You can poke around and check parking only rates at nearby hotels: https://airportparkingreservations.com/lot_the_westin_aloft_san_francisco_sfo

Above is just an example, but it's around $12/day.

Parking at the airport is likely the most expensive. There are also nearby off-airport parking garages like Park SFO. https://www.parksfo.com/coupons/

But really, long-term airport parking may be worth it for ease. Even at $20/day, just think of it as two cocktails that you aren't drinking.

You'll have to put in your dates at the various venues to see which works best for you.

Is 10:00 a.m. when you want to arrive at SFO to do all the pre-flight pleasantries, or is it your flight time?

From Eureka to SFO is a bit under 300 miles, not entirely freeway for much of the northern part, so maybe 4½ to 5 hours.

The biggest part of the southbound Bay Area commute into San Francisco starts around Santa Rosa – yes, people do commute the 55-60 miles to the City. So you’d need to expect heavier traffic on 101 in Sonoma and Marin counties, on the Golden Gate Bridge, and through San Francisco. If anything happens on one of these freeways, something as simple as a stalled car, it can create a bottleneck where traffic sits for 20, 30 or more minutes on end.

If you plan a stop at Novato or another intermediate point to leave your car and switch to another mode of transportation, you have to plan for that extra time and rely on the parking and ride reservations coming through, adding one more layer of uncertainty.

Frankly, unless it was totally unavoidable, I wouldn’t want any drive of several hours to an airport for a flight when there are lots of variables and any delay on the road can mean missing the flight. I would want to nail down as many details as I can to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible. Everyone has a minimum comfort level, but I would be most comfortable with fewer components in the process. That would mean getting rid of the Marin commute segment the night before, being near the airport on the morning of, having a room waiting for a good night’s sleep, enjoying a nice dinner, relaxing before bedtime, and retiring at a decent adult hour instead of struggling to sleep at 7:00 p.m. so I can wake up at 2:00 a.m. for a 5-hour drive. Just as an example, the El Rancho in Millbrae has a sleep & fly rate that includes 8 days of parking, with additional days available for a fee. The Dylan has sleep & fly long-term parking with a surcharge, and the website indicates that parking is limited and not guaranteed, but advance planning would take care of that concern.

Frisco, the stay-park-fly option has been suggested (by yours truly). For whatever reason, OP has nixed that. I too cringe at the thought of driving all the way from Eureka to SFO for a same day flight. But that's OP's choice.

BTW, neither hotel offers shuttle service anymore. I believe both offer a coupon for Uber/Lyft.

I d look at acommuter flight from Arcata on United Express to SFO then connect. Wont be that much more costly figuring in gas, tolls, parking and most of all adding 6+ hours driving each way to the trip.

If you have not bought tickets yet and are flying United outbound from SFO will REALLY be not that much more. If seperate ticket less economical.

Our flight leaves at 1:25pm I figured we should be getting to San Francisco by 10 or 11 at the latest. You have a lot of good points about allowing extra time. We are home a very short time between trips so we were trying to maximize time at home to take care of necessities before heading out again. After talking some more about it we are leaning toward going most or all the way to the city the night before, I don't need the stress of worrying about missing a flight because of car trouble or something else.

If you are "leaning toward going most or all the way to the city the night before", might as well go past the City to nearer SFO. Why worry about rush hour traffic?

That's what I would do, TSS. Spend the night at one of the hotels in Millbrae or San Bruno that does sleep & fly with a transportation voucher, put the car to bed until your return, schedule next day's ride to the airport, have a relaxing evening, set alarm for a reasonable time, and put yourself to bed. 😴

Another plus is that when you fly back and want to get home, you catch a ride to the hotel and your car is waiting for you. No extra handling of luggage, waiting for another bus or car, or stopping at Novato. Just put bags in your own car and go.

My Mom lives in Novato, so when traveling with her, I've used the Marin Airporter and various parking solutions quite a few times. Every time I've done the math for a week-long trip traveling from Novato with two or more people, it's the same or cheaper to drive and park at one of the long term lots at or near SFO than to take the Airporter.

Currently for an 8 day trip for 2 people:

- Airporter: $120 bus fare + 8 days x $6 parking = $168

- Park at Park SFO (off-airport, uses a shuttle): $9 GG bridge toll + 5 days x $20 parking with "3 days free" coupon + car operating expenses at IRS rate of .67/mile = $159

Aside from the $9 savings, the convenience of having your car right there waiting for you instead of a long bus ride is very nice.

Currently SFO's long term lot is $200 for 8 random days in July, but I've had coupons for them in the past that were up to half off. Not sure if they'll have anything like that this year, but it's worth doing a search periodically to see if you can do better than the numbers above.

The Airporter is a better deal if your trip is longer than 10 days, or if you know someone in Novato who will let you leave the car at their house and can drive you to Hamilton to catch the bus.