mlm59

Have reservations for late May for a cabin at Curry Village in Yosemite. Can fly to either Oakland or San Jose as we have free tickets on Southwest. Which airport is closest to Yosemite and what is the best route to take? Will be finishing our trip in San Francisco. Will be flying back on Friday afternoon. Would it be a pain to travel from the Fisherman's Wharf area of SF to the San Jose airport? I'm sure the Oakland airport is much closer. The flight from Oakland leaves at 2:15 and from San Jose at 4:00.

Dan

I'd opt for Oakland to avoid the traffic on the Peninsula. SJ adds a good 30-40 miles to the journey.

I don't know if this applies in your case, but OAK also offers a lot more nonstops on Southwest than does SJC. For example, from my city (New Orleans), we do have a nonstop to Oakland but not San Jose.

Treck

mlm59,

Actually both San Jose and Oakland are about the same distance from Yosemite. San Jose is only 5 miles farther from Yosemite than Oakland.


I personally prefer San Jose. I guess it depends on whether you want to leave on an earlier or later flight.

The best route to Yosemite is 580/205/5/120/140.

J_Correa

I would go with OAK. If you were just going to Yosemite or Yosemite and points south, I would say SJC, but because you are ending your trip in SF, I think OAK would be your best choice because it's closer to SF and if you decide not to have a car in SF, you can still get to the airport easily and cheaply.

As far as which route to take from the Bay Area to Yosemite, there are 3 routes, each has it's pros and cons.

580/205/120 is fairly direct and probably the fastest, esspecially from OAK, but has some fairly steep sections and some sections with sheer drop offs. Can be a nail biter. It has some great views though.

580/205/120/99/140 is a little less direct, but not too far out of the way. This route follows the Merced river once you get into the hills and is a nice drive - not steep, more relaxing than the previous route.

580/205/120/99/41 is further out of the way and takes at least an hour longer, but you get a terrific view of the valley as you drive in. You enter through the south entrance, go past Wawona. You pass through a tunnel and just on the other side you can see the whole valley - Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridal Veil Fall and so on in one view.

jenneepoo

Does Southwest fly into Fresno (FAT)? It's closer yet...

dwooddon

If SW flys into Sacramento, that would be better than either OAK or San Jose.

janis

Oakland is the closest, but Sacramento would be the easiest drive. Except for relatively short rush hours (compared to the SF Bay area) you can get out of town and to Yosemite in about 2 hours give or take.

Southwest allows you to open jaw their free tickets - so I would fly into Sacramento and out of Oakland. That way you could go into SF by BART.

If you don't want to open jaw - then use Oakland. SJ is not at all convenient to the SF part of your trip.

mlm59

Thanks for all of the advice. We are flying to California from Indianapolis. The times to Sacramento aren't good - the earliest flight requires 2 stops and doesn't arrive until after 2:00. Unfortunately either Oakland or San Jose require 1 stop. I want to get there as early in the day as possible. The flight into Oakland arrives around 12:00. How long can we expect for the drive from the airport to Curry Village - we will be arriving on Saturday afternoon? I think I will take the route along the Merced River. It seems a bit safer.

dean56

I concur with J Correa's recommendations for routes to Yosemite.
If you don't mind a slow drive with plenty of sharp curves, definitely take the southerly route on 41. The famous "tunnel view" is awesome. Also, you can stop at Mariposa Grove just as you enter the park to see the giant Sequoias. Hwy. 140 is by far the easiest drive - that's the route we took leaving the park.
You're wise to be staying in the valley. Enjoy!

J_Correa

I would say that the hwy 140 route would take about 4 hours from OAK.