SFO has no transit zone, so everyone connecting here clears the border and can use the whole airport. Before security there are nap rooms and showers open 24 hours in the International Terminal, and the Grand Hyatt on the AirTrain; after it, a lounge you can pay for, a free yoga room and museum exhibitions.
Can you sleep at SFO during a layover?
Yes, before security, which is where every international arrival ends up after the border. Freshen Up! in the International Terminal rents nap rooms by the hour, from US$150 for 3 hours (seen November 2026), and the Grand Hyatt at SFO, the airport's one hotel, is on the free AirTrain. Past security there are no rooms, but The Club SFO lounge in Terminal 1 sells entry for US$80 (seen November 2026), and Terminal 2 has a free yoga room open 4am to 11pm.
Hotels in and next to the terminals
The only hotel at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the Grand Hyatt at SFO, and it’s before security. That’s no obstacle here: SFO has no transit zone, so every international arrival clears the border and collects their bags anyway, and the hotel is open to anyone who can enter the US.
| Hotel | Where | Airside or landside | How you get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Hyatt at SFO | On the airport’s AirTrain loop | Landside | AirTrain Red or Blue Line, free, a few minutes from every terminal |
It has 351 soundproofed rooms, a restaurant, a bar, a gym and the Twin Crafts Market, open 24 hours for food at any time. It suits an overnight layover, or a family that needs a proper rest before a long flight.
Day rooms
Freshen Up!, in the Main Hall of the International Terminal (the Dianne Feinstein International Terminal on SFO’s maps) before security, rents small nap rooms with a bed, Wi-Fi and a desk, and it’s open 24 hours. Between 6am and 7pm a room costs US$150 for 3 hours, the minimum, US$195 for 4 and US$245 for 5; from 7pm to 7am it’s US$275 for the night (seen November 2026). A shower with the room is US$25 more. Call 650-821-1324 to check the price and that a room is free before you count on one.
It suits a layover too short for town when you need to lie down, or a late landing before a morning flight. After customs you’re on the public side of the airport anyway; on one ticket, hand your bags in at the connecting baggage desks first. Past security there are no rooms or sleeping pods.
The Grand Hyatt publishes no day rate, so there you’d book a night.
Lounges you can pay for
One lounge sells entry to anyone, and two more take Priority Pass at set hours. All three are past security.
| Lounge | Terminal | Hours | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Club SFO | Harvey Milk Terminal 1, near Gate B4 | 4:30am to 11:30pm | US$80 (seen November 2026); Priority Pass and LoungeKey, booked online |
| China Airlines Lounge | International Terminal, near Gate A1, Level 4 | 8:30am to 11:40pm | Priority Pass, DragonPass and LoungeKey, 8:30am to 6pm |
| Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse | International Terminal, near Gate A1, Level 5 | 9am to 10:30pm | Priority Pass, 9am to 1:30pm and 6pm to 10:30pm |
- When you can go in. The Club SFO lets in pass buyers up to 3 hours before their flight, and Priority Pass and LoungeKey members 2.5 hours before.
- Flying from the International Terminal? Walkways past security link Terminal 1 to the A gates, so The Club SFO still works.
- Airline lounges. The rest, among them the United Polaris Lounge, United Clubs and the Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and British Airways lounges, are for their airlines’ eligible passengers and members.
Showers
- Before security: Freshen Up! in the International Terminal, open 24 hours, charges US$30 for 30 minutes, with towel, toiletries and a hair dryer (seen November 2026). It’s the one to use straight after customs, before you go back through security.
- Past security: The Club SFO, inside the lounge in Terminal 1, charges US$25 for a 30-minute session (seen November 2026), open 4:30am to 11:30pm.
Free things past security
- Yoga rooms. SFO has three. The one in Terminal 2, in the walkway between the C and D gates, is free and open from 4am to 11pm: a quiet place to stretch or sit.
- SFO Museum. Free exhibitions in every terminal: Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Terminals 2 and 3, and the International Terminal’s A and G areas.
- Aviation Museum and Library. On the G gates side of the International Terminal, open daily from 10am to 4:30pm.
Security checkpoints
Coming back from town or connecting, you pass security again. Checkpoints A and G serve the International Terminal: A opens from 4:15am to 2am and G from 4:30am to 2am. Every gate can be reached from any checkpoint, as walkways past security join the terminals. SFO shows live waits for each checkpoint on its website, so check before you leave town.
Left luggage
The Airport Travel Agency in the International Terminal is the only place at SFO that stores bags, open daily from 6am to 11pm. It prices bags by size and publishes no rates, so ask at the desk or call 650-877-0422. A bag left there can’t be collected after 11pm, so check that against your return.
Connections, money and Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi is free in every terminal: choose the network #SFO FREE WIFI.
- Between terminals, walkways link them before and after security. The free AirTrain runs 24 hours a day, as often as every 4 minutes; its Red Line circles every terminal, the BART station and the Grand Hyatt in about 9 minutes. Terminal 3’s own AirTrain stop is closed until 2027, so use the one for Terminals 2 and 3.
- Money. Prices are in US dollars, and a contactless bank card or phone pays for BART, Muni and the F-line streetcar.
- Data. An eSIM set up before you fly saves hunting for Wi-Fi once you’re in town.