Limo SF VIP provides airport transportation and airport limo service in San Francisco and across the Bay Area: SFO, Oakland and San José, in a sedan, an SUV or a Sprinter for the whole group. Our own chauffeurs drive every Bay Area airport run, meet you inside the terminal and help with the bags. Every airport pickup includes 40 minutes of free waiting from the posted arrival time. Send the flight and the address for a quote in 15 to 30 minutes, or call (888) 888-0195.
SFO, Oakland or San José: where the car meets you
Each of the three airports has its own pickup rules, and the chauffeur works to them:
- San Francisco International (SFO): prearranged limousines load at the Level 1 and 2 White Zone curbs of Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, and at the Level 2 center island Yellow Zone of the International Terminal. Full details are on our SFO car service page.
- Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK): limousines load in areas set by the airport's landside operations, and chauffeurs may meet passengers in baggage claim. See Oakland airport car service.
- San José Mineta (SJC): limousine pickup must be prearranged. At Terminal A the car waits on the first floor of Hourly Lot 2, and at Terminal B in Hourly Lot 5, both just outside baggage claim. See San José airport car service.
How a booked airport pickup works
Share your flight number when you book, and the pickup follows your actual arrival time rather than the schedule. The 40 free minutes start from the posted arrival, which leaves room for the walk to baggage claim and the carousel. After that, waiting is billed in 15-minute steps at the hourly rate.
The chauffeur meets you inside. At SFO arriving passengers can't be met at the gate, so the meeting happens at the airport's signed meeting points, or at the customs exit doors marked "San Francisco" for international arrivals. Then it's a short walk to the car while the chauffeur handles the luggage.
SFO and SJC both keep commercial vehicles out of their cell phone lots, and all three airports ban waiting at the curb, so a booked pickup is arranged around the moment you're ready to walk out.
A booked car, a rideshare or a taxi
The three options use different parts of the airport. At SFO's domestic terminals, standard Uber and Lyft rides collect passengers on Level 5 of the Domestic Garage, and at Oakland on the 3rd Curb, sections 3C2 to 3C9. At SJC, rideshares use their own island stops, separate from the limousine lots. A booked car comes with a price agreed before the trip, a chauffeur who already has your name and flight, and room for everyone's bags.
Drive times from each airport
Distances and free-flow times, before traffic:
- SFO to Union Square: about 14 miles, 17 minutes. Palo Alto is about 20 miles and 24 minutes south, San José about 36 miles and 37 minutes.
- OAK to downtown San Francisco: about 20 miles over the Bay Bridge, roughly 28 minutes.
- SJC to Levi's Stadium: 5.5 miles. Apple Park is 5.8 miles, Stanford 17.2, and Union Square in San Francisco 46.3 miles.
Caltrans notes that all lanes of US-101 on the Peninsula are generally congested at peak hours, so allow extra time for a weekday departure.
Groups, luggage and private aviation
For five travelers or fewer, a luxury SUV carries up to five people. A Mercedes Sprinter takes up to 14 people and 14 bags. At SFO, group charters load in the bus courtyards on the arrivals level, and for curbside charter pickups SFO asks the whole group to be ready with bags in hand before the vehicle reaches the curb. Larger groups move in a mini coach (27 to 36) or a motorcoach (up to 56).
Flying private? At San José, the Signature and Atlantic Aviation terminals both have onsite customs, and at Oakland permitted limousines may also pick up at North Field, the airport's general-aviation side. We pick up at private terminals too, including Signature at SFO; send the FBO name and the tail number or flight details with your request.
Vehicles for airport runs
- Executive sedan: Mercedes E-Class, up to 3 passengers.
- Premium sedan: Mercedes S550 or BMW 750i, up to 3 passengers.
- Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator or GMC Yukon, up to 5 passengers.
- Mercedes Sprinter: up to 14 passengers and 14 bags.
Capacity is confirmed in your quote.
Booking and payment
Payment goes through a secure online link once you approve the quote, and we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. A 20% gratuity is added as its own line. California airports require a CPUC charter-party permit for every limousine pickup, and our vehicles hold the SFO permit to load at its zones.
Tell us the airline, the flight number, the pickup address and how many people and bags are traveling. We'll send the quote back, or call (888) 888-0195.
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Rated A+ by the BBB · 4.9 stars on Google (300+ reviews)
Rated A+ by the BBB · 4.9 stars on Google (300+ reviews)
What clients say about Limo SF VIP on Google
Live Google reviews of Limo SF VIP. Every Bay Area airport ride is driven by our own chauffeurs.
Airport transportation in San Francisco: your questions
The airport matters less than the trip. The quote is built from the vehicle, the distance to your destination and the date, so the airport closest to where you’re going usually means the shorter drive and the lower fare. The same rules hold at all three: a transfer is priced on its route, with no hourly minimum. The 20% gratuity is a separate line, and the quote usually comes back in 15 to 30 minutes.
Nothing at the curb: a 20% gratuity is already on the bill, shown as its own line. It covers the base fare and any waiting or stops on the trip, so there's no need to have cash ready when the chauffeur lifts your bags into the trunk at SFO, OAK or SJC. If the flight ran late and the chauffeur waited past the free 40 minutes, the extra wait goes on the bill in quarter-hour blocks, and the gratuity is figured on that as well.
SFO for San Francisco and the Peninsula, Oakland for the East Bay, San José for Silicon Valley. SFO is about 14 miles from Union Square and 20 from Palo Alto. Oakland sits just south of downtown Oakland, about 20 miles from downtown San Francisco over the Bay Bridge. San José Mineta is 5.5 miles from Levi's Stadium and 5.8 from Apple Park. Tell us the hotel or office, and we'll point you to the airport that keeps the drive shortest.
Yes. Airport-to-airport transfers are quoted like any point-to-point ride, priced on the route. San José Mineta is about 33.6 miles from SFO, which matters when a connection moves or a cheaper fare leaves from the other airport. Give us both flight numbers, and the pickup follows the arriving flight’s actual landing time, with 40 free minutes from its official posted arrival.
Yes. We collect passengers at Signature at SFO, at Signature (323 Martin Avenue) and Atlantic Aviation (1250 Aviation Avenue) at San José, both with onsite customs, and at Oakland's North Field, the general-aviation side where permitted limousines may load. Send the FBO name, the tail number or flight details and the arrival time, and the car is set up for that terminal rather than the main curb.
Yes. Put the guest’s name, airline and flight number on the request and your own contact details for the quote. You approve it and pay through the secure online link with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, while the chauffeur meets the guest inside the terminal and helps with the bags. Your guest only has to walk out and find the chauffeur waiting.
Yes. List both legs: the departure pickup with your address and flight time, and the return with the airline, flight number and landing date. Each leg is a point-to-point transfer priced on its route, both appear on the same quote, and the return pickup follows the actual arrival of the flight you give us, so the car home is arranged before you fly.
Inside the terminal, never at the gate. SFO doesn’t let anyone meet arriving passengers at the gate, so the meeting happens at its signed meeting points or the customs exit doors marked San Francisco. Oakland allows chauffeurs to meet passengers in baggage claim. At San José, a permitted chauffeur may leave the car only to meet a prearranged party inside the terminal. In every case the chauffeur helps carry the bags to the car.
It depends on the bags more than the people. A luxury SUV such as a Cadillac Escalade or GMC Yukon seats up to five, and five large suitcases can fill the cargo space, so tell us the exact bag count. With golf bags, strollers or a second case per person, a Mercedes Sprinter is the safer choice: up to 14 passengers and 14 bags. Capacity is confirmed in the quote before you book.
Call (888) 888-0195 as soon as you know, and we'll move the pickup to the airport you actually land at. The chauffeur needs the new airport, the new arrival time and the terminal. The ride from the new airport to your destination is re-quoted on its route and confirmed with you before the car moves. If a return pickup is booked for later in the trip, mention it on the same call so both legs are checked.
The airline and flight number, the airport and terminal if you know it, the pickup or drop-off address, how many people are traveling and how many bags. For international arrivals, say so, because the meeting point differs: at SFO it’s the customs exit doors marked San Francisco. With those details you’ll usually have a quote within half an hour, payable by secure link.
For a straight run between the terminal and a hotel, home or office, a one-way transfer priced on the route is usually the better fit. Hourly booking makes sense when the day continues after landing: meetings in Palo Alto, a stop to pick up a colleague, then dinner in the city. Hourly bookings carry a minimum, and a Sprinter runs at least four hours, so the quote states which way the trip is priced.
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