ConJosé Co-Chair and noted transit fan, Kevin Standlee, has prepared the following guide to getting to and around San José.

Where is San José?
Arriving by air
Arriving by rail
Arriving by road

Where is San José?

San José is located in Northern California about fifty miles (eighty kilometers) south of San Francisco. Three major airports serve the area. San José also is served by short- and long-distance rail services, and it is located at the junction of several major freeways. The McEnery Convention Center is right in Downtown San José.

Arriving by air

San José International Airport (SJC) is about three miles (5 km) from downtown San José. If you intend to travel by air we recommend SJC, even if it means changing planes. SJC is rarely subject to delays, and you will not have to spend ages getting from the airport to your hotel. SJC is served by most major US airlines, but it has fewer direct flights than San Francisco International (SFO) and very few international services, although American Airlines recently launched daily non-stop services to San José from Paris and Taipei to complement their existing daily non-stop service from Tokyo.

The other major local airports are San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland International (OAK). Both are about 30-40 miles (50-65 km) from San José. There are a variety of ways of getting from either airport to San José. You can rent a car, use a door-to-door shuttle van, or use scheduled bus services. The local rail services are Caltrain (from SFO) or BART (from OAK). Both require some use of connecting buses.

Arriving by rail

San José's main railroad station is Diridon, located about one mile (about 1.6 km) from the Convention Center. The Caltrain service from San Francisco and the ACE service from Stockton stop there, as do Amtrak's services from Sacramento, Los Angeles and Seattle. Passengers from the East must change trains at Emeryville (near Oakland), leaving the Chicago train for a local service to San José. Taxis connect Diridon to the downtown hotels and the Convention Center. A free shuttle service between San José Diridon Station and the San José Convention Center operates between 6:30 AM and 6:30 PM weekdays only.

Arriving by road

San José is on US 101, one of the main north-south highways on the West Coast. The Convention Center and downtown area are located just off Interstate 280 (which branches from US 101 a few miles from downtown) at the junction with State Highway 87. If driving from the East, you will probably come in on Interstate 80. From the North or South, US 101 leads directly to San José, or you can take Interstate 5 and divert to the Bay Area from California’s Central Valley. (US-101 is slower, but it is a more pleasant drive than I-5.)

Driving directions to the McEnery Convention Center can be found on the Downtown San José Parking web site.

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