Half Moon Bay can feel worlds away from large cities like San Francisco and San Jose, but it’s just a quick car ride away from most of the Bay Area. And it’s a truly beautiful drive.
From San Francisco International Airport
Half Moon Bay is a quick 30 minute drive from SFO, the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area:
- From the terminal, follow the signs for Highway 380 West to Highway 280
- Take 380 West and move toward the left lanes to exit
- Exit on 280 South toward San Jose and continue for about 9.8 miles
- Take the exit for 35/92 West toward Half Moon Bay
- Turn left onto Highway 35 to continue toward Half Moon Bay for 1 mile
- Turn right onto Highway 92 and continue for 6.9 miles
- Turn left on Main Street to arrive at Downtown Half Moon Bay
From San Francisco
It is slightly quicker to take 280 South from San Francisco and stay on it until Highway 92 (then follow from step 4 in the above directions), but we favor the more scenic route along the ocean, which is only a couple of minutes longer, depending on traffic:
- Take 101 South (or Highway 1 South, if you’re coming from the western part of San Francisco), to 280 South
- Take 280 South to Highway 1Â (follow the signs toward Pacifica)
- Continue on Highway 1 for 19 miles into the City of Half Moon Bay
- Turn left on Kelly Avenue, then continue for 3 blocks to Main Street in Downtown Half Moon Bay
From San Jose
- Take 280 North toward San Francisco
- Take the exit 92 West toward Half Moon Bay (Exit 33)
- Conitnue on Highway 92 for 7Â miles
- Turn left on Main Street to arrive at Downtown Half Moon Bay
From Santa Cruz
The drive from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay is truly stunning, and rivals the Big Sur area as one of the most beautiful stretches of oceanfront highway in Northern California. There’s not many turns along the route, so put down your GPS and pull out your camera instead – this drive is a real treat.
- Take Highway 1 North
- Continue for 47 miles on Highway 1
- Exit onto Main Street in Half Moon Bay (follow signs for Higgins-Purissima Road)