Oakland is certainly one of the most travel friendly destinations of United States. It is well connected to the rest of America by all important modes of transportation and also boasts pretty efficient local transportation. Owing to this traveling to and across Oakland is hassle free.
Travel to Oakland by air
Oakland International Airport
Image Courtesy: Derrick Coetzee: commons.wikimedia.org
Oakland is home to International Airport, popularly known as Oakland International Airport (OAK). Its International status implies that its a well connected airport. Connected not just across all the important cities of United States, but also across European Continent.
Oakland Airport is located five miles south of Downtown Oakland, in Alameda County. It has 2 terminals, terminal 1 is relatively busier and congested of the two. It has all the standard facilities like passenger transit area, In-transit lounge, three food & drink establishments, duty free shops and newsstands.
There is also no dearth of 5 star and 3 star hotels in the vicinity of Oakland Airport. Their presence is certainly a boon for all incoming tourists and passengers. Not to mention that there are also numerous coffee shops and fast food joints.
To and from Oakland International Airport
Being well connected by all modes of public transport, traveling to and from Oakland International Airport is never a problem at all. The newly inaugurated Oakland Airport BART Station that is connected to Oakland Coliseum Station is especially proving to be a boon for airport commuters. Currently there is a Bart between Oakland Airport BART Station and Oakland Coliseum Station every 5 minutes. Oakland Airport BART Station is located just across Terminal 1 baggage claim area.
Apart from BART, taxis, limousine and AC transit services are also available round the clock to travel to and from Oakland Airport.
Airlines serving Oakland International Airport
Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, American Eagle, Boutique Air, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
Oakland International Airport Address
1 Airport Dr, Oakland, CA 94621, United States
Phone no: 1 510-563-3300
Airport Code: (OAK)
Other Airports close to Oakland
San Francisco International Airport and San Jose International Airport are two airports that are close to Oakland. Hence in case you’re unable to get a flight to Oakland, then you can choose to fly to either of these two airports. San Francisco Airport though is located in close proximity to Oakland. Oakland commuters/tourists can save a lot of time if they chose to fly to San Francisco International Airport.
Both these international airports are laced with all the standard facilities. Besides, they are very well served by all top airline carriers.
San Francisco International Airport
PO Box 8097, San Francisco, CA 94128-8097
Phone no: 800.435.9736 or 650.821.8211
Code: SFO
San Jose International Airport
1701 Airport Blvd, Suite B-1130, San Jose, CA 95110, United States
Email: info@sjc.org
Code: SJC
Travel to Oakland by Train
Oakland is very well connected to almost all the important American cities through Amtrak train service. Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Detroit, Florida and Colorado are some of the important cities that Oakland city is connected to through Amtrak train service. And there are other hordes of important cities that Oakland is connected to via Amtrak trains. You can
click here to know about the availability of Amtrak trains to Oakland from various cities.
Coming to Amtrak stations in Oakland, there are two Amtrak stations in Oakland city. These are Jack London Square (OKJ) and Oakland Colliseum Airport (OAC).
Travel to Oakland by Road
Below is information about important highways that connect Oakland to some of the very popular cities of California.
From San Francisco city: Use Highway 80 that will take you to the beautiful Bay Bridge. Then take either 580, 880 or 980 highway to reach to Oakland city. These three highways are connected to east, west, and downtown Oakland.
From Marin and Sonoma: Follow US-101 towards Highway 580 and then cross Richmond Bridge. Highway 580 leads directly to the heart of Oakland.
From Monterey, Salinas, and the Central Coast: Pass through US-101 towards San Jose and then connect to Highway 880, which will eventually lead you to Oakland.
From Stockton: Take up Highway no 4 and then pass through Contra Costa County toward Highway 242, then take Highway 680 and then finally take Highway 24 that will eventually take you to Oakland.
From Contra Costa County: Straight away head to Highway 24 that will directly take you to Oakland.
Travel to Oakland by Sea
One can travel to Oakland through San Francisco Bay Ferry. San Francisco Bay Ferry travels across San Francisco Bay and connects various nearby cities of California State. Ferries for Oakland are available all through the week from two terminals in San Francisco: Pier 41 and Ferry Building. The arrival terminal in Oakland city on other hand is in Jack London Squares. This ferry service is available throughout the year except for mid winter season.
Although San Francisco Bay Ferry covers only short distance, but passengers traveling from far across cities can also break their journey using this ferry service to reach Oakland.
Travel across Oakland city
If traveling to Oakland is easy, then traveling across Oakland city is even easier. This is because Oakland has in place an efficient local transportation system. There are basically three ways one can travel across Oakland city: train (BART service), bus (AC Transit) and cabs.
BART service: BART is a subway/elevated rapid transit system that is Operational throughout Bay Area. Everyday thousands of people use Bart for traveling not just across Oakland city, but also to various cities of California. It is by far the best and most cost effective way to travel across Oakland and California. Currently there are total 9 BART stations in Oakland city. These 9 stations are located at 12th Street Oakland City Center, 19th Street Oakland, Coliseum, Fruitvale, Lake Merritt, MacArthur, Oakland International Airport, Rockridge and West Oakland.
A/C Transit buses: A/C Transit is primary and popular bus service available throughout Oakland and within East Bay area. It covers almost the entire downtown as well as other important parts like Oakland Coliseum, Oracle Arena and Oakland International Airport.
There are also 3 all night routes. At these 3 night routes, A/C Transit buses are available every hour between 12 A.M and 6 A.M. These 3 night routes are 800, 805, and 851.
Route 800 operates between San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley; in Oakland it serves areas like West Oakland, 12th Street/Oakland, 19th Street/Oakland and MacArthur.
Route 805 covers 12th Street/Oakland, 19th Street/Oakland, Coliseum/Oakland Airport.
Route 851 covers Downtown Berkeley, Rockridge, 19th Street/Oakland, 12th Street/Oakland, Fruitvale.
Cab services: Thousands of cabs ply across Oakland every day. They cover literally every part of the city. They are, needless to say, a major boon and lifeline for this city.
Car rental and Cab services in Oakland
One can also easily travel across Oakland city by hiring a car rental service. They are immensely popular among Oakland tourists, who mostly use it for sightseeing. Here are the names and phones of some of the renowned car rental service companies operating in Oakland city.
Thrifty Car Rental
Address: 7600 Earhart Road, Oakland, CA 94621
Phone: 877-283-0898
Website: https://www.thrifty.com Oakland Airport (OAK) Car Rental
Address: 7600 Earhart Rd, Oakland, CA, US, 94621,
Phone no: 1 510-567-1760
Hertz Car Rental Locations
Address: 1001 Broadway
Phone no: 1 510-451-3807
Website: https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/location
Dollar Rent A Car
Address: Oakland Int'l Airport
Phone no: 1 866-434-2226
Website: https://www.dollar.com/locations/localSites/Oakland Payless Car Rental
Address: 7600 Earhart Rd
Oakland, CA 94621
United States
Phone no: (1) 510-638-1000
Website: https://www.paylesscar.com/locations/oakland-oak/ Alamo Car rental services
Address: 7600 Earhart Rd, Oakland, CA 94621
Phone no: (888) 826-6893
Website: http://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/home.html Firefly Car Rental Services
Address: 7600 Earhart Drive, Oakland International Airport, Oakland, CA 94621, United States
Phone no: 1 510-568-5439
Website: http://www.fireflycarrental.com/rentalcar/reservation/homeFriendly Cab Transportation
Address: 4849 E. 12th St.
Oakland, Ca 94601
Phone no: 510) 536-3000
Website:
http://friendlycab.com/ Thunder Express Taxi Cab
Address: 1402 Webster St Oakland,Oakland Chinatown, CA 94608
Phone no: (510) 585-1500
Oakland Yellow Cab
Address: 1800 Harrison St Oakland, Lake Merritt, CA 94612
Phone no: (510) 251-0130
Fast & Friendly Cab
Address: 937 43rd St Oakland, b/t Linden St & Market St North Oakland, CA 94608
Phone no: (510) 355-6000
Luck 1 Cab
Address: 2530 Market St, Oakland, CA 94607
Phone no: (510) 355-2222
Website: http://www.lucky1cab.com/Home.aspx A-1 Taxi Santa Rosa
Address: 2411 Quail Hollow Dr. Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Phone no: (707) 542-9999
Website: http://www.a1santarosataxi.net/ Marwan Taxi
Phone no: 510-830-9283
Website:
http://www.marwancab.com/Berkeley yellow cabsAddress: Oakland, CA 94608
Phone no: 1-510.208.2888
Website: http://www.berkeleyyellowcabs.com/index.php 
