Origin
San Bruno, CA
Afternoon in San Bruno on Saturday
Local time
12:19 PM
PDT
Current temp
52°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from San Bruno, CA to Oakland, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
32m
Distance
21.5 mi
35 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$5
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 30m
★
6 AM
0h 32m
8 AM
0h 38m
10 AM
0h 34m
12 PM
0h 34m
3 PM
0h 35m
5 PM
0h 38m
8 PM
0h 31m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
San Bruno, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Oakland, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
San Bruno to Oakland is 21.5 miles and takes about 32 minutes via US 101 Spur and I-80, with a fuel budget near $5 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This is a short, direct journey connecting two points within the Pacific Coast region of California. Expect a drive that's primarily on major highways, making it a quick and efficient option for moving between these East Bay and Peninsula communities. Given its brief duration, you won't need to worry about overnight stays, and the modest fuel cost makes it an economical choice for a quick trip.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| US 101 Spur | 9.7 mi | 12m |
| I 80 | 7.5 mi | 11m |
| San Pablo Avenue | 1.1 mi | 2m |
| San Bruno Avenue East | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| Martin Luther King Junior Way | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| 14th Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| 35th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| MacArthur Freeway | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
US 101 Spur
— 9.7 mi, about 12m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between San Bruno, CA and Oakland, CA.
1
Start on this road
207 ft
·
17 sec
·
this road
2
Turn right onto San Mateo Avenue
270 ft
·
11 sec
·
San Mateo Avenue
3
Turn right onto San Bruno Avenue East
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
San Bruno Avenue East
Use the right lane.
4
Turn left
0.2 mi
·
21 sec
Toward US 101 North: San Francisco
Use the left lane.
5
Merge onto US 101 Spur
9.7 mi
·
12 min
·
US 101 Spur
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit onto I 80
7.5 mi
·
11 min
·
I 80
Exit 433B
Toward I 80 East: Bay Bridge, Oakland
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Take the exit
1.0 mi
·
1 min
Exit 8B
Toward I 580 East: Downtown Oakland, Hayward-Stockton
Use the slight right lane.
8
Merge onto I 580
515 ft
·
6 sec
·
MacArthur Freeway
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
13 sec
Exit 19A
Toward MacArthur Boulevard, San Pablo Avenue, Emery Street
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
10
Keep slight right at fork
0.1 mi
·
12 sec
Toward San Pablo Avenue, Emery Street
Use the slight right lane.
11
Turn right onto Watts Street
216 ft
·
11 sec
·
Watts Street
12
Turn right onto Peralta Street
182 ft
·
11 sec
·
Peralta Street
13
Turn left onto 35th Street
0.2 mi
·
23 sec
·
35th Street
14
Turn right onto San Pablo Avenue
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
San Pablo Avenue
15
Turn slight right onto Martin Luther King Junior Way
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Martin Luther King Junior Way
16
Turn left onto 14th Street
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
14th Street
17
Arrive at destination
14th Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 145 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 19.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
San Bruno Avenue East
Turn right onto San Bruno Avenue East
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
8
10.6 mi into trip
|
~14m in
|
I 80
Take the exit onto I 80 toward I 80 East: Bay Bridge, Oakland
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 433B
Toward I 80 East: Bay Bridge, Oakland
8
18.1 mi into trip
|
~25m in
Take the exit toward I 580 East: Downtown Oakland, Hayward-Stockton
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 8B
Toward I 580 East: Downtown Oakland, Hayward-St...
9
19.2 mi into trip
|
~26m in
Take the exit toward MacArthur Boulevard, San Pablo Avenue, Emery Street
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
Exit 19A
Toward MacArthur Boulevard, San Pablo Avenue, E...
9
19.4 mi into trip
|
~27m in
Keep slight right at fork toward San Pablo Avenue, Emery Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight right lane.
Toward San Pablo Avenue, Emery Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.94 one way
$9.88 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
8 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $5.09 | $10.18 |
| premium | $6.18 | $5.23 | $10.46 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $4.75 | $9.49 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$5
Estimated CO2 emission: 7.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 6.5 | 0 | $2.26 | $1.03 |
| Efficient EV | 5.4 | 0 | $1.88 | $0.86 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 8.6 | 0 | $3.01 | $1.38 |
Gas CO2
8 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (63% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Oakland, CA
Afternoon in Oakland on Saturday
Local time
12:19 PM
PDT
Current temp
67°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
15 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
32m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This route is heavily highway-focused, with 81% of it on major roads like the US 101 Spur and I-80. You'll experience a swift drive, with the longest uninterrupted stretch measuring 9.7 miles on the US 101 Spur. While largely a high-speed experience, a portion of the drive will involve San Pablo Avenue, offering a slight shift in pace before rejoining the faster lanes. The overall impression is one of efficient transit, designed for getting you from point A to point B with minimal delay.
81% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
17 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 9.7 mi on US 101 Spur.
How Hard Is This Drive?
9/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on US 101 Spur and I 80. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near San Bruno Avenue East.
Driving Effort
9/10
Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 14 decision points packed into just 21.5 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 32m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (San Bruno Avenue East): Lane positioning matters here; at 10.6 miles (I 80): Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 18.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from San Bruno, CA to Oakland, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Hayward-Stockton along the way.
Hayward-Stockton
18.1 mi in
|
~25m
About the Cities
Starting in San Bruno, CA
Full guide →San Bruno is a city on the Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It is south of South San Francisco and north of Millbrae. It is the main headquarters of YouTube.
Arriving in Oakland, CA
Full guide →Oakland is a port city in the Bay Area of California in the United States. Once an industrial area overshadowed by San Francisco, its larger neighbor to the west, this city of 440,000 people (2020) has begun to step out from under San Francisco's shadow with its notable natural and architectural features and its rise as the multicultural "hipster" city of the Bay Area.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 32m. Total distance: 21.5 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
32m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (81%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 9.7 miles on US 101 Spur. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Oakland, CA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (San Bruno Avenue East): Lane positioning matters here; at 10.6 miles (I 80): Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 18.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes — San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (5 total within detour distance). See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Oakland, CA before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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