A friend and I are flying to Paris from SFO. Neither of us has ever parked in long-term parking in SF. We both have fairly new cars and want to know if we have to worry about still having a car after being gone for 9 days.

Alternatively, we can rent a car in Sacto. and drop it off at SFO, and do the reverse upon our return.

Any advice?

I like Skypark!

Long term parking at SFO is kind of out in the toolies (which LT parking isn't?), but I doubt if your car will be unsafe. Take a darker/less noticeable car, park in a well-lit area, have nothing in sight in the car, and lock the car.

If you don't have a drop off fee then a rental car might alleviate your concerns.

One of the satellite lots has a special indoor garage for newer cars. It may be Park N' Fly and it may cost a few extra $$ a day. It is to the North of the airport.

There is also the L/T parking at International in SFO, which is right at the terminal and I think has a flat $20 a day rate.

I do wonder why you are taking new cars if you are both coming from Sacramento?

What about some sort of public transport service between Sacramento and SFO, or even a door to door service? Parking adds up and it may cost less to find out how much a limo service would charge to pick you up at one of your houses and then take the both of you to SFO from wherever you live...

When we have an early morning flight out of SFO (we live on the other side of the Bay) we stay at one of the Park & Fly hotels, spend the night, leave the car for the duration, and take the shuttle to/from the hotel. There's an additional charge above the room rate, and the car stays in the hotel parking area while we're gone. We've done this many times and have never had any damage to our cars or theft.

Most recently we have been staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Burlingame. There's a Max's Restaurant right next door where we usually have dinner. The hotel provides a continental breakfast.

Make sure you remember exactly where you park! I am serious. One of the Fodorites several years ago posted, they parked at SFO, went to Europe, and forgot which parking lot.

Limo from Sacramento to/from SFO is more expensive than renting cars both ways. We almost always rent if the trip is over a week or so as it makes life very simple.
Park and fly can be useful for early morning flights when the trip is not very long as there is usually a week of "free" parking. Sometimes you can find two weeks in p/f.

I have flown out of SFO several times. I never leave my car at SFO. It is expensive. I found a website called parksleepfly.com. I found a lot in Burlinggame, pretty close to the airport. They are reasonable, about $6 a day, and the security is very nice. It is right next to the Sheraton Hotel, and they have a shuttle bus to take you to the airport. I used them for my trip to Costa Rica last year (about 12 days) and I am using them again in May for 22 days. If you are uncomforatable with the idea of a lot like this, park sleep fly has contracts with hotels, where they will lock up your car on a fenced lot and take you to the airport for a very reasonable fee. Highly recommend!

I live near Sacto and NEVER park at SFO. I either 1) do two one-way rentals which is cheaper than parking at SFO for a week or more; or 2) (most of the time) do a park/stay/fly like shavtravels mentions. Some of the hotels/motels on that site are cheaper for parking and a room than just for parking at SFO.

For overseas trips I often stay 1 night before departure and 1 night after return since I hate driving through SF gridlock while jetlagged.

There are limos from Sac to SFO - but they are expensive.

I often leave my car at a long term parking place near SFO-in 20 years I have never had a problem. I park at SkyPark--a valet lot for about $13 a day, I think. For a short stay, less than 7 days it costs me less than taking cabs to/from SF.

For cheap the stay overnight package is the best. Unless you have a late day flight I hate worrying about getting to the airport on time. As you well know somebody with a flat tire on I-80 can make you hours late.

Most stay/park hotels are an equal a hotel stay for the cost of parking. So either the room or parking is a wash.

One time we found an indoor parking location in San Mateo when we couldn't spend the night. They did valet parking and would even wash our car before we picked it up.

We let them know when we would be returning and our car was sitting at the curb waiting for us when we got off the shuttle.

"One time we found an indoor parking location in San Mateo when we couldn't spend the night. They did valet parking and would even wash our car before we picked it up.

We let them know when we would be returning and our car was sitting at the curb waiting for us when we got off the shuttle. "

Sounds like SkyPark--I like the fact that when I'm on a late flight my car is waiting for me when I get off the shuttle.

Isn't SkyPark in San Bruno?

Replying to myself, SkyPark is on San Mateo Avenue in the town of San Bruno (not to be confused with the town of San Mateo, which is 3 towns south of San Bruno).

http://www.skypark.com/MapDirections.aspx

My friend and I rented one way car rentals to and from Fresno. It was much cheaper at that time (November of 2006)to drive up and back and pay the gas than to do the parksleepfly option. However, in retrospect her driving was so bad coming back to Fresno I am going to suggest this next time(Italy in 2009) we try the parksleepfly option. I've stayed several times at the Clarion which is right near SFO and was very happy with them. Just make sure to ask for a room away from the airport side.

If I go alone on a trip I always do the parksleepfly option. but I may consider Amtrak this time too.