What would you do during a 10-hour layover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with two young children?
10-Hour SFO Layover
As much as I love flying nonstop, sometimes taking advantage of particularly attractive fare requires a connection and/or an extended the layover. That is the case for an upcoming family trip via SFO.
I’ll arrive around 10am and leave around 8pm, meaning a ten-hour layover there with a one-year-old and four-year-old.
The way I see it, my options include:
Day room at the Grand Hyatt SFO for $159 plus tax
Hanging out in the United Club all day
Going into San Francisco for the day
Same-day change to a later flight (unlikely, due to full loads)
I lean toward the hotel room or the United Club (with frequent trips through the terminal with my son to watch airplanes land and takeoff). If money were no object, I’d just book the hotel room either way, but I also don’t want to sleep all day before boarding a long overnight flight.
I’m also not sure that $159 is well-spent when I’ll take a shower at home before the flight, the hotel lounge will be closed, and I can lounge hop in the airport. As much as I’d like to be able to workout, that’s a darn expensive workout!
I love San Francisco and ordinarily would love to go into the City. I can use BART, Uber, or even rent a car. My son would love to ride the cable car and the weather looks pleasant.
But then what? Toting around a one-year-old isn’t exactly easy and what about our carry-on bags if we don’t hire a car?
So I lean toward a long day in the lounge and in the terminal (there are far worse airports than SFO for long layovers…) and maybe lunch and dinner at the Priority Pass restaurants in the terminal.
Still, I wanted to lay out my predicament and ask for your input.
Let me know what you’d do if you were in my shoes…