Travel & Transit
We’re hoping your journey here will be smooth sailing (at least metaphorically)! Below we’ve listed some general transit options relevant for planning your trip to the area.
Planes
All three major airports in the San Francisco Bay Area have flights from most airlines and are relatively well-connected by public transit to urban centers (though not so well-connected to Sequoia). Driving times and distances listed below:
- San Jose (SJC) is the closest international airport (45 min / 36 miles / 58 km from Sequoia).
- San Francisco (SFO) may have more flights (1 hr 15 min / 65 miles / 104 km from Sequoia).
- Oakland (OAK) is another good option (1 hr 22 min / 69 miles / 111 km from Sequoia).
Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) is also not far (1 hr 13 min / 53.5 miles / 86 km from Sequoia), though there are fewer flights there and it’s less well-connected to the rest of the Bay Area.
Warning: Driving times listed above can vary dramatically with traffic conditions. If you're traveling toward Sequoia/Santa Cruz on a weekday, times can double by mid-afternoon.
Note that Monday, May 30 is a holiday in the U.S. (Memorial Day).
Trains (& local transit)
Alas, Bay Area rail/transit infrastructure will not be very helpful for getting to Sequoia. We hope those from more civilized realms will enjoy the anthropological experience. It will be reasonable, however to use public transit for many routes within the Bay Area.
Getting around the Bay Area
The major transit systems likely to be of use are:
- CalTrain: between downtown San Francisco and San Jose
- BART: the major transit network connecting San Francisco with points in the East Bay and peninsula, including connections to San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport.
- MUNI is the transit network within SF itself, including subway lines, bus lines and—yes—the fabled cable cars.
Do give your favorite navigation system (e.g. Google Maps) a whirl to see what delightful combinations are available for your transit needs!
Getting to Sequoia
There are airport shuttles to Ben Lomond, and even some bus lines from San Jose to Santa Cruz along Highway 17. (There is also a steam train, but that doesn‘t really count as a transit option!)
But we‘re guessing that it‘ll be simplest for most of you to go by automobile. See below!
Automobiles
Yes, they will be a necessary (though not always totally evil) means of getting to the area. That is, most of you will either drive yourselves or get a ride with someone else. We strongly encourage ride-sharing whenever possible. A few considerations:
Do you need a car at all? Maybe not! If you are coming just for the weekend and staying on-site or near one of our transit-supported locations, you may not need a car at all.
Shuttles. We are arranging some shuttles between the Bay Area and Sequoia on Sunday.
A note on Highway 17 / Santa Cruz. There are a few routes for getting to Santa Cruz and the Sequoia area from San Francisco and the South Bay—many quite scenic! For those with touristic inclinations and driving confidence… enjoy! But the long and winding road that is Highway 17 (from San Jose to Scotts Valley) may be mildly intimidating to drive. These are more reasons to take advantage of ride-sharing and to stay over in the area to avoid driving these roads late at night!
Parking. We have limited parking spaces on-site at Sequoia/Quaker (though there will always be space for pick-up and drop-off). We‘ve organized some parking lots in Ben Lomond as well as shuttles/rides from there to Sequoia. So: fewer cars coming to the area will mean fewer additional parking arrangements we’ll need. Win-win!
Other info
- Car rental. You can search pricing and make a reservation on Kayak. Visitors from abroad will need a driver license from your country and a credit card. Cost will be $20-30 per day. (See note about parking below.)
- Taxis/Uber/Lyft: The following table summarizes taxi and car-sharing options from the three San Francisco Bay Area airports. You can also get estimated fares from any address for taxis, Uber and Lyft.
| Airport | Distance to Wedding Site | Driving time | taxi fare | Uber fare | Lyft fare |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 65 miles | 80 mins | $235 | $94-124 | $97 |
| San Jose (SJC) | 36 miles | 50 mins | $130 | $42-55 | $43 |
| Oakland (OAK) | 70 miles | 85 mins | $250 | $70-92 | $104 |
Find out more about carpooling/ride-sharing options
Click here!
