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Find cheap flights to San Francisco Bay Area from R11 373

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from South Africa to San Francisco Bay Area departing on 22/5. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
Thu 18/4
Thu 25/4

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Best San Francisco Bay Area Flight Deals

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

San Francisco
San Francisco1 stopR17 069
San Jose
San Jose2 stopsR41 323

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

June

Cheapest flight

R11 373
Best time to beat the crowds (10% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (9% more expensive on average)
Flight from Cape Town to San Francisco

FAQs - booking San Francisco Bay Area flights

  • How long is the flight to San Francisco Bay Area?

    An average direct flight from South Africa to San Francisco Bay Area takes 31h 27m, covering a distance of 27103 km. The most popular route is Sun City Resort - San Jose with an average flight time of 37h 40m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to San Francisco Bay Area?

    The cheapest ticket to San Francisco Bay Area from South Africa found in the last 72 hours was R17 069. The most popular route is from Sun City Resort to San Jose and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was R27 159.

  • What are the most popular destinations in San Francisco Bay Area?

    The next most popular destinations are San Francisco (44%) and Oakland (2%).

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to San Francisco Bay Area

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest San Francisco Bay Area flight deals.

Top 5 airlines flying to San Francisco Bay Area

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to San Francisco Bay Area? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to KAYAK reviews.
8,1
EmiratesOverall score based on 4215 reviews
81overall
83crew
82boarding
83entertainment
81comfort
79food
Airline reviews

Service needs to improve. Air hostess do not register flyers request and we need to keep on repeating our request to them on multiple occasions

Read more about Emirates

Service needs to improve. Air hostess do not register flyers request and we need to keep on repeating our request to them on multiple occasions

The flight was great. We had to purchase extra long seats for the long flight. But overall it was great.

The experience was not as pleasant returning as leaving. Went through clearance twice, crew was not as customer focused.

WORST AIRLINE EVER—FOOD WAS MEDIOCRE AND WIDEBODY 777 BOEING WAS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE! IT WAS NOT WORTH THE MONEY THAT I PAID.

Amazing service and food. However I didn’t get chance to choose my own seat which bothered me a little.

More space all around is practically essential on long international fights, and Emirates definitely delivers. But food selection and taste was only average. Otherwise, the flight was smooth and the cabin crew service was fine.

Food was not eadable. Testless and not apealing. order for indian vegitarian, recived spice less. combination of main course and side iteams are far away from traditonal food, serve less iteams. , but eadoble. Thanks

I bought Business class ticket but they treated me like economic class. No lounge allowed at check inn I have to take stuff out while other passengers have more than 25 lb in bag. Because I bought tickets from other than airlines . It’s discriminations from airlines to passengers.

Quality and tasty Food and service, bigger seat comfort and leg room, etc.

The service was fantastic. Not much could be done better

We left one hour late because of technical difficulties. The economy comfort seats are great for the price. The crew was mediocre, they do not provide a pleasant experience, they just deliver food and drinks and give orders, not very amicable, no service and hospitality focus.

Booked connecting flights with KlM. My serving flight was the furthest part of the airport. On arrival in Zurich. My two cases arrived but only one carry on belong to my son. His three suitcase didn't arrive. After enquiring we discovered they were still in Amsterdam. We landed at 11.12. We eventually left the airport just after one.

I thought KLM was the best airline but the Lima - Amsterdam was 1 hours late, the Brussels - Amsterdam was 2.30 hours late and the Amsterdam - Lima was 30 minutes late

The food was ok. The crew seemed like they were cranky. I had one guy get mad at me for passing in between the storage area to get to the other toilet. I can understand if it's not allowed but reprimanding me like I'm a student saying "This is the last time!" was not appropriate. During my meal time, there was a French family around me. No problems there but when we usually have meals, they are supposed to put their chair in the upright position. These people did not do it and the steward did not tell them to raise their seat in the upright position. However, I was told to do so! So, me and another person next to me had to eat with the monitor almost touching our faces. Furthermore, a lady in front of me was putting her feet up and preventing another elder passenger from putting her seat back. To make it worse, she was continuously hitting her back into her seat, shaking my monitor while I was watching a movie. A crew member did speak to her about it but then she accused me of pushing her seat forward! The crew member gave me a death stare and told me to stop pushing the seat forward. I did not even touch her seat at all, if I did, she would know it. Her boyfriend also stood up and tried to push her seat even further past the maximum decline to no avail. None of these people were reprimanded but the steward, some bald guy, was extremely friendly with them and did not even try to instruct them to do anything until it was time to land. I resisted the urge to really argue with them because I would have obviously been seen as the aggressor (I have no idea why). I hardly said anything on this flight except "more wine please" and "sorry" if I bumped into someone accidentally. Overall, it was an annoying flight and I had to resist the urge to yell at the steward and the people he was overly friendly with. The happiest moment of this flight was leaving it.

One of the vstewardeses wanted to bump me of the plane for absolutely nothing. There is CCTV in the plane ans everything can be verified. Very disappointing , you all will see, o other 5 years and the passangers who does not smile to flight attendent will be bumped off...

Mostly fine. Minor delays departing and arriving. Quite a cramped plane, not so much as regards legroom but very narrow seats. Quiet nice food. Non-working USB charger. Flight attendants were helpful but not particularly proactive — one had to work to get their attention (but all was fine once they notice you), very Dutch style:)

I requested wheel chair assistance , it was confirmed via email that inwoood get it but I didn’t get it . The last leg of my trip to Nigeria was the worst.

The boarding was one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. The fault lays on Ohare Airport and not so much the airline. The waiting area by the gate was the size to accommodate a regional flight for 20-30 people and right next to a busy walkway. When you cramped nearly 300 passengers into that space is was unbearable.

The Crew have no idea about the food they're serving the passengers. The Crew MUST be instructed before each flight about the menu that will be served to the passengers, whether the food is vegetarian or non-vegetarian, whether it is Halal, Kosher or not.

Everything in general was great, but we left 30 minutes late

The crew was fantastic and the over flight was perfect as well.

They shld provide food. Between food they are giving 10 hours gap which is toooo much

The crew was great and the food and liquor offerings were good. Seats were a bit cramped. Flight arrived early at destination. That's a plus.

All over with Qatar airlines my experience was really bad due to delays and then putting me on different airlines and after 8 hours of wait I had to listen to their is no plane to fly for another 24 hours. Wore experience ever.

I had already opted for Vegan food before 2 months yet they say we have no record for it,

Too many boarding protocols. Never experienced with other international flights.

Polite and helpful crew. My son developed fever. Crew members came and gave him medication and also came and enquired about his health several times.

After going through security and waiting for the flight at the gate, there was no access to bathrooms and no place to charge a phone while waiting for the flight. But once I was on the plane, everything was very good.

Overall good but staff in the place looked extremely tired after 8hrs in 14 hrs journey and then service was cut short and response time for calls increased in later part of flight. Food was ok not astonishing

Better service is needed. I booked for Qatar but I was switched to American way after I bought my tickets.

Very good. Glad we had Premium for the flight out.

We flew Upper Class from London to The Turks and Caicos. Check in was amazing. Our ldriver too us directly to a special entrance to terminal 3. It took 10 minutes to check in and clear customs. Amazing! The VA lounge is large and comfortable. Boarding the flight was easy and without a wait. The crew was excellent. But the seats were awful, strange and uncomfortable. Having a comfortable flat bed seat is the reason we pays 1000s extra. The VA 787 uses a reverse herringbone configuration. Look it up. You have your back to the window and are facing the aisle with no privacy. Turning the seat into a bed requires assistance from the crew so not very spontaneous. . The food was ok. A bit tasteless and meager portions. Had to pay for WiFi. I believe VA has other configuration on their dream airbus flights. Lots of stuff about all this on YouTube where you can see what I have been describing. I can not recommend taking VA on a long flight with these seats.

From the start everything was perfectly fine. First meal was fantastic. Breakfast needs a lot of work and food was overcooked and not very nice for breakfast. Staff were fantastic friendly nice they came round and check we need anything else to eat or drink

From the start everything was perfectly fine. First meal was fantastic. Breakfast needs a lot of work and food was overcooked and not very nice for breakfast. Staff for a fantastic friendly nice we came round and check we need anything else to eat or drink

From the start everything was perfectly fine. First meeting was fantastic. Breakfast needs a lot of work and food was overcooked and not very nice for breakfast.

Tai-City to Atlanta :Lots of legroom on the flight. No interaction from the staff at all on the plane. They only attended to the First Class passengers. There was no entertainment. Security I was body scanned even though I hadn't set off an alarm, my father-in-law in his 80s, was stopped and subjected to a through body search, told that they would have to place their hands in intimate places. There were several border guards present, and as we walked off we could hear the TWA officer talk about the procedure as if he was training. My father-in-law was a little upset about the whole process. A kind explanation that training was taking place would have been more acceptable, and it felt dehumanizing to him. Atlanta to London: Check in was difficult we had been unable to do this online for 2 of the family members on the same booking both in their mid to late-80s. No seats had been allocated for them and we were all travelling Premium Economy. After several phone calls to the booking agent and conversations with Delta staff at TriCites airport, we were told that seats would be allocated at the gate in Atlanta. When we arrived at Atlanta, and spoke to a member of the boarding staff at the gate, he was curt and repeated back exactly what we had just told him, that only one of us was checked in. I explained that we had been unable to check-in online for the 2 family members (I had tried twice). He again repeated back that we needed to check-in. As we were in transit, I was at a loss at what he wanted us to do, but he kept repeating that we needed to do this. I asked where we should do this. No answer. In fact all he did throughout was look at his screen. He told us that there were no seats in Premium Economy, and that he could offer my parents-in-law 'two seats at the back'. I asked if he meant at the back of Premium Economy, and he replied, 'No, at the back of the plane'. At this point, myself and my father-in-law pointed out that they had paid for Premium Economy tickets and expected seats there. He never took his eyes off the screen once. Then he hit a button and it printed out two boarding passes for my parents-in-law. The seats were directly across from my seat. He had gone from saying there were no seats to somehow finding two together. No explanation, no eye contact, nothing. The flight: As we boarded, our first introduction to the flight was the stewardess at the entrance addressing a passenger with an annoyed and loud voice about a bag that belonged to them. That was not promising. The seats were good, and so were all the accessories. The food, etc.: we had flown with Virgin on our outward journey and I could not fault it. The service and food was excellent, the stewards very helpful, offering additional drinks and snacks. The toilets were more accessible than Delta, which were in the economy area and were told in no uncertain terms that we should not use the First Class toilets, even though they were much closer to our section of the plane. We had a menu for both flights, yet when I asked for the chicken dish on Delta, I was told that there was none left and that there was another chicken dish with mashed potatoes and that 'it was fine'. This was almost pushed on me before I could answer. I was sitting 3 rows from the front of the section, so I was surprised that they had already run out. I repeated that I would like the chicken dish on the menu, and asked whether she would be able to get one from her colleague who was serving in the other aisle. The stewardess replied 'No, that's not how it works!' It always has on previous flights, so I was a bit confused. I accepted that I would have to opt for the pasta option (no choice), but was a little perturbed by her response. Minutes later she returns and hands me the chicken dish I had originally asked for. I had already started eating the other one, but was told curtly that I could have both. This was the same stewardess who was shouting at a passenger as we boarded the plane. The food was very poor in the end, nowhere near as good as Virgin's. Unlike Virgin, there was no starter, no bread roll, just a main and a brownie served in a cardboard container. Virgin had provided real china and glass. Unlike Virgin, they did not return to ask if we wanted more drinks, and there was no tea or coffee served after the meal. The breakfast that was served later was equally poor and inedible, apart from the fruit. At the time, the stewardess, a different one, completely walked past my mother-in-law and did not offer her a hot drink. Both my parents-in-law are in their mid to late 80s, they have been world travellers in their time and had decided that this would be the last flight that they ever take. They have health problems, including memory issues. I feel that overall the journey back to London was pretty unpleasant for them especially, and that they were treated badly, especially by the ground staff. We have lived on two continents and are used to long haul flights, and I have to say that this is up there in the worst flight category. Bearing in mind that we had paid extra money expecting comfort and additional attention, it was extremely disappointing. I would fly Virgin again, but never Delta. The two flights were incomparable.

Lots of legroom on the flight. No interaction from the staff at all on the plane. They only attended to the First Class passengers. There was no entertainment. Security I was body scanned even though I hadn't set off an alarm, my father-in-law in his 80s, was stopped and subjected to a through body search, told that they would have to place their hands in intimate places. There were several border guards present, and as we walked off we could hear the TWA officer talk about the procedure as if he was training. My father-in-law was a little upset about the whole process. A kind explanation would have been more acceptable, and it felt dehumanizing to him.

Needed a 6 hour lay over in Atlanta. How can this be avoided ?

Security area in terminal 3 needs to be made much nicer. Less claustrophobic and use of glass and big ceilings wouldhelp

Staff was friendly. Food was so-so. The economy seats are probably some of the most uncomfortable I’ve ever sat in. The headrest kept falling down which has happened multiple times before on Virgin.

The crew on this flight were excellent. They were friendly and attentive. It really made the flight more enjoyable.

I sat in the last row of seats. On an 8 hour flight they allowed folks to stand and talk and drink in the back area near the toilets the whole time. They were at times loud and in the way. It was a little annoying. The crew on this trip were pretty mediocre and the plane was littered with trash when we disembarked.

Boarding process needs to be improved. Business class passengers were told to stand in the economy line and vice versa.

I travelled on biz class and f there is no water in the toilette to wash my hands I would expect to have this indicated somehow and not just finding out when I'm there expecting to be able to wash my hands and teeth. Also this is in general that it is always so rushy at the end of these kind of long flights. It is like we are sitting there for 9 hours and the last 1.5 hours just feels like I have time for nothing. Because food comes and at the same time we are close to destination everyone tries to pack their stuff and go to toilette and eat and everything :))) not that like I would know a good solution here I just wanted to raise this :)

Emergency row seat less comfortable than promoted. Restricted by emergency life raft storage.

Better communication to those connecting flights and have a customer care desk at the airports

American was good / British Airways partner was not as good…

The entertainment system in our row was not working. That makes for a VERY long flight!!

A little more legroom, and maybe a little bit of food

Pre flight food options were not working and made the flight not enjoyable. Post experiences of British airways have been positive, but this is enough to stop me using British airways again

Book Cheap San Francisco Bay Area Plane Tickets

Recent return flight deals

15/5Wed
1 stopDelta
26h 55mJNB-SFO
5/6Wed
2 stopsDelta
30h 20mSFO-JNB
R17 069
15/5Wed
2 stopsDelta
36h 00mJNB-SFO
5/6Wed
2 stopsDelta
30h 20mSFO-JNB
R17 125
29/5Wed
1 stopVirgin Atlantic
34h 25mJNB-SFO
15/6Sat
1 stopVirgin Atlantic
27h 05mSFO-JNB
R17 502
29/5Wed
2 stopsVirgin Atlantic
34h 01mJNB-SFO
15/6Sat
1 stopVirgin Atlantic
32h 14mSFO-JNB
R17 823
15/5Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
26h 55mJNB-SFO
5/6Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
32h 55mSFO-JNB
R19 011
16/4Tue
2 stopsKLM
31h 25mCPT-SFO
1/5Wed
2 stopsKLM
26h 25mSFO-CPT
R24 669
16/4Tue
2 stopsKLM
31h 25mCPT-SFO
2/5Thu
2 stopsKLM
25h 30mSFO-CPT
R25 593
9/6Sun
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
14/6Fri
2 stopsQatar Airways
37h 40mSFO-CPT
R25 612
15/4Mon
2 stopsBritish Airways
28h 50mJNB-SFO
15/5Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
32h 55mSFO-JNB
R25 725
10/4Wed
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
2/5Thu
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 40mSFO-CPT
R31 742

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Recent one-way flight deals

22/5Wed
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
R11 373
22/5Wed
2 stops
37h 30mCPT-SFO
R13 485
26/4Fri
1 stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
R14 296
22/5Wed
3 stops
35h 21mCPT-SFO
R14 937
21/8Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
31h 05mJNB-SFO
R15 088
16/8Fri
2 stopsBritish Airways
30h 40mJNB-SFO
R15 843
1/9Sun
1 stopEmirates
33h 55mCPT-SFO
R43 209
1/9Sun
1 stopAmerican Airlines
27h 35mCPT-SFO
R77 761
1/9Sun
1 stopEmirates
28h 40mCPT-SFO
R116 840
1/9Sun
2 stopsLufthansa
32h 35mCPT-SFO
R117 349

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Recent domestic flight deals

10/4Wed
directSpirit Airlines
1h 21mLAX-OAK
13/4Sat
directSpirit Airlines
1h 26mOAK-LAX
R1 603
9/4Tue
directDelta
1h 22mLAX-SFO
11/4Thu
directDelta
1h 30mSFO-LAX
R1 716
29/3Fri
directAlaska Airlines
1h 33mLAX-SFO
2/4Tue
directAlaska Airlines
1h 32mSFO-LAX
R2 056
4/4Thu
directAlaska Airlines
1h 33mLAX-SFO
8/4Mon
directAlaska Airlines
1h 32mSFO-LAX
R2 169
5/4Fri
directJetBlue
1h 27mLAX-SFO
14/4Sun
directJetBlue
1h 29mSFO-LAX
R2 339
29/3Fri
directUnited Airlines
1h 37mLAX-SFO
31/3Sun
directUnited Airlines
1h 39mSFO-LAX
R2 848
30/3Sat
directJetBlue
1h 28mLAX-SFO
7/4Sun
directJetBlue
1h 29mSFO-LAX
R3 282
2/4Tue
multi-stopSouthwest
4h 40mLAX-SFO
3/4Wed
multi-stopSouthwest
5h 20mSFO-LAX
R3 772
15/4Mon
directUnited Airlines
4h 53mORD-SFO
19/4Fri
directUnited Airlines
4h 25mSFO-ORD
R4 791
17/4Wed
multi-stopSouthwest
12h 10mLGA-SFO
24/4Wed
multi-stopSouthwest
9h 10mSFO-LGA
R7 506

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Flights to San Francisco Bay Area

Return flight deals:

San Francisco Bay Area - South Africa

Cabin classes:

R3 074
R3 357
R3 131
R849