$155 Find Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto departing on 5/13. 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, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

Travelers love KAYAK
41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 24% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Free to useThere are no hidden charges or fees.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$340
Typical prices: $609-$378
Alaska Airlines
Wed 9/9Sun 9/13
BWI - SFO • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$342
Typical prices: $622-$423
United Airlines
Wed 5/27Mon 6/1
BWI - SFO • Non-stop
Arrival airport
You can't fly directly to Palo Alto. It is served by San Francisco (SFO), located 17.9 miles from Palo Alto.
FAQs
FAQs
FAQs
FAQs
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Palo Alto!
Flight Deals
Useful Info
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto (WAS-SFO)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto 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 Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

Wed, Sep 9 - Sun, Sep 13
Alaska Airlines Logo
4:34 pm - 11:28 pm
BWI
-
SFO
9h 54m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
9:02 pm - 3:34 pm
SFO
-
BWI
15h 32m
1 stop
$340Alaska Airlines
Wed, Sep 23 - Mon, Sep 28
Southwest Logo
8:55 am - 11:35 am
BWI
-
SFO
5h 40mnonstop
Southwest Logo
7:45 pm - 6:35 am
SFO
-
BWI
7h 50m
1 stop
$341Southwest
Wed, May 27 - Mon, Jun 1
United Airlines Logo
6:38 am - 9:28 am
BWI
-
SFO
5h 50mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
10:40 pm - 7:10 am
SFO
-
BWI
5h 30mnonstop
$342United Airlines
Wed, Sep 16 - Mon, Sep 21
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:16 pm - 9:37 am
BWI
-
SFO
18h 21m
1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:58 pm - 3:34 pm
SFO
-
BWI
17h 36m
1 stop
$343Alaska Airlines
Wed, Jul 8 - Mon, Jul 13
United Airlines Logo
7:10 pm - 12:32 am
BWI
-
SFO
8h 22m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
10:40 pm - 7:10 am
SFO
-
BWI
5h 30mnonstop
$344United Airlines
Wed, May 27 - Sat, May 30
Southwest Logo
6:25 pm - 11:15 pm
BWI
-
SFO
7h 50m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:00 am - 4:10 pm
SFO
-
BWI
8h 10m
1 stop
$345Southwest
Thu, May 14 - Wed, Aug 12
Frontier Logo
8:52 am - 7:34 pm
BWI
-
SFO
13h 42m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
10:10 pm - 3:34 pm
SFO
-
BWI
14h 24m
1 stop
$346Frontier
Tue, May 19 - Wed, May 20
Frontier Logo
11:07 am - 7:34 pm
IAD
-
SFO
11h 27m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
8:28 pm - 8:12 am
SFO
-
IAD
8h 44m
1 stop
$347Frontier
Sat, Sep 5 - Sat, Sep 12
Multiple Airlines Logo
9:20 am - 4:41 pm
IAD
-
SFO
10h 21m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
7:05 am - 6:14 pm
SFO
-
IAD
8h 09m
1 stop
$349Multiple Airlines
Thu, May 28 - Tue, Jun 9
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:59 pm - 10:03 pm
DCA
-
SFO
6h 04mnonstop
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 4:57 pm
SFO
-
DCA
7h 57m
1 stop
$349Multiple Airlines
Useful Info

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$154
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 4% lower on average.
Flight from Washington Dulles Airport to San Francisco

When to book flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price

Flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto: the best tips from KAYAK users' own experiences

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto 
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
DCA
-
SFO
Jan 2025
Reserve your plane seat & bring something to eat in the plane.
PhallyFlew with Alaska Airlines
IAD
-
SFO
Oct 2024
Don't take too much stuff. Make sure to have the necessary documents or boarding pass ready.
NoamFlew with Alaska Airlines
IAD
-
SFO
Aug 2024
Flying to the Ronald Reagan airport is closer and faster to D.C. than the Dulles airport.
DeniseFlew with Alaska Airlines
IAD
-
SFO
May 2024
Bring your own device. No screens on the seatbacks.

FAQs for booking flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    When flying out of Washington, D.C. you’ll be using one of these airports: Washington, D.C. Reagan-National or Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl. Palo Alto does not have its own airport so you’ll be flying into nearby San Francisco airport, which is 17.9 mi away.

  • How long does a flight from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto take?

    Direct flights cover the 2,434 miles separating Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto in about 5h 39m.

  • How many flights are there between Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto?

    44 direct flights run between Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto on a daily basis. On average, there are about 314 departures each week.

  • What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly between Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto?

    Consider leaving on a Friday and avoid Sundays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Washington, D.C., you’ll find the best rates on Fridays and the most expensive ones on Saturdays.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    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 Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Palo Alto from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    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 Palo Alto with an airline and back to Washington, D.C. with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    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 Palo Alto from Washington, D.C. up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto?

    In the last 72 hours, the cheapest one-way ticket between Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto found on KAYAK was with Frontier for $66. Frontier offered a round-trip connection from $130 and JetBlue from $146.

Top tips for finding cheap flights from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

  • There is no airport in Palo Alto. Instead, you’ll be flying into San Francisco Airport when flying between Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto.
  • The cheapest flight from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto was found 70 days before departure, on average.
  • Book at least 3 weeks before departure in order to get a below-average price.
  • High season is considered to be February, March and April. The cheapest month to fly is February.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto? 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
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 12325 reviews
7.1Food
8.1Boarding
7.8Comfort
7.0Entertainment
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

It was not a good experience, the flight was delayed 3 hours, the gate staff were super pushy to get bags checked claiming it was a full flight, there were about a dozen open seats from what I could tell. The intercom from the pilot seemed to be broken, it sounded like the pilot was speaking with a mouth full of marbles.

2.0 MediocreJacob, Mar 2026
DCA - PDX
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

It was not a good experience, the flight was delayed 3 hours, the gate staff were super pushy to get bags checked claiming it was a full flight, there were about a dozen open seats from what I could tell. The intercom from the pilot seemed to be broken, it sounded like the pilot was speaking with a mouth full of marbles.

The food was terrible, worse that what you get with UA, an already one of the lowest standards to beat. How cheap one could be, providing that kind of junk food in first class. Unbelievable! The seats were not very comfortable either. And there were no screens either, not that I cared much but for you to know.

The aircraft was extremely warm the entire flight. After we landed we were stuck on the plane for another 45 minutes without a gate to deboard from. The smell of exhaust from the engines in the cabin along with the heat inside the cabin made the flight uncomfortable.

Flight cancelled and deplaned. Rescheduled 8 hours later at a different airport. Ended up at destination but late.

The seats are very small. I’m 5’ 3”, so don’t think I should notice. The food selection was non existent and very disappointing. 5 hour flight plus TSA, etc. I would have appreciated a small salad, crudités. Something fresher not just chips.

We appreciated that the flight attendant came through 3 times with drinks or water on the long flight..I was also glad that they were separating out recycling! I would have liked a 12oz sofa can instead of 7oz, but that's a minor quibble. The knee space in economy was also better than most of Alaska's competitors.

I liked the free snacks and drink. I liked the onboard entertainment. I did not like the WiFi cutting out in middle of my movie.

Flight from LAX to STS das excellent. Flight from DCA to LAX was troubled by the previous flight returning to the one DCA gate putting our flight in jeopardy. However another gate was arranged and that flight was a bit late, but was handled exceptionally.

Boarding process was poorly handled by the gate crew and the onboard crew. No effort was made to provide equal treatment to passengers with overhead bin space. Crew seemed disengaged and unfriendly.

Awesome. Great flight. Super nice people and I like the extra space

Not having a five hour delay with little notice! The crew was very kind, though, and just as tired as we passengers were. The flight didn't depart until nearly 1 am...and no reason was ever given.

This leg was much better, but we did have to have a 3 hour lay o er after coming from a very exhausting hiccup with our flight from BNA to Den

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

No food or entertainment, just a quick 40 minute flight. A little bumpy due to Santa Ana winds but pilot has no control over that. Good flight and landing!

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

Mediocre. Boarding is now unpleasant. The employees, once friendly and nice, are now regularly speaking sternly to passengers, badgering them to do things right so they can take off on time and gate check bags because they don't have enough overhead bin space. The pretzel snack was crushed flat and broken into even smaller pieces, which happens frequently lately. Drink service was suspended before they reached my row.

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

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

Flight delayed two hours , missed connection flight then connection cancelled- horrible experience with hotel

The checking was disaster, the crew wasn't behave well. It took us two hours to check in, after that thr line at the TSA was long, we barely make the flight. Bad airline

I like that if they asked you to checked in a bag at the gate they give you priority to board

I liked the Starlink WiFi but didn't like how they said they were the only airline to offer a free meal and it turns out to be just a standalone sandwich and then charge for snacks to go with it. Rather have the free snacks like Southwest, but have the option to purchase a decent meal for a 5+ hour flight.

I like Hawaiian, it was great that they had good internet connection across the Pacific Ocean, thanks to Star Link satellites. The seating was comfortable, ( I was in economy ). Maybe I missed it, but I only got offered a beverage once. It was a nonstop flight KOA to SMF. I would take it again next time I go that way.

Previously flown Hawaiian Airlines on similar routes, I found Alaska Airlines to be noticeably more comfortable. The seats on Alaska Airlines provided better support and cushioning, which made a significant difference on the long flight to the islands. When you’re spending 5-6 hours in the air, seat comfort really matters, and Alaska Airlines delivered where it counts. After comparing both carriers, I’ve decided to book with Alaska Airlines for all my future Hawaii trips. The superior seat comfort alone makes it worth choosing Alaska over Hawaiian Airlines. If you’re planning a trip to Hawaii and prioritizing comfort, I’d recommend giving Alaska Airlines a try. You won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended for Hawaii travel!

I received several emails about my 3:10 flight. When I showed up to the airport at 12:30 to check my bags I was told the flight was actually at 1 pm. They grudgingly rebooked me for a flight at 5:22 to Vegas to get a connecting to LAX. I did find the gate for my original 3:10 flight but they were booked. I proceeded to receive status updates and gate change information for the 3:10 flight, even though I was apparently never supposed to be on that flight

The crew was EXTREMELY helpful And sweet and the flight was smooth!

The Kayak confirmation number did not work for checking in the day before. I checked in at 8.30 using my ticket number. When I arrived at the airport, I was informed that the flight was overbooked, and since I had checked in late, I did not have a seat. The Next flight was not until ten PM. I called my wife, who had been taking care of our kids all weekend, and she was upset, calling me a liar and telling me to stay in SD. It turned my weekend getaway into a nightmare! I blame the Kayak website and will not book flights using your app in the future.

One hour waiting time after boarding, but arrived in time. I am satisfied

Vegetarian selection could be better. Bread was too hard to chew.

Crew was friendly and competent. Food, wine, and entertainment were excellent except the raw tuna on the flight to Split. Recommend against serving that - at least as the only option. Many medical conditions do not allow people to eat raw fish.

After arriving in Chicago, we were taxiing for 1.5 hours with infrequent and untruthful updates about the amount of time it would take to arrive at the gate. Minimally, the team could have provided timing expectations that were more truthful, especially one their original expectations were not met.

United didn’t even try to hold the flight for me. They knew I had a tight connection and when I arrived at the gate less than 10 mins after final boarding the flight had already gone. The gate agent wasn’t even notified that I was on my way. She was told I wasn’t at the airport

Good quick flight on a small but comfortable plane. I'm 6'3 and had plenty of space.

The flight was delayed so we were dead tired, and after that the turbulence was horrible. I was very scared.

Wonderful. Quick boarding. Early departure and we arrived 30 minutes early at our destination. Unfortunately, when you arrive early, there is still a departing aircraft at our gate. We had to park for 30 minutes until the gate was clear. So our early arrival was not really early at the gate. Otherwise it was a quick and smooth flight. Appreciated the efficiency.

Wifi took a while to kick in and we had a maintenance issue that took over 40 mins at the gate in Washington before pulling back

Very good. Because of the delays with my previous flight, I missed my connection, but I was able to book another flight through the United app easily.

Was happy we finally got upgraded in 1st class. The seat getting old. The cushiness need some improvement.

Frontier scheduled a 40 minute connection in DEN. What they failed to mention was that they “close the doors” 20 mins prior to departure, which means you only have 20 mins. Not enough time. Possibly against DOT regulations. Filing complaint.

Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

Plane was hot and miserable and the crew was rude!

12 hour delay required getting on and off plane 3 times - would have at least liked to have been offered a snack or drink

They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked

They switched our terminal 3 times and we were delayed for four plus hours!!!

It was an early flight and most people napped/slept and the crew let us which was nice.

The crew acted like they had never done this and kept barking passive aggressive orders at people. + the security line + the delay + sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours + none of the apps or signage updating with correct times

More inflight connection. And leg space is horrible. And the paying for baggage I'd ridiculous!!!

Everything you need to know for your flight from Washington, D.C. to Palo Alto

Complete your trip to Palo Alto with a hotel stay or car rental