Home > Travel Guide > Marin County Scenic Drive > Part II d

Oakland Airport Detours

Emergency Directions

From Oakland Airport To Marin County

Great news! The freeway collapse has been repaired. You no longer need to detour in order to reach Marin County.

For normal directions from Oakland International Airport to Marin County, please see Oakland Airport to Marin County: The best route and times.

Best emergency routes from Oakland Airport
to Marin County

(No longer needed.)

At Oakland International Airport, have your car rental company point you to the southbound I-880 freeway.

(If in the terminal area, take Airport Drive toward the airport exit. As you leave the airport, veer somewhat right onto 98th Avenue. Continue toward I-880.)

Take the southbound on-ramp onto I-880 toward Hayward and San Jose.

Drive southbound on I-880.

Take the westbound exit onto the Highway 92 Freeway—the J Arthur Younger Freeway—toward San Mateo.

The Highway 92 Freeway crosses San Francisco Bay.

After crossing the bay, take the northbound U.S. 101 Freeway—the Bayshore Freeway—toward San Francisco.

Continuing to San Francisco

(Continuing to Marin County found below)

Continue on northbound U.S. 101 toward downtown San Francisco. Northbound, you may wish to avoid this freeway during the weekday morning rush hour.

You'll pass San Francisco International Airport. (There are spectacular hotel values here. See below.)

As you near downtown on 101, exit onto the northbound I-280 Freeway toward downtown.

Switching to the I-280 will help you avoid the congestion leading to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

At the end of the I-280 Freeway, take 6th Street northbound toward the Union Square area.

Continuing to Marin County

From the Highway 92 freeway, take the northbound U.S. 101 Freeway—the Bayshore Freeway—toward San Francisco, as per above.

Just after passing San Francisco International Airport, take the westbound I-380 Freeway.

After several minutes, take the northbound I-280 Freeway toward San Francisco.

IGNORE the first Highway 1 exit—the southbound exit.

Instead, take the second Highway 1 exit—the northbound Highway 1 exit—toward San Francisco.

Highway 1 avoids the congestion of downtown San Francisco.

Continue on Highway 1 through San Francisco. This is not a freeway, but no freeway leads to the Golden Gate Bridge. You'll pass through Golden Gate Park.

As you near the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway 1 joins northbound U.S. 101.

As you pass over the bridge on 1 and 101, you enter Marin County. In Marin County, most hotels and businesses are along or near the 101 freeway.

Suggestions: Enjoy our Marin County Scenic Drive and Wine Country Scenic Drive, which can be done together.

Best hotel values in Bay Area

Want the best prices on top hotels in the Bay Area?

These detours pass San Francisco International Airport, whose neighborhood has the lowest prices on first-class and deluxe hotels in the San Francisco area—more rooms for low prices at higher quality hotels than any other place in the Bay Area.

For example,

• Find out the lowest price for a single room for your dates of travel at the Motel 6 in South Francisco, just north of the airport.
  
  
• Then, bid that price (excluding tax) for a 3- or 4-star hotel in the San Francisco Airport South area using Priceline.com Hotels.

You are likely to get a first-class or deluxe airport hotel like the Marriott SFO, Doubletree, or Hyatt Regency for the price of the Motel 6!

Why? Because group travel from Asia is down, these top hotels use Priceline to fill their rooms.