San Francisco International Airport- How much time needed?

I will be flying out of SFO for the first time and was wondering what the average amount of time I should give myself at the airport before my flight departs?

My flight leaves at 2p on a Tuesday, will 2 hours be sufficient or should I give myself more time?

Thank you!

San Francisco International Airport- How much time needed?

Domestic or International, at that time of day, you have plenty of time with 2 hours. If flying domestically, I usually don%26#39;t have any baggage to check so I arrive at the terminal 1 hour before the flight with a printed boarding pass in hand or kiosk check-in. I%26#39;d allow an extra 30 minutes for checking bags. I%26#39;d allow an extra hour if flying international.

San Francisco International Airport- How much time needed?

Great, thanks for your help ObsidianSnow! I will be flying domestic with a bag...so I will make sure to be there 2.5 hours before my flight leaves.

You may have read my ';addition of 30 minutes'; incorrectly. I%26#39;d add 30 minutes to the hour I had already. You really only need 90 minutes to do what you are doing.

be at the airport 90 min before takeoff, meaning an early lunch in the city is ok. If you are driving and returning a rental, look for San Bruno Ave which brings you very close to the rental car center. BART is even easier.

Thanks plainjohn and ObsidianSnow for your help and input! This is such a big help and a definite ease for during my travels. One less thing to worry about during my first trip to San Fran!

We just returned from San Francisco. We turned our rental car in the night before. We stayed at the Hampton Inn - Gateway Blvd because they had a free shuttle to and from the airport. Our flight was at 6:15 a.m. We placed wake-up calls for 3:30 a.m. Neither room received a call. Luckily one member of our group woke up and in 20 minutes all six of us were dressed and checking out in order to catch the 4:20 shuttle. I figured we were getting to the airport way too early at that hour of the day. Well, at 4:30 in the morning, there were long lines. We never sat down at all. After getting through boarding/checking baggage and then the security line, it was time to board the plane.

I would try to get there at least 90 minutes early.