Travel Information
This page has some very basic travel information, which should help you get to and around the Bay Area. If you'd like information on tourist attractions to see while you're here, check out the tourism page.
Airlines
Here are some sample airfares found on the web, to help you with planning:
American Airlines
| OAK | SFO | SJC | |
| Syracuse, NY | $460 | $460 | $460 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $500 | N/A | $448 |
| Providence, RI | $418 | $420 | $306 |
United Airlines
| OAK | SFO | SJC | |
| Syracuse, NY | $350 | $460 | $460 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $500 | $140 | N/A |
| Providence, RI | $305 | $416 | $306 |
Northwest Airlines
| OAK | SFO | SJC | |
| Syracuse, NY | $580 | N/A | N/A |
| Minneapolis, MN | $480 | $420 | $440 |
| Providence, RI | N/A | N/A | $310 |
Which Airport?
For closeness, you can't beat Oakland International Airport (OAK). However, it is often easier to find cheap tickets into San Francisco International (SFO). Only with a substantial price differential (say, $200 to $300) or other incentive (eg, staying with a friend or relative in the South Bay) should you fly into San Jose (SJC), because it's about 2 hours away through heavy traffic.
Ground Transportation
You can rent a car, or you can take public transit or taxis. Taxis in this area are very hard to come by without a phone call and an hour's wait, unless you're actually at the airport. It costs about $30 plus tip to get to our house in Alameda from the Oakland airport via taxi. From SFO, a taxi is about $65 plus tip. Airport shuttle vans are readily available and can be cheaper if you're travelling alone:
| From Oakland | From San Francisco | |
| Per passenger | $20 | $55 |
| Additional passenger | $10 | $10 |
| Small children | $5 | $5 |
If you're planning on staying around the area to do tourist things, you probably want to rent a car, because while the East Bay has excellent public transit, the same is not true of pretty much anywhere else. Also, travel times on public transit are often many times the driving time, unless it happens to be rush hour.
Because of limited parking at the park, it might be a good idea to carpool to the wedding.
Hotels
Hotel rates range between $80/night and $150 for average range hotels. If you want to stay at a discount hotel chain like Motel 6, be sure to make a reservation because June is tourist season. Some good hotels are listed on this site: Oakland.com
Some other hotels:
| Name | Phone | $/night |
| Rose Garden Inn | (510) 549-2145 | $130+ |
| Durant Hotel | (510) 845-8981 | $130 |
| French Hotel | (510) 548-9930 | $130 |
Feel free to call or e-mail us for advice.