moved a very tall gentleman and his companion which allowed us to have more space which was nice. Overall, good experience. Appreciated the blanket and pillow.

I was uncomfortably cold on the plane. Other than that it was uneventful and therefore as enjoyable as a plane ride can be.

Food was surprisingly good but the WiFi was not great

My flight was extremely cold. I had a jacket and a cover was left in each seat. The cover was extremely thin and I have a disability, fibromyalgia and arthrithis and AC air is the worst. I closed my vent and my husbands vent and it still was frigid. I asked the attendant if I could get another cover and she quickly almost dismissively and totally unconcerned stating, (I quote) (one per chair) and walked off so quickly that I didn't get a chance to explain to her that I literally have adisability. I didnt want to make a seen so I set on that flight for over 5 hours in pain, joints locking up and extremely uncomfortable. When my fibromyalgia flares up my joints not only ache but they will lock up also and it takes me days to get back to my regular self even though I take medication for it. I felt like it would not have hurt anyone at all for her to just give me an extra cover because I'm sure they have all types of medical issues in people that fly every day.

Not a "Delta" issue, but a JFK issue: We booked a connecting flight with 3 1/2 hours between to clearn immigration and customs. Our inbound flight (BCN to JFK) was on the taxiway 45 minutes which ate into our layover time. Immigtration was insanely quick with the CBP MPC app; however, clearing TSA (again, after we were ALREADY cleared in Spain on the inbound international flight) took over 95 minutes. This left us with 10 minutes before boarding the connecting flight (JFK to SAN) to walk to the far end of Terminal 4 and try to find food. We didn't find any food that could promise to serve us in under 10 minutes so we boarded the Delta flight after coming off a plance and an 8-hour flight knowing that we wouldn't be served any food on the next 5 1/2 hour flight. I feel like Delta needs to put pressure on the JFK TSA to open more screening stations (by our count, we saw only 5 scanners open and a line of - as we said - over 90 minutes. The insult is that we WERE ALREADY SCREENED through TSA, but as you come off one flight into the USA, you have to go through the whole process again. It seems like if you have a connecting flight, there should be a way to pass through immigration and customs without needing to return through TSA.

There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2

5 hours of delay that could've been much shorter if Delta had taken the 1 hour delay they imposed on the flight before boarding to run any of the plane checks required for flight to find the hydraulic issue that required nearly 3 hours to fix. $24 of meal credit buys a sandwich and a soft drink. Poor communication within the terminal about what gate we'd be re-boarding from and when we'd be re-boarding.

The entertainment and wifi mostly didn't work on this flight.

Terrible entertainment system - kept freezing and audio kept cutting out. Snacks were mediocre at best for a 5 hour flight.

I am still upset that my bag was lost on a recent trip to Rome ; we were inconvenienced and out €150 Euros ; delta has refused to reimburse us

Overall the experience was neat with crew being nice and caring especially to parent with kids. The free snacks option was okay. The kiosk at Philly airport didn’t work.

First keep the airline as you promise. Reason for travelling from Orlando to Tampa is to go with Qatar Airline. We end up with American Airline. As expected the service was horrible.

Not sure how we end up with American Airlines instead of Qatar Airways. From Philadelphia to Qatar they boarded us then they asked us to unload. After 30 minutes later they board us again. The inside the plane it was burning hot and we were sweating like crazy. Crew members are absolute rude. The way they served the passengers were horrible. One of the crew members hit my knee with food cart and kept going. I was holding an ice pack for almost 2 hours. I am still with the pain.

I felt that when I was rerouted it should have been to business class.

The flight was smooth Thank God but the delays and changing gates for 3-4 times made me so tired of walking back and forth with heavy bags I thought I was going to pass out with heavy headaches but Thank God finally found the final gate and home safe. These delays happen anytime for important reasons so just be patient when you come across these situations.

Worse fight I ever take since I start flying , still have even made home , and crew abandon us half way home . No water no food and no even anyone to answer our questions

All the crew members were too slow and rude. Most of the times the registers were empty, while hundreds of customers were waiting in line, and it was impossible to get a supervisor. Despite being in line on time, I missed my freight, plus a some customers who were ahead and behind me.

Seats very small and unable to pre purchase internet or seat upgrades

I recently travelled with Qatar Airways from Doha to Dulles in the QSuite, and the experience was nothing short of exceptional. The QSuite truly feels like a First-Class experience, with its luxurious design, privacy, and comfort. The cabin crew, especially the lady in charge of the cabin, was remarkable—professional, attentive, and genuinely kind. The food was excellent, and the comfort of the seat was absolutely first-class, making the journey smooth and enjoyable. While the in-flight experience was outstanding, I have a few points of feedback. Firstly, the content available in the in-flight entertainment system could be expanded and upgraded to include a more diverse and updated collection. This would elevate the entertainment experience to match the premium standards of the QSuite. Secondly, regarding the Wi-Fi service: while QSuite passengers receive one hour of complimentary Wi-Fi, any additional usage requires a fee of USD 10. Considering the premium pricing of QSuite, it would be more fitting to include unlimited Wi-Fi as part of the experience, further enhancing the luxury offered to passengers. Lastly, I must highlight an issue with luggage handling. Unfortunately, my luggage did not make it through the transit, which was disappointing. While the ground crew assured me that it would be delivered to my home on the same day as it was arriving on the next flight, this promise was not fulfilled, and the delay added unnecessary inconvenience to an otherwise excellent experience. Overall, the QSuite experience was exceptional, but addressing these areas would further solidify Qatar Airways’ position as a leader in luxury air travel.

Seating is terrible, having seats so crammed is unacceptable for a 15-hour journey. I cannot stress enough how uncomfortable it is to sit in such an aircraft. Leg space is roomier in a domestic aircraft. I have not experienced this kind of crammy seating in domestic flights either in the US or other international airlines overseas.

1. when we went to check in, our 2 first class seats had been CANCELED and the flight was sold out. This was done without our prior knowledge. It was all we could do to restore one first class seat for my wife and I flew economy. 2, Our flight home was scheduled to leave at 10:30 pm. Due to tsunami warnings, the roads were closed and our flight status was uncertain as to whether it would leave as scheduled. It was announced that it would now leave at 11:20 pm and the roads were now open since the tsunami had come and gone. We made a mad dash to the airport and checked in. Delays were announced at 12:30 pm, 1:30 am, 2:30 am and at 3:30 am it was canceled. Since this was a flight due to natural (tsunami) causes, there was no compensation. We were told to return at 1:00 pm the next day and our baggage would be kept on the plane since the same plane was going to leave at 1:00 pm. We had to return to our hotel for the rest of the night. The same plane did not leave at 1:00 pm and our baggage was gone! All in all, it was a miserable performance by UA. Information was hard to obtain and no one knew what was going on and what was going to happen. Hundreds of passengers slept on the floor, chairs, etc. No food and no water was made available to the passengers. It was a situation where UA could care less what was going on. As a one million mile flyer, I had not experienced anything like this before and it was hugely disappointing!

I found the staff to not be very attentive at all. When paying for Business Class you expect a certain type of service and that was not found. They were almost rude even

Our experience on United Airlines was extremely poor. The plane was extremely cold throughout our entire flight- which multiple people complained about- and we had to wait 2 hours to get a blanket which was too thin and barely helped warm us up. As well as this, none of the entertainment features were working so we had to sit through a roughly 10 hour flight with nothing to keep our attention, including the actual flight path screen. It was an extremely disappointing experience and I would hope that this gets fixed if we ever choose United Airlines again.

I really enjoyed flying with United airlines amazing experience , good customer service and great food

1.It will be better if sandwich is warm. 2.The food is too salty. 3.Breakfast needs some vegetables or fruits.

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

It was all good flight was on time, service was good I enjoyed a few movies and everything was smooth

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

Really good 😊 the woman at the gate entrance was a little rude checking in our carry-on but i dont think she worked for the airline, she worked for the airport at sacramento, other than that amazing.

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.

We couldn’t fly to Chicago on our booked flight. The flight was overbooked.

Small seat space for 13 hours flight, they charged for baggage , very bad quality of food,

I was sitting almost in the back, the seats are very tight and there’s no legroom, it’s uncomfortable for a long distance

Absolute worst airline. Charged us $720 to check 4 bags (2 of which were carry-on). Entertainment systems didnt work. And on a 12 hour flight they served 2 meals and never once came around outside of those 2 meals with a beverage or cup of water. Will never fly them again.

Took forever to board. They made announcements without the loudspeaker and since the waiting room was full of screaming kids, no one could hear what they were saying. The business class sleeper seats were designed for tall skinny people. When partially reclined there was nowhere to rest my feet because they did not reach the footrest. and when fully reclined there wasn't room at my sides for my arms. Definitely one of the worst sleeper seats I have ever had.

About an hour delay but we made it to Chicago. I feel that the smaller connecting flights are the ones that cause the delays on the bigger planes that fly international.

Amazing trip! No delays, no broken or lost luggage, and amazing food.

The food we received during the flight was excellent. The service was very friendly. Definitely the best value for the money when flying across the Atlantic.

I use a wheelchair for mobility. Both in my flight from Houston and back to Houston from Istanbul, the Turkish airline staff asked that I claim my wheelchair at the luggage area. On arrival to Istanbul, parts of the wheelchair were in disarray at that time I raised no objection however upon claiming my wheelchair in Houston parts where outright missing. In both occasions, upon arriving in Houston and arriving in Istanbul, I asked multiple times why am made to pick up my wheelchair in the baggage claim rather than at the jet bridge. Getting the wheelchair at the jet bridge minimizes the probability of loosing parts because they can be hopefully reclaimed on the spot. I was told in Houston that a manager turned down my request to claim the wheelchair at the jet bridge in Houston. This is extremely frustrating because a wheelchair is not a set of clean underwear or a toothbrush- this is the way I move. A Turkish Arline staff took my complaint at the luggage claim area in Houston but as of the writing of this review the only contact I have received from the airline is because I initiated a claim rather than her as she told me she would.

The security at the airport was excellent. The one criticism is the boarding process just before entering the plane. There were only 2 boarding lines and there were no barriers thus leading to a mass rush to enter the plane. I suggest that they board by rows, eight or ten rows at a time to prevent the mass rush to enter the plane. Otherwise, I would highly recommend Turkish Airlines

They issued seat assignments and sat my 2 year-old in the row behind me, separate from me and my daughter. Communication/ customer service was terrible. They told me to change it in London, then in London, they told me to talk to the cabin crew, then a supervisor came and stuck us in the back of the plane when we were supposed to be in row 25. Overall, they need to really work on their customer service. Additionally the food was terrible and they ran out of meals and didn’t have any kid options. To top it off there was no in-flight entertainment for the first hour of the trip.

We missed the connection because we had to wait for a shuttle from the plane to the Terminal. Also, we needed assistance and none was available.

When we arrived at the airport - 1st step - printing out your boarding pass - no issue. Not long lines as these machines. 2nd step - processing your bag drop off. There was only one associate there to help 10 kiosks. We had a family in front of us for 20 minutes trying to work on the machine and figure out every step for 4 pieces of luggage. My husband alerted the associate who was able to assist the family. Highly suggest that there are more associates to assist in this process. Besides this issue, security check went very quickly. Our flight was direct to Philadelphia. We had to carry our bags down two flights of steps, then out to the tarmac to a bus, then carry our bags up two flights of stairs to the plane. No one on the flight was expecting that long trek. I could see some people were struggling a bit. All in all - great flight crew, plane was clean and food was great!

There were no gluten-free vegan options available, so food was very limited on this flight, and some of the crew weren’t especially helpful about it. To make matters worse, a passenger was sick on board, and although the area was cleaned, the smell lingered for the rest of the journey. On top of that, we ended up circling for an extra hour, which only made the unpleasant situation drag on even longer.

Checking in prior on line and wait time at Gatwick was terrible. I would rate a big fat ZERO.

There was a slight delay. Otherwise, everything else was satisfactory.

The company that I bought my tickets through, Cheapflightsfares, failed to provide my confirmation information in a timely manner, so I was unable to check on at the country and therefore unable to make my flight. As a matter of fact, I STILL have not received the confirmation. After having read more and more reviews about the company, Cheapflightsfares appears to have scammed hundreds of hopeful travelers out of thousands of dollars. Please look into this company and, for the sake of anyone planning their next trip, stop allowing them to do business through you.

I checked in to bags, one arrived one was delayed. I did not receive the bag for 4 days - arrived on Tuesday, received bag on Saturday!

It was ok. Our flight was delayed 2 hours, and then again on arrival. The explanation given felt feeble.

The plane was known to be late in advance of takeoff. My guess is that it was known to be late at 11am or 5 hours before scheduled takeoff time. We were late to leave and with a wheelchair and the a cart, we only made it to gate. We raced! Inside plane, all was great

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